Isaiah 8:4

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

For before the boy knows how to say 'My father' or 'My mother,' the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off to the king of Assyria.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

כִּ֗י בְּטֶ֙רֶם֙ יֵדַ֣ע הַנַּ֔עַר קְרֹ֖א אָבִ֣י וְאִמִּ֑י יִשָּׂ֣א ׀ אֶת־חֵ֣יל דַּמֶּ֗שֶׂק וְאֵת֙ שְׁלַ֣ל שֹׁמְר֔וֹן לִפְנֵ֖י מֶ֥לֶךְ אַשּֽׁוּר׃

Transliteration

kî before yēdaʿ ha-naʿar qərōʾ ʾābî and-ʾimmî yiśśāʾ ʾet-ḥêl dammeśeq and-ʾēt šəlal šōmərôn before melek ʾaššûr

Grammar Details

• *kî*: conjunction - for/because
• *bəṭerem*: preposition + noun - before
• *yēdaʿ*: qal imperfect 3rd masculine singular - he will know
• *ha-naʿar*: definite article + noun masculine singular - the boy/child/youth
• *qərōʾ*: qal infinitive construct - to call/cry
• *ʾābî*: noun masculine singular construct + 1st person singular suffix - my father
• *ʾimmî*: noun feminine singular construct + 1st person singular suffix - my mother
• *yiśśāʾ*: niphal imperfect 3rd masculine singular - will be carried away
• *ḥêl*: noun masculine singular construct - wealth/power/strength/army
• *dammeśeq*: proper noun - Damascus
• *šəlal*: noun masculine singular construct - spoil/plunder
• *šōmərôn*: proper noun - Samaria
• *lifnê*: preposition + plural construct of *pānîm* - before
• *melek*: noun masculine singular construct - king of
• *ʾaššûr*: proper noun - Assyria

Word Meanings

• *yēdaʿ qərōʾ*: knows to call/is able to say/can cry out
• *ḥêl*: wealth/power/resources/army
• *yiśśāʾ*: will be carried away/will be taken away/will be removed

Other Translations

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

  For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.

• KJV1611 – Modern English

  For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.

• King James Version 1611 (Original)

  For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and, My mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be carried away before the king of Assyria.

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  For why, or euer the childe shal haue knowlege to saye: Abi and Im, yt is father, and mother: shal ye riches of Damascus and ye substaunce of Samaria be take awaye, thorow the Kynge of ye Assirians.

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  For before the childe shall haue knowledge to crye, My father, & my mother, he shall take away the riches of Damascus and the spoyle of Samaria, before the King of Asshur.

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  For why, or euer the chylde shall haue knowledge to crye my father and mother, shall the riches of Damascus and the spoyle of Samaria be taken away before the kyng of the Assyrians.

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and, My mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be carried away before the king of Assyria.

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  for before the youth doth know to cry, My father, and My mother, one taketh away the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria, before the king of Asshur.'

• American Standard Version (1901)

  For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and, My mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be carried away before the king of Assyria.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and, My mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be carried away before the king of Assyria.

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  For before the child is able to say, Father, or, Mother, the wealth of Damascus and the goods of Samaria will be taken away by the king of Assyria.

• World English Bible (2000)

  For before the child knows how to say, 'My father,' and, 'My mother,' the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away by the king of Assyria."

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  for before the child knows how to cry out,‘My father’ or‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.”

Referenced Verses

• Rom 9:11 : 11 Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God’s purpose in election might stand,
• Jonah 4:11 : 11 So should I not care about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 people who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?'
• Isa 10:6-9 : 6 I send him against a godless nation; I dispatch him against a people at My wrath, to seize plunder, to take spoil, and to trample them down like mud in the streets. 7 But this is not what he intends, nor does he plan it in his heart. Instead, his purpose is to destroy and to cut off many nations. 8 For he says, 'Are not all my princes kings? 9 Is not Calno like Carchemish? Is not Hamath like Arpad? And is not Samaria like Damascus? 10 Just as my hand seized the kingdoms of idols, whose carved images exceeded those of Jerusalem and Samaria, 11 shall I not do to Jerusalem and her idols as I have done to Samaria and her images? 12 When the Lord has finished all His work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, He will punish the pride of the king of Assyria's heart and the glory of his haughty eyes. 13 For he says, 'By the strength of my hand I have done this, and by my wisdom, because I have understanding. I removed the boundaries of nations, plundered their treasures, and brought down their mighty ones like a bull.' 14 My hand seized the wealth of nations like one finds a nest. As one gathers abandoned eggs, I gathered all the earth; no wing fluttered, no beak opened to chirp.
• Deut 1:39 : 39 And the little ones you said would be taken as plunder—your children who do not yet know good from evil—they will enter the land. I will give it to them, and they will take possession of it.
• 2 Kgs 15:29 : 29 In the days of Pekah, king of Israel, Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, came and captured Ijon, Abel Beth Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, Galilee, and all the land of Naphtali. He took the people into exile to Assyria.
• 2 Kgs 16:9 : 9 The king of Assyria complied with him, marched up to Damascus, seized it, exiled its people to Kir, and killed Rezin.
• 2 Kgs 17:3 : 3 Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, came up against him, and Hoshea became his vassal and paid him tribute.
• 2 Kgs 17:5-6 : 5 Then the king of Assyria invaded the whole land, went up to Samaria, and besieged it for three years. 6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, along the Habor River, and in the cities of Media.
• Isa 7:8-9 : 8 For the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people. 9 The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah's son. If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.
• Isa 7:15-16 : 15 He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right. 16 For before the boy knows to reject what is wrong and choose what is right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.
• Isa 17:3 : 3 The fortress will disappear from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus; the remnant of Aram will be like the glory of the Israelites, declares the LORD of Hosts.