Isaiah 47:11 - Exposition

Therefore shall evil come upon thee . Connect this with the first clause of Isaiah 47:10 , "Thou hast trusted in thine own evil (moral), therefore shall evil (physical) fall upon thee." The same word, ra ' ah , is used in both places. Thou shalt not know from whence it riseth . So the Vulgate, Vitringa, Gesenius, and Dr. Kay. But the bulk of modern commentators (Hitzig, Ewald, Delitzsch, Nagelsbach, Weir, Cheyne) render, "Thou wilt not know how to charm it away. " Both meanings are possible, and are almost equally good; but the parallelism of the clauses is in favour of the latter rendering. Shakhrah should correspond in construction, as in sound, with kapp'rah. To put it off; literally, to expiate; i.e. to get rid of it by means of expiatory rites. Which thou shalt not know; or, of which thou shalt not be aware. (On the carelessness and want of foresight displayed by the Babylonians, see the comment on Isaiah 47:8 .)