Isaiah 9:18 (GNV)

Passage

For wickednesse burneth as a fire: it deuoureth the briers and the thornes and will kindle in the thicke places of the forest: and they shall mount vp like the lifting vp of smoke.

Nearby Context

Isaiah 9:16 For the leaders of the people cause them to erre: and they that are led by them are deuoured.

Isaiah 9:17 Therefore shall the Lord haue no pleasure in their yong men, neither will he haue compassion of their fatherlesse and of their widowes: for euery one is an hypocrite and wicked, and euery mouth speaketh follie: yet for all this his wrath is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out stil.

Isaiah 9:18 For wickednesse burneth as a fire: it deuoureth the briers and the thornes and will kindle in the thicke places of the forest: and they shall mount vp like the lifting vp of smoke.

Isaiah 9:19 By the wrath of the Lord of hostes shall the land be darkened, and the people shall be as the meate of ye fire: no man shall spare his brother.

Isaiah 9:20 And he shall snatch at the right hand, and be hungrie: and he shall eate on the left hand, and shall not be satisfied: euery one shall eate ye flesh of his owne arme.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "wickednