KJV ORIGINAL
For wickedness burneth as the fire: it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest, and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke.
Close to the original. Clear modern English.
✦ MADE SIMPLE
Evil spreads like a wildfire: it will consume the weeds and thorns, and will ignite the thick woods of the forest, and they will rise up like billowing smoke.
⚡ THE BOTTOM LINE
The writer is describing how wickedness spreads destructively through society like an unstoppable fire that consumes everything in its path.
📚 Historical Context
Isaiah was prophesying during a time when the northern kingdom of Israel was experiencing moral decay and facing God's judgment. The people had turned away from God's ways, embracing idolatry and injustice. This verse is part of a larger passage describing the consequences of their rebellion and the coming Assyrian invasion as divine judgment.
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