The Meaning of Isaiah 47:13 Explained

Isaiah 47:13

KJV: Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee.

YLT: Thou hast been wearied in the multitude of thy counsels, Stand up, I pray thee, and save thee, Let the charmers of the heavens, Those looking on the stars, Those teaching concerning the months, From those things that come on thee!

Darby: Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the interpreters of the heavens, the observers of the stars, who predict according to the new moons what shall come upon thee, stand up, and save thee.

ASV: Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels: let now the astrologers, the star-gazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from the things that shall come upon thee.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Thou art wearied  in the multitude  of thy counsels.  Let now the astrologers,  the stargazers,  the monthly  prognosticators,  stand up,  and save  thee from [these things] that shall come  upon thee. 

What does Isaiah 47:13 Mean?

Context Summary

Isaiah 47:1-15 - The Penalty Of Trusting In Wickedness
Babylon dwelt in careless security. She was given to pleasures, Isaiah 47:8; and said in her heart that her vast crowd of astrologers, magicians, and priests, would certainly warn her of impending evil and deliver her. But nothing could be more absolute than her fall. For centuries she has been buried under mounds of desolation, while the Hebrew people, whom she so cruelly oppressed, are the monument of God's preserving mercy. The fact is that Babylon exceeded her duty. She was used as Jehovah's chastising rod upon the Hebrews, but she was merciless in the extreme in her behavior and for this excess she suffered. Compare Isaiah 47:6 with Zechariah 1:15.
Notice Isaiah 47:4. The prophet turns from the overthrow of the proud city to remind his people that Babylon's tribulation is due to the redeeming arm of God; and we must never forget that in the midst of her overthrow there was a thread of golden mercy. The loved that brooded over Nineveh must have been there. See Jonah 4:10-11. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 47

1  God's judgment upon Babylon and Chaldea
6  For their unmercifulness
7  Pride
10  And over-boldness
11  Shall be irresistible

What do the individual words in Isaiah 47:13 mean?

You are wearied in the multitude of your counsels Let Stand up now and save you - the astrologers the astrologers the stargazers [And] the prognosticators monthly from what shall come upon you
נִלְאֵ֖ית בְּרֹ֣ב עֲצָתָ֑יִךְ יַעַמְדוּ־ נָ֨א וְיוֹשִׁיעֻ֜ךְ [הברו] (הֹבְרֵ֣י) שָׁמַ֗יִם הַֽחֹזִים֙ בַּכּ֣וֹכָבִ֔ים מֽוֹדִיעִם֙ לֶחֳדָשִׁ֔ים מֵאֲשֶׁ֥ר יָבֹ֖אוּ עָלָֽיִךְ

נִלְאֵ֖ית  You  are  wearied 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, second person feminine singular
Root: לָאָה  
Sense: to be weary, be impatient, be grieved, be offended.
בְּרֹ֣ב  in  the  multitude 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: רֹב  
Sense: multitude, abundance, greatness.
עֲצָתָ֑יִךְ  of  your  counsels 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct, second person feminine singular
Root: עֵצָה 
Sense: counsel, advice, purpose.
יַעַמְדוּ־  Let  Stand  up 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: עָמַד  
Sense: to stand, remain, endure, take one’s stand.
נָ֨א  now 
Parse: Interjection
Root: נָא  
Sense: I (we) pray, now, please.
וְיוֹשִׁיעֻ֜ךְ  and  save  you 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Conjunctive imperfect, third person masculine plural, second person feminine singular
Root: יָשַׁע 
Sense: to save, be saved, be delivered.
[הברו]  - 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
(הֹבְרֵ֣י)  the  astrologers 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct
Root: הָבַר  
Sense: (Qal) to divide.
שָׁמַ֗יִם  the  astrologers 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: שָׁמַיִם  
Sense: heaven, heavens, sky.
בַּכּ֣וֹכָבִ֔ים  stargazers 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: כֹּוכָב  
Sense: star.
מֽוֹדִיעִם֙  [And]  the  prognosticators 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Participle, masculine plural
Root: דָּעָה 
Sense: to know.
לֶחֳדָשִׁ֔ים  monthly 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: חֹדֶשׁ  
Sense: the new moon, month, monthly.
מֵאֲשֶׁ֥ר  from  what 
Parse: Preposition-m, Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
יָבֹ֖אוּ  shall  come 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
עָלָֽיִךְ  upon  you 
Parse: Preposition, second person feminine singular
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.