Isaiah 17:14 (KJV)

What does Isaiah 17:14 mean?

Isaiah 17:14 describes a sudden reversal for people who have plundered Isaiah’s people. The threat is present in the evening, but by morning the attacker is gone. Isaiah presents this as the fate awaiting those who seize goods from his people.

The verse turns from the roaring nations in verse 13 to the view of those under threat. The words “us” and “our” place the speaker among the people who have suffered loss. The shift from “he” to “them” presents the attacker as both a single threat and a group of plunderers.

The Hebrew behind Isaiah 17:14

• “trouble” — בַּלָּהָה (ballahah): This word can mean terror or something that causes alarm. It gives the evening scene a sense of fear, not merely inconvenience.
• “portion” — חֵלֶק (cheleq): A portion is a share assigned to someone. Here the word pictures the attackers receiving a share of their own: a sudden end to their threat.
• “lot” — גּוֹרָל (goral): A lot can be an object used to decide an allotted share. Alongside “portion,” the word describes what is assigned to those who rob Isaiah’s people.

Why Isaiah 17:14 matters

• The attackers’ strength is not the final word. Just before this verse, Isaiah compares the nations to roaring waters, yet verse 14 says the threat has vanished by morning.
• The last line identifies whose fate Isaiah is describing. “Them that spoil us” and “them that rob us” are the people taking from others, not the people whose goods have been taken.