The Meaning of Isaiah 1:31 Explained

Isaiah 1:31

KJV: 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.

YLT: 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!

Darby: 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.

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

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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]. 

What does Isaiah 1:31 Mean?

Context Summary

Isaiah 1:21-31 - A Nation Purged Of Dross By Disaster
The great lover of our souls does not abandon His people even when they spurn the first overtures of His appealing pity. Though they refuse to yield to them, He refuses to cast them off; and sets Himself by the cleansing judgments of His providence to wean them from the evil ways they have chosen and to win them back to Himself. If only Jerusalem had now listened to Isaiah's earnest pleadings, she would never have been carried away into the seventy years' captivity in a land of strangers. This is the cleansing fire referred to in Isaiah 1:25. Their ground of confidence, whether in themselves or their allies, would be destroyed, Isaiah 1:29-30; the ringleaders of the evil which had brought them to desolation would be exterminated; and there would emerge a new and purified people as in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. Let us thank God for the cleansing fires in national and personal experience. Let us not fear them when plied by the hand of love. See Malachi 3:3 and John 15:2-3. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 1

1  Isaiah complains of Judah for her rebellion
5  He laments her judgments
10  He upbraids their whole service
16  He exhorts to repentance, with promises and threats
21  Bewailing their wickedness, he denounces God's judgments
25  He promises grace
28  And threatens destruction to the wicked

What do the individual words in Isaiah 1:31 mean?

And shall be the strong as tinder and the work of it as a spark and shall burn the two of them together and no one will quench [them] -
וְהָיָ֤ה הֶחָסֹן֙ לִנְעֹ֔רֶת וּפֹעֲל֖וֹ לְנִיצ֑וֹץ וּבָעֲר֧וּ שְׁנֵיהֶ֛ם יַחְדָּ֖ו וְאֵ֥ין מְכַבֶּֽה ס

וְהָיָ֤ה  And  shall  be 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
הֶחָסֹן֙  the  strong 
Parse: Article, Adjective, masculine singular
Root: חָסׄן  
Sense: strong.
לִנְעֹ֔רֶת  as  tinder 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, feminine singular
Root: נְעֹרֶת  
Sense: a strand of flax, tow (as shaken from flax when beaten).
וּפֹעֲל֖וֹ  and  the  work  of  it 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: פֹּעַל  
Sense: work, deed, doing.
לְנִיצ֑וֹץ  as  a  spark 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular
Root: נִיצֹוץ  
Sense: spark.
וּבָעֲר֧וּ  and  shall  burn 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person common plural
Root: בָּעַר 
Sense: to burn, consume, kindle, be kindled.
שְׁנֵיהֶ֛ם  the  two  of  them 
Parse: Number, mdc, third person masculine plural
Root: שְׁנַיִם  
Sense: two.
יַחְדָּ֖ו  together 
Parse: Adverb
Root: יַחַד 
Sense: union, unitedness adv.
וְאֵ֥ין  and  no  one 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb
Root: אַיִן 
Sense: nothing, not, nought n.
מְכַבֶּֽה  will  quench  [them] 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Participle, masculine singular
Root: כָּבָה  
Sense: to quench, put out, be put out, be quenched, be extinguished.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation