Isaiah 9:20 (DBY)

Passage

and he snatcheth on the right hand, and is hungry, and eateth on the left hand; and they are not satisfied. They eat every man the flesh of his own arm:

Nearby Context

Isaiah 9:18 For wickedness burneth as a fire: it devoureth briars and thorns, and kindleth in the thickets of the forest, and they go rolling up like a pillar of smoke.

Isaiah 9:19 Through the wrath of Jehovah of hosts is the land burned up, and the people is as fuel for fire: a man spareth not his brother;

Isaiah 9:20 and he snatcheth on the right hand, and is hungry, and eateth on the left hand; and they are not satisfied. They eat every man the flesh of his own arm:

Isaiah 9:21 Manasseh, Ephraim, and Ephraim, Manasseh; [and] they together are against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "snatcheth", "right", "hand", "hungry", "eateth", "left", and "satisfied". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "snatcheth" and "right", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "Through the wrath of Jehovah of hosts..." into verse 21's "Manasseh Ephraim and Ephraim Manasseh and they...", so "snatcheth" and "right" belong inside that flow. In Isaiah context, the local focus is the Holy One of Israel, judgment and restoration, the servant of the LORD, and Zion's hope.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "snatcheth" and "right" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.