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Isaiah 37:27

Old Testament Major Prophet ASV (1901)

What does Isaiah 37:27 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as a field [of grain] before it is grown up.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as a field [of grain] before it is grown up.
Isaiah 37:27 — American Standard Version

Context — Isaiah 37

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
24By thy servants hast thou defied the Lord, and hast said, With the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the innermost parts of Lebanon; and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir-trees thereof; and I will enter into its farthest height, the forest of its fruitful field;
25I have digged and drunk water, and with the sole of my feet will I dry up all the rivers of Egypt.
26Hast thou not heard how I have done it long ago, and formed it of ancient times? now have I brought it to pass, that it should be thine to lay waste fortified cities into ruinous heaps.
27Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as a field [of grain] before it is grown up.
28But I know thy sitting down, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy raging against me.
29Because of thy raging against me, and because thine arrogancy is come up into mine ears, therefore will I put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.
30And this shall be the sign unto thee: ye shall eat this year that which groweth of itself, and in the second year that which springeth of the same; and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof.
← Isaiah 37:26Isaiah 37:28 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, &c.] Or, “short of hand”f723; it was not in the power of their hands to help themselves, because the Lord took away their strength, having determined that they should be destroyed for their sins; otherwise it would not have been in the power of Sennacherib to have subdued them; this takes off greatly from the king of Assyria’s triumph, that they were a weak people, whom he had conquered, and were given up into his hands by the Lord, according to his purposes, or he had never been lord over them: they were dismayed and confounded; not so much at the sight of Sennacherib’s army, but because the Lord had dispirited them, and took away their…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Therefore--not because of thy power, but because I made them unable to withstand thee. grass--which easily withers (Isa 40:6; Psa 37:2). on . . . housetops--which having little earth to nourish it fades soonest (Psa 129:6-8). corn blasted before it be grown up--SMITH translates, "The cornfield (frail and tender), before the corn is grown."”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Therefore - Not because you have so great power; but because I have rendered them incapable of resisting you. Were of small power - Hebrew, ‘Short of hand;’ they were feeble, imbecile, unable to resist you. They were dismayed - Hebrew, ‘They were broken and ashamed.’ Their spirits sank; they were ashamed of their feeble powers of resistance; and they submitted to the ignominy of a surrender. They were as the grass of the field - The same idea is expressed by Sennacherib himself in Isaiah 10:15, though under a different image (see the note on that verse). The idea here is, as the grass of the field offers no resistance to the march of an army, so it was with the strongly fortified towns in…”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“their inhabitants: Isa 19:16; Num 14:9; Kg2 19:26; Psa 127:1, Psa 127:2; Jer 5:10, Jer 37:10 of small power: Heb. short of hand as the grass of: Isa 40:6-8; Psa 37:2, Psa 90:5, Psa 90:6, Psa 92:7, Psa 103:15, Psa 129:6; Jam 1:10, Jam 1:11; Pe1 1:24 Isaiah 37:28”
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Related study paths

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Sources and verification