Isaiah 9:10

Isaiah 9:10

The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars.

a. NLT: They said, “We will replace the broken bricks of our ruins with finished stone, and replant the felled sycamore-fig trees with cedars.” [Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.]

b. NIV: “The bricks have fallen down, but we will rebuild with dressed stone; the fig trees have been felled, but we will replace them with cedars.” [THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.]

c. YLT: 'Bricks have fallen, and hewn work we build, Sycamores have been cut down, and cedars we renew.' [The Young's Literal Translation was translated by Robert Young, who believed in a strictly literal translation of God's word. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.]

d. Amplified Bible Classic: The bricks have fallen, but we will build [all the better] with hewn stones; the sycamores have been cut down, but we will put [costlier] cedars in their place. [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

e. Septuagint [Greek Old Testament]: The bricks are fallen down, but come, let us hew stones, and cut down sycamores and cedars, and let us build for ourselves a tower.

f. Stone Edition Torah/Prophets/Writings: Bricks have fallen, we will rebuild with hewn stone; sycamores have been cut down, we will replace them with cedars. [The Artscroll Series/Stone Edition, THE TANACH--STUDENT SIZE EDITION Copyright 1996, 1998 by Mesorah Publications, Ldt.]

1. “The bricks are fallen down…”

a. bricks [Strong: 3843 lbenah leb-ay-naw' from 3835; a brick (from the whiteness of the clay):--(altar of) brick, tile.] [Gesenius: a brick, a burnt tile.]

b. fallen down [Strong: 5307 naphal naw-fal' a primitive root; to fall, in a great variety of applications (intransitive or causative, literal or figurative):--be accepted, cast (down, self, (lots), out), cease, die, divide (by lot), (let) fail, (cause to, let, make, ready to) fall (away, down, -en, -ing), fell(-ing), fugitive, have (inheritance), inferior, be judged (by mistake for 6419), lay (along), (cause to) lie down, light (down), be (X hast) lost, lying, overthrow, overwhelm, perish, present(-ed, -ing), (make to) rot, slay, smite out, X surely, throw down.] [Gesenius: to fall, lie, be cast down, fail, to fall (of violent death), to fall prostrate, prostrate oneself before, to fall upon, attack, desert, fall away to , go away to, fall into the hand of, to fall short, fail, fall out, turn out, result, to settle, waste away, be offered, be inferior to, to lie, lie prostrate, to cause to fall, fell, throw down, knock out, lay prostrate, to overthrow, to make the lot fall, assign by lot, apportion by lot, to let drop, cause to fail (fig.), to cause to fall, to throw or prostrate oneself, throw oneself upon, to lie prostrate, prostrate oneself, to fall.]

2. “…but we will build with hewn stones…”

a. [but we will] build [Strong: 1129 banah baw-naw' a primitive root; to build (literally and figuratively):--(begin to) build(-er), obtain children, make, repair, set (up), X surely.]

b. [with] hewn stones [Strong: 1496 gaziyth gaw-zeeth' from 1491; something cut, i.e. dressed stone:--hewed, hewn stone, wrought.

3. “…the sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars.”

a. [the] sycamores [Strong: 8256 shaqam shaw-kawm' or (feminine) shiqmah {shik-maw'}; of uncertain derivation; a sycamore (usually the tree):--sycamore (fruit, tree).]

b. [are] cut down [Strong: 1438 gada` gaw-dah' a primitive root; to fell a tree; generally, to destroy anything:--cut (asunder, in sunder, down, off), hew down.]  

c. [but we will] change [them] [Strong: 2498 chalaph khaw-laf' a primitive root; properly, to slide by, i.e. (by implication) to hasten away, pass on, spring up, pierce or change:--abolish, alter, change, cut off, go on forward, grow up, be over, pass (away, on, through), renew, sprout, strike through. 

d. [into] cedars [Strong: 730 'erez eh-rez' from 729; a cedar tree (from the tenacity of its roots):--cedar (tree).] 

 

1). These words were spoken by the leaders of Israel after an attack by Assyria; an attack that was warned about by God to those leaders concerning their rebellion toward Him. The warning was mentioned in the previous two verses.

a). Isaiah 9:8, 9 The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel.

9:9 And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of heart,

b). The words of Isaiah 9:10 were spoken as the previous verse describes, “in pride and stoutness of heart” to God. As the following Commentaries relate the rebellion they were demonstrating was incredible, nevertheless the account written by Isaiah is true.

