Isaiah 1:31
◄  Isaiah 1:31  ►
New International Version (©2011)
The mighty man will become tinder and his work a spark; both will burn together, with no one to quench the fire."

New Living Translation (©2007)
The strongest among you will disappear like straw; their evil deeds will be the spark that sets it on fire. They and their evil works will burn up together, and no one will be able to put out the fire.

English Standard Version (©2001)
And the strong shall become tinder, and his work a spark, and both of them shall burn together, with none to quench them.

New American Standard Bible (©1995)
The strong man will become tinder, His work also a spark. Thus they shall both burn together And there will be none to quench them.

King James Bible (Cambridge Ed.)
And the strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.

Holman Christian Standard Bible (©2009)
The strong one will become tinder, and his work a spark; both will burn together, with no one to quench the flames.

International Standard Version (©2012)
Your strong one will be like tinder, and your work a spark; both of them will burn together, with no one to quench the flames that burn them."

NET Bible (©2006)
The powerful will be like a thread of yarn, their deeds like a spark; both will burn together, and no one will put out the fire.

GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)
Strong people will become tinder for a fire, and their work will be the spark. Both of them will burn together, and there will be no one to put out the fire.

King James 2000 Bible (©2003)
And the strong shall be as tinder, and the work of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.

American King James Version
And the strong shall be as wick, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.

American Standard Version
And the strong shall be as tow, and his work as a spark; and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And your strength shall be as the ashes of tow, and your work as a spark: and both shall burn together, and there shall be none to quench it.

Darby Bible Translation
And the strong shall be for tow, and his work a spark; and they shall both burn together, and there shall be none to quench them.

English Revised Version
And the strong shall be as tow, and his work as a spark; and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.

Webster's Bible Translation
And the strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.

World English Bible
The strong will be like tinder, and his work like a spark. They will both burn together, and no one will quench them."

Young's Literal Translation
And the strong hath been for tow, And his work for a spark, And burned have both of them together, And there is none quenching!

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

1:21-31 Neither holy cities nor royal ones are faithful to their trust, if religion does not dwell in them. Dross may shine like silver, and the wine that is mixed with water may still have the colour of wine. Those have a great deal to answer for, who do not help the oppressed, but oppress them. Men may do much by outward restraints; but only God works effectually by the influences of his Spirit, as a Spirit of Judgment. Sin is the worst captivity, the worst slavery. The redemption of the spiritual Zion, by the righteousness and death of Christ, and by his powerful grace, most fully accord with what is here meant. Utter ruin is threatened. The Jews should become as a tree when blasted by heat; as a garden without water, which in those hot countries would soon be burned up. Thus shall they be that trust in idols, or in an arm of flesh. Even the strong man shall be as tow; not only soon broken, and pulled to pieces, but easily catching fire. When the sinner has made himself as tow and stubble, and God makes himself as a consuming fire, what can prevent the utter ruin of the sinner?

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 31. - The strong (literally, the strong one) shall be as tow; i.e. weak and powerless (comp. Judges 16:9), utterly unable to resist the Divine fiat when it goes forth. The maker of it. An extraordinary mistranslation, since po'al never means anything but "work." His own acts would light the fire by which the "strong one" would be consumed and perish.

"Nec lex justior ulla est,
Quam necis artifices arts perire sua."

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And the strong shall be as tow,.... "that strong one", who is eminently so; the little horn, whose look is more stout than his fellows, Daniel 7:20 the beast who had great power and authority given by the dragon, Revelation 13:2 who shall be cast alive into the lake of fire; when he will be like tow in those devouring flames, easily, quickly, and irrecoverably consumed, Daniel 7:11, Revelation 19:20.

and the maker of it as a spark, or "his work"; so the Targum,

"and the work of their hands shall be as a spark of fire;''

or like the embers and ashes of a coal, which are blown away and lost at once: so antichrist, and all his evil works, as well as all his evil workers under him, will be entirely consumed: or, as it may be rendered, "he that wrought him": that is, Satan, for his coming is after the working of Satan; he has his seat, power, and authority, from the dragon, the old serpent, and the devil, and may be truly called a creature of his, 2 Thessalonians 2:9.

and they shall both burn together; both the pope and the devil in the lake of fire and brimstone, into which they will both be cast, Revelation 20:10.

and none shall quench them; that fire will be unquenchable and everlasting; they will be tormented for ever and ever, and so will all the worshippers of the beast, Matthew 25:41. The Chaldee paraphrase is,

"so the wicked shall be consumed, and their evil works, and there shall be no mercy upon them.''

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

31. strong—powerful rulers (Am 2:9).

maker of it—rather, his work. He shall be at once the fuel, "tow," and the cause of the fire, by kindling the first "spark."

both—the wicked ruler, and "his work," which "is as a spark."

Isaiah 1:31 Parallel Commentaries

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Zion Corrupted
…29For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which you have desired, and you shall be confounded for the gardens that you have chosen. 30For you shall be as an oak whose leaf fades, and as a garden that has no water. 31And the strong shall be as wick, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.

Matthew 3:12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
Mark 9:43 If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out.
Isaiah 4:4 The Lord will wash away the filth of the women of Zion; he will cleanse the bloodstains from Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire.
Isaiah 5:24 Therefore, as tongues of fire lick up straw and as dry grass sinks down in the flames, so their roots will decay and their flowers blow away like dust; for they have rejected the law of the LORD Almighty and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel.
Isaiah 9:19 By the wrath of the LORD Almighty the land will be scorched and the people will be fuel for the fire; they will not spare one another.
Isaiah 24:6 Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore earth's inhabitants are burned up, and very few are left.
Isaiah 26:11 LORD, your hand is lifted high, but they do not see it. Let them see your zeal for your people and be put to shame; let the fire reserved for your enemies consume them.
Isaiah 33:11 You conceive chaff, you give birth to straw; your breath is a fire that consumes you.
Isaiah 34:10 It will not be quenched night or day; its smoke will rise forever. From generation to generation it will lie desolate; no one will ever pass through it again.
Isaiah 43:17 who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:
Isaiah 66:17 "Those who consecrate and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following one who is among those who eat the flesh of pigs, rats and other unclean things--they will meet their end together with the one they follow," declares the LORD.
Isaiah 66:24 "And they will go out and look on the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; the worms that eat them will not die, the fire that burns them will not be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind."