The Meaning of Isaiah 31:2 Explained

Isaiah 31:2

KJV: Yet he also is wise, and will bring evil, and will not call back his words: but will arise against the house of the evildoers, and against the help of them that work iniquity.

YLT: And He also is wise, and bringeth in evil, And His words He hath not turned aside, And He hath risen against a house of evil doers, And against the help of workers of iniquity.

Darby: But he also is wise, and he bringeth evil, and recalleth not his words; and he will arise against the house of evildoers, and against the help of workers of iniquity.

ASV: Yet he also is wise, and will bring evil, and will not call back his words, but will arise against the house of the evil-doers, and against the help of them that work iniquity.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Yet he also [is] wise,  and will bring  evil,  and will not call back  his words:  but will arise  against the house  of the evildoers,  and against the help  of them that work  iniquity. 

What does Isaiah 31:2 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The politicians in Jerusalem who advocated alliance with Egypt undoubtedly considered their policy wise (cf. Isaiah 5:21; Isaiah 19:11-15; Isaiah 28:14-15; Isaiah 30:1-2). But Isaiah , in irony, pointed out that the Lord, who purposed disaster for those who refused to trust Him, was the truly Wise One. He would be faithful to His Word to oppose the party of evildoers and those wicked "helpers" in whom the Judeans trusted.

Context Summary

Isaiah 31:1-9 - A Nobler Future For The Nation
Isaiah continues to denounce the contemplated alliance with Egypt. His compatriots put their trust in horses and chariots, and refused the help of their fathers' God. Yet was He not so wise as the Egyptians, and equally as strong! And were they not running a fearful risk in rejecting One who would not recall His words of threatened punishment to those who refused His help? At best, the Egyptians were men, and not God, and their cavalry, flesh. If only they would trust Him, God would defy their foes, as a lion defies a company of unarmed shepherds, Isaiah 31:4. The mother-bird hovers over her brood to protect it from the kestrel; so would He spread His covering wing over Jerusalem, Isaiah 31:5. We may have deeply revolted, yet we may turn back to God with the certainty that He will receive and rescue us, Isaiah 31:6.
Sennacherib fell by the sword of his sons. Compare Isaiah 32:8 with 2 Kings 19:36-37. How different is our glorious King, whose many-sided nature meets all our needs! Isaiah 32:2. Before Him all men are unveiled in their true characters. Only those who are royal in heart shall stand before Him, Isaiah 31:8. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 31

1  The prophet shows the folly and danger of trusting Egypt, and forsaking God
6  He exhorts to conversion
8  He shows the fall of Assyria

What do the individual words in Isaiah 31:2 mean?

And yet also He [is] wise and will bring disaster and His words not will call back but will arise against the house of evildoers and against the help of those who work iniquity
וְגַם־ ה֤וּא חָכָם֙ וַיָּ֣בֵא רָ֔ע וְאֶת־ דְּבָרָ֖יו לֹ֣א הֵסִ֑יר וְקָם֙ עַל־ בֵּ֣ית מְרֵעִ֔ים וְעַל־ עֶזְרַ֖ת פֹּ֥עֲלֵי אָֽוֶן

וְגַם־  And  yet  also 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Conjunction
Root: גַּם  
Sense: also, even, indeed, moreover, yea.
ה֤וּא  He  [is] 
Parse: Pronoun, third person masculine singular
Root: הוּא 
Sense: he, she, it.
חָכָם֙  wise 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: חָכָם  
Sense: wise, wise (man).
וַיָּ֣בֵא  and  will  bring 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
רָ֔ע  disaster 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: רַע 
Sense: bad, evil.
דְּבָרָ֖יו  His  words 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: דָּבָר  
Sense: speech, word, speaking, thing.
הֵסִ֑יר  will  call  back 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: סוּר 
Sense: to turn aside, depart.
וְקָם֙  but  will  arise 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: קוּם 
Sense: to rise, arise, stand, rise up, stand up.
עַל־  against 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
בֵּ֣ית  the  house 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
מְרֵעִ֔ים  of  evildoers 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Participle, masculine plural
Root: מֵרֵעַ 
Sense: to be bad, be evil.
וְעַל־  and  against 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
עֶזְרַ֖ת  the  help 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: עֶזְרָה  
Sense: help, succour, assistance.
פֹּ֥עֲלֵי  of  those  who  work 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct
Root: פָּעַל  
Sense: to do, make.
אָֽוֶן  iniquity 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אָוֶן 
Sense: trouble, wickedness, sorrow.