2). John Gill’s Commentary:  The bricks are fallen down ... Houses made of bricks, which were without the cities besieged and destroyed by the Assyrians; of which the haughty Israelites made no account, looking upon such a desolation as little, or no loss at all: but we will build with hewn stone, so that the houses will be better and stronger, more beautiful, and more durable: the sycamores are cut down; which grew in the fields, and outer parts of the cities, and were but a mean sort of wood, and which the Assyrians cut down to serve several purposes in their siege; of this sort of trees… but we will change them into cedars; that is, will plant cedars in place of them; trees tall and large, very delightful to look at, of great worth and usefulness, and very durable; though this may regard not so much the planting of them as the use of them in building, and the sense be agreeable to the former clause; that as, instead of brick, they would build houses with hewn stone; so, instead of sycamore wood, which was not so substantial and durable, and fit for building, they would make use of cedar, which was both beautiful and lasting; so the Septuagint,"the bricks are fallen, let us hew stones, and cut down sycamores and cedars, and build for ourselves a tower;'' and so the Arabic version; so that, upon the whole, they flattered themselves they should be gainers, and not losers, by the Assyrian invasion; thus deriding it, and despising the prophecy concerning it.

3). Dake: “In this verse we have the defiance of the people against the judgments of God, the people saying that the bricks are thrown down, but we will build with stronger material-large hewn stones and cedars that are stronger than sycamores.”

4). Pulpit Commentary: The Israelites probably alluded to damage done by Tiglath-Pileser in his first invasion. 

5). Geneva Study Bible: We were but weak, when the enemy overcame us, but we will make ourselves so strong, that we will neither care for our enemies, nor fear God's threatenings.

Additional Notes

This would be just another study of a verse in Isaiah if not for the fascinating events that occurred on September 11,2001 and the wonderful work of Rabbi Jonathan Cahn in his book The Harbinger, who did a powerful study on the events that began on September 11, 2001. The notes I have posted here are just events that I have copied from his work.

1. On September 12, 2001, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle spoke the following words on the Senate floor in response to the attack on 911. [Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 118, Wednesday, September 12, 2001. Senate, Page S9283] “As an American, as an elected representative, I am outraged. As a husband and a father, I am pained beyond words. Last night we sent the message to the world that, even in the face of such cowardly and heinous acts, the doors of democracy will not close. This joint resolution we laid down today condemns yesterday's attacks, expresses our sympathy for the victims, and our support for the President as our Commander in Chief.   The world should know that the Members of both parties in both Houses stand united. The full resources of our Government will be brought to bear in aiding the search and rescue and in hunting down those responsible and those who may have aided or harbored them.  Nothing--nothing--can replace the losses that have been suffered. I know there is only the smallest measure of inspiration that can be taken from this devastation. But there is a passage in the Bible from Isaiah that I think speaks to all of us at times such as this: “The bricks have fallen down, but we will rebuild with dressed stone; the fig trees have been felled, but we will     replace them with cedars.” That is what we will do. We will rebuild and we will recover. The people of America will stand strong together because the people of America have always stood together. And those of us privileged to serve this great Nation will stand with you. God bless the people of America.”

a. The Senate Majority leader had no idea the words he was quoting from the Scripture were actually a statement of pride and rebellion uttered by the leaders of Israel directed to God after God allowed the Assyrians to launch an attack upon the northern communities of Israel in approximately 740 B.C.

2. Possible fulfillment of  “The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones…”  On July 4, 2004 the Governor of New York dedicated for the cornerstone of a new tower, a 20 ton piece of New York granite, hewn and polished. Interestingly the Septuagint of this verse is 

a. Septuagint Isaiah 9:10 The bricks are fallen down, but come, let us hew stones, and cut down sycamores and cedars, and let us build for ourselves a tower.

3. Possible fulfillment of “…the sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars.” On the morning of September 11, 2001 as the towers were crashing to the ground, a steel beam shot out from one of the towers and struck a tree in the next block on the grounds of St. Paul’s Chapel. It was a large sycamore tree. It destroyed the tree. What remains of the tree is the stump that was placed along with a plaque commemorating it. In September of 2003 a cedar tree was planted where the original sycamore had been.

4. On September 11,2004 Senator John Edwards spoke these words to the Congressional Black Caucus Prayer Breakfast. “Good morning. Today, on this day of remembrance and mourning, we have the Lord's word to get us through. "The bricks have fallen, but we will build with dressed stones; the sycamores have been cut down, but we will put cedars in their place.” 

a. Again, just as Senator Tom Daschle, Senator Edwards has no clue what those words mean. They think they are speaking words of comfort, yet in reality they are speaking words of rebellion against the Lord.