Isaiah 14:31

English Revised Version

Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou art melted away, O Philistia, all of thee; for there cometh a smoke out of the north, and none standeth aloof at his appointed times.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Wail, you gates! Cry out, city!Tremble with fear, all Philistia!For a cloud of dust is coming from the north,and there is no one missing from the invader’s ranks.

Hebrew Names Version
Howl, gate; cry, city; you are melted away, Peleshet, all of you; for there comes a smoke out of the north, and there is no straggler in his ranks.

King James Version
Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou, whole Palestina, art dissolved: for there shall come from the north a smoke, and none shall be alone in his appointed times.

English Standard Version
Wail, O gate; cry out, O city; melt in fear, O Philistia, all of you! For smoke comes out of the north, and there is no straggler in his ranks.

New American Standard Bible
"Wail, you gate; cry, you city; Melt away, Philistia, all of you! For smoke comes from the north, And there is no straggler in his ranks.

New Century Version
People near the city gates, cry out! Philistines, be frightened, because a cloud of dust comes from the north. It is an army, full of men ready to fight.

Amplified Bible
"Howl, O gate; cry, O city! Melt away, O Philistia, all of you; For smoke comes out of the north, And there is no straggler in his ranks and no one stands detached [in Hezekiah's battalions].

World English Bible
Howl, gate; cry, city; you are melted away, Philistia, all of you; for there comes a smoke out of the north, and there is no straggler in his ranks.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Howle, O gate, crie, O citie: thou whole lande of Palestina art dissolued, for there shall come from the North a smoke, and none shalbe alone, at his time appointed.

Legacy Standard Bible
Wail, O gate; cry, O city;Melt away, O Philistia, all of you;For smoke comes from the north,And there is no straggler in his ranks.

Berean Standard Bible
Wail, O gate! Cry out, O city! Melt away, all you Philistines! For a cloud of smoke comes from the north, and there are no stragglers in its ranks.

Contemporary English Version
Cry and weep in the gates of your towns, you Philistines! Smoke blows in from the north, and every soldier is ready.

Complete Jewish Bible
Howl, gate! Cry, city! Melt away, P'leshet, all of you! For a smoke is coming from the north, with not a straggler in its ranks.

Darby Translation
Howl, O gate! cry, O city! thou, Philistia, art wholly dissolved; for there cometh from the north a smoke, and none remaineth apart in his gatherings [of troops].

Easy-to-Read Version
People near the city gates, cry! People in the city, cry out! Everyone in Philistia, your courage will melt like hot wax. Look to the north! There is a cloud of dust. An army is coming, and everyone in that army is strong.

George Lamsa Translation
Howl, O city; cry, O city; whole Philistia is in confusion; for there shall come from the north a smoke? and none shall be left in their feasts.

Good News Translation
Howl and cry for help, all you Philistine cities! Be terrified, all of you! A cloud of dust is coming from the north—it is an army with no cowards in its ranks.

Lexham English Bible
Wail, gate! Cry, city! Melt, Philistia, all of you! For smoke is coming from the north, and there is no straggler in his ranks.

Literal Translation
Howl, O gate! Cry, O city! Philistia is melted away, all of you. For a smoke comes from the north, and not one is alone in his ranks.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Mourne ye portes, wepe ye Cities And feare thou (o whole Palestina) for there shal come fro the North a smoke, whose power no man maye abyde.

American Standard Version
Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou art melted away, O Philistia, all of thee; for there cometh a smoke out of the north, and there is no straggler in his ranks.

Bible in Basic English
Send out a cry, O door! Make sounds of sorrow, O town! All your land has come to nothing, O Philistia; for there comes a smoke out of the north, and everyone keeps his place in the line.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Howl, O gate; cry, O city; melt away, O Philistia, all of thee; for there cometh a smoke out of the north, and there is no straggler in his ranks.

King James Version (1611)
Howle, O gate, crie, O citie, thou whole Palestina art dissolued, for there shal come from the North a smoke, and none shall bee alone in his appointed times.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Mourne thou porte, weepe thou citie, for, O whole lande of Palestina, thou art layd waste: for there shal come from the north a smoke, that not one alone may abide at home in his times.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Howl, ye gates of cities; let the cities be troubled and cry, even all the Philistines: for smoke is coming from the north, and there is no possibility of living.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Yelle, thou yate; cry, thou citee, al Filistea is cast doun; for whi smoke schal come fro the north, and noon is that schal ascape his oost.

Update Bible Version
Howl, O gate; cry, O city; you are melted away, O Philistia, all of you; for there comes a smoke out of the north, and there is no straggler in his ranks.

Webster's Bible Translation
Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou, all Palestina, [art] dissolved: for there shall come from the north a smoke, and none [shall be] alone in his appointed times.

New English Translation
Wail, O city gate! Cry out, O city! Melt with fear, all you Philistines! For out of the north comes a cloud of smoke, and there are no stragglers in its ranks.

New King James Version
Wail, O gate! Cry, O city! All you of Philistia are dissolved; For smoke will come from the north, And no one will be alone in his appointed times."

New Living Translation
Wail at the gates! Weep in the cities! Melt with fear, you Philistines! A powerful army comes like smoke from the north. Each soldier rushes forward eager to fight.

New Life Bible
Cry out, O gate. Cry, O city. All you Philistines are weak in heart. For smoke comes from the north, and everyone keeps his place in his army.

New Revised Standard
Wail, O gate; cry, O city; melt in fear, O Philistia, all of you! For smoke comes out of the north, and there is no straggler in its ranks.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Howl - O gate, Make outcry - O city, Dispersed art thou Philistia, all of thee, - For out of the north, a smoke cometh in, With no straggler in his ranks.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Howl, O gate; cry, O city: all Philistia is thrown down: for a smoke shall come from the north, and there is none that shall escape his troop.

