Isaiah 9:12 (DRB)

Passage

The Syrians from the east, and, the Philistines from the west: and they shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his indignation is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

Nearby Context

Isaiah 9:10 The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with square stones: they have cut down the sycamores, but we will change them for cedars.

Isaiah 9:11 And the Lord shall set up the enemies of Rasin over him, and shall bring on his enemies in a crowd:

Isaiah 9:12 The Syrians from the east, and, the Philistines from the west: and they shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his indignation is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

Isaiah 9:13 And the people are not returned to him who hath struck them, and have not sought after the Lord of hosts.

Isaiah 9:14 And the Lord shall destroy out of Israel the head and the tail, him that bendeth down, and him that holdeth back, in one day.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "syrians", "east", "philistines", "west", "shall", "devour", "israel", and "open". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "syrians" and "east", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "And the Lord shall set up the..." into verse 13's "And the people are not returned to...", so "syrians" and "east" 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 "syrians" and "east" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.