Isaiah 1:20
But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
Study Note
Study Note
The negative counterpart to verse 19 makes explicit the consequence of rebellion: 'you shall be devoured with the sword' — and clinches the oracle with 'for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.' The phrase 'the mouth of the Lord has spoken' functions as a prophetic authentication formula (also Isaiah 40:5; 58:14), underscoring that the conditional judgment is not a human prediction but divine word. The image of being 'devoured' (eaten) by the sword anticipates the reversal of 1:19 ('eat the good of the land') — those who refuse to eat God's good will be eaten instead. The literary structure of 1:19-20 as a bilateral covenant oath is identical to the blessings and curses of Deuteronomy 28, confirming Isaiah's deep indebtedness to Deuteronomic theology.
Other Translations
but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword; for the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it.
And if ye refuse, and have rebelled, <FI>By<Fi> the sword ye are consumed, For the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken.
But if your hearts are turned against me, I will send destruction on you by the sword; so the Lord has said.
Cross References
And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall …
God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he …
But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king.
And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should …
Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen; …
But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the …
Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.
Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war.
And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of …
Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of …