Isaiah 9:18 (DRB)

Passage

For wickedness is kindled as a fire, it shall devour the brier and the thorn: and shall kindle in the thicket of the forest, and it shall be wrapped up in smoke ascending on high.

Nearby Context

Isaiah 9:16 And they that call this people blessed, shall cause them to err: and they that are called blessed, shall be thrown down, headlong.

Isaiah 9:17 Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men: neither shall he have mercy on their fatherless, and widows: for every one is a hypocrite and wicked, and every mouth hath spoken folly. For all this his indignation is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

Isaiah 9:18 For wickedness is kindled as a fire, it shall devour the brier and the thorn: and shall kindle in the thicket of the forest, and it shall be wrapped up in smoke ascending on high.

Isaiah 9:19 By the wrath of the Lord of hosts the land is troubled, and the people shall be as fuel for the fire: no man shall spare his brother.

Isaiah 9:20 And he shall turn to the right hand, and shall be hungry: and shall eat on the left hand, and shall not be filled: every one shall eat the flesh of his own arm: Manasses Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasses, and they together shall be against Juda.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "wickedness", "kindled", "fire", "shall", "devour", "brier", and "thorn". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "wickedness" and "kindled", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "Therefore the Lord shall have no joy..." into verse 19's "By the wrath of the Lord of...", so "wickedness" and "kindled" 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 "wickedness" and "kindled" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.