What Does Isaiah 31:8 Mean?

“fall”

to fall, in a great variety of applications (intransitive or causative, literal or figurative)

“Then shall the Assyrian”

ashshur, the second son of shem; also his descendants and the country occupied by them (i.e., assyria), its region and its empire

“and the sword”

drought; also a cutting instrument (from its destructive effect), as a knife, sword, or other sharp implement

not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles

“not of a mighty man”

a man as an individual or a male person; often used as an adjunct to a more definite term (and in such cases frequently not expressed in translation)

“and the sword”

drought; also a cutting instrument (from its destructive effect), as a knife, sword, or other sharp implement

not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles

“not of a mean man”

ruddy i.e., a human being (an individual or the species, mankind, etc.)

“shall devour”

to eat (literally or figuratively)

“him but he shall flee”

to flit, i.e., vanish away (subside, escape; causatively, chase, impel, deliver)

“from”

the face (as the part that turns); used in a great variety of applications (literally and figuratively); also (with prepositional prefix) as a preposi

“and the sword”

drought; also a cutting instrument (from its destructive effect), as a knife, sword, or other sharp implement

“and his young men”

properly, selected, i.e., a youth (often collective)

“shall be discomfited”

properly, a burden (as causing to faint), i.e., a tax in the form of forced labor

to exist, i.e., be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary)