For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?

ISAIAH 14:27KJV
Know the Bible

Isaiah 14:27 (KJV)

What does Isaiah 14:27 mean?

Isaiah 14:27 says that the LORD’s decision against Assyria cannot be overturned by anyone. The verse presents his action as certain because no one has the power to cancel what he has decided or stop him from carrying it out.

Following the promise about Assyria in verse 25, Isaiah pictures the LORD’s hand already stretched out to act. The two questions expect the same answer: no one can interfere.

The Hebrew behind Isaiah 14:27

  • “disannul” — פָּרַר (parar): This word can mean to break or frustrate a plan. The old English “disannul” asks whether anyone can make the LORD’s decision fail.
  • “hosts” — צָבָא (tsava): This word often refers to an army or a large organized company. The title “LORD of hosts” presents the LORD as commander of powerful forces.

Why Isaiah 14:27 matters

  • The questions point to a particular decision in the passage. Isaiah 14:25 speaks of breaking Assyria in the LORD’s land and removing its burden from his people.
  • The verse moves from a decision to an action. “Hath purposed” states what the LORD has decided; his “hand” stretched out pictures him carrying that decision into effect.
  • The questions address the possibility of resistance. “Who shall disannul it?” and “who shall turn it back?” challenge anyone who might claim power to oppose the LORD’s purpose.

Where else these words appear

“disannul” Hebrew H6565 · used in 46 verses

  • Genesis 17:14 And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.
  • Ezra 4:5 And hired counsellors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.
  • Isaiah 33:8 The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth: he hath broken the covenant, he hath despised the cities, he regardeth no man.

“purposed” Hebrew H3289 · used in 74 verses

  • Exodus 18:19 Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to God-ward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God:
  • 2 Chronicles 22:4 Wherefore he did evil in the sight of the LORD like the house of Ahab: for they were his counsellors after the death of his father to his destruction.
  • Isaiah 1:26 And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city.