Revised Standard Version
Wail, O gate; cry, O city; melt in fear, O Philistia, all of you! For smoke comes out of the north, and there is no straggler in his ranks."

Young's Literal Translation
Howl, O gate; cry, O city, Melted art thou, Philistia, all of thee, For from the north smoke hath come, And there is none alone in his set places.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Wail, O gate; cry, O city; Melt away, O Philistia, all of you; For smoke comes from the north, And there is no straggler in his ranks.

Contextual Overview

²⁴ The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand: ²⁵ that I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulder. ²⁶ This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations. ²⁷ For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back? ²⁸ In the year that king Ahaz died was this burden. ²⁹ Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of thee, because the rod that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a basilisk, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent. ³⁰ And the firstborn of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety: and I will kill thy root with famine, and thy remnant shall be slain. ³¹ Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou art melted away, O Philistia, all of thee; for there cometh a smoke out of the north, and none standeth aloof at his appointed times. ³² What then shall one answer the messengers of the nation? That the LORD hath founded Zion, and in her shall the afflicted of his people take refuge.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Howl: Isaiah 13:6, Isaiah 16:7

for: Isaiah 20:1, Jeremiah 1:14, Jeremiah 25:16-20

none shall be alone: or, he shall not be alone

appointed times: or, assemblies

Reciprocal: Exodus 15:14 - of Palestina Isaiah 15:2 - Moab Jeremiah 49:3 - Howl Ezekiel 30:2 - Howl Daniel 11:29 - time Acts 17:26 - hath determined 2 Peter 3:11 - all these Revelation 9:2 - there

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Howl, O gate,.... Or gates of the cities of Palestine; the magistrates that sat there to execute judgment, or the people that passed through there; or because now obliged to open to their enemies; wherefore, instead of rejoicing, they are called to howling:

cry, O city; or cities, the several cities of the land, as well as their chief, because of the destruction coming upon them. The Targum is,

"howl over thy gates, and cry over thy cities;''

or concerning them:

thou, whole Palestina, [art] dissolved; or "melted"; through fear of enemies coming upon them; or it may design the entire overthrow and dissolution of their state;

for there shall come from the north a smoke; a numerous army, raising a dust like smoke as they move along, and coming with great "swiftness", and very annoying. Some understand this of the Chaldean army under Nebuchadnezzar coming from Babylon, which lay north of Judea; so Aben Ezra; to which agrees Jeremiah 47:1 but most interpret it of Hezekiah's army, which came from Judea: which, Kimchi says, lay north to the land of the Philistines. Cocceius is of opinion that the Roman army is here meant, which came from the north against Judea, called whole Palestine; which country came into the hands of the Jews after the taking of Tyre and Gaza by the Greeks, and therefore the sanhedrim, which sat in the gate, and the city of Jerusalem, are called upon to howl and cry. But the first of these senses seems best, since the utter destruction of Palestine was by the Chaldean army under Nebuchadnezzar; and so the prophecy from the time of Hezekiah, with which it begins, is carried on unto the entire dissolution of this country by the Babylonians.

And none [shall be] alone in his appointed times; when the times appointed are come, for the gathering, mustering, and marching of the army, whether Hezekiah's or the Chaldean, none shall stay at home; all will voluntarily and cheerfully flock unto it, and enlist themselves; nor will they separate or stray from it, but march on unanimously, and courageously engage the enemy, till the victory is obtained. Aben Ezra understands this of the Philistines, that they should not be able to abide alone in their palaces and houses, because of the smoke that should come in unto them.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Howl, O gate - That is, ye who throng the gate. The gates of a city were the chief places of concourse.

Cry, O city - The prophet here fixes the attention upon some principal city of Philistia, and calls upon it to be alarmed in view of the judgments that were about to come upon the whole land.

Art dissolved - The word ‘dissolved’ (מוג mûg) is applied to that which melts, or which wastes away gradually, and then to that which faints or disappears. It means here that the kingdom of Philistia would disappear, or be destroyed. It probably conveys the idea of its fainting, or becoming feeble from fear or apprehension.

From the north a smoke - From the regions of Judah, which lay north and east of Philistia. The ‘smoke’ here probably refers to a cloud of dust that would be seen to rise in that direction made by an invading army.

And none shall be alone in his appointed times - There has been a great variety of interpretation in regard to this passage. Lowth renders it, ‘And there shall not be a straggler among his levies.’ The Hebrew is, as in the margin, ‘And not solitary in his assemblies.’ The Septuagint renders it, Καί οὐκ ἔσται τοῦ εῖναι Kai ouk estai tou einai - ‘And it is not to be endured.’ The Chaldee, ‘And there shall be none who shall retard him in his times.’ The Arabic, ‘Neither is there anyone who can stand in his footsteps.’ The Vulgate, ‘Neither is there anyone who can escape his army.’ Aben Ezra renders it, ‘No one of the Philistines shall dare to remain in their palaces, as when a smoke comes into a house all are driven out.’ Probably the correct idea is given by Lowth; and the same interpretation is given by Gesenius, Rosenmuller, Dathe, and Michaelis. No one of the invading army of Hezekiah shall come by himself; no one shall be weary or be a straggler; the army shall advance in close military array, and in dense columns; and this is represented as the cause of the cloud or smoke that the prophet saw rising, the cloud of dust that was made by the close ranks of the invading host (compare Isaiah 5:27).

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Isaiah 14:31. There shall come from the north a smoke - "From the north cometh a smoke"] That is, a cloud of dust raised by the march of Hezekiah's army against Philistia; which lay to the south-west from Jerusalem. A great dust raised has, at a distance, the appearance of smoke: Fumantes pulvere campi; "The fields smoking with dust." - VIRG. AEn. xi. 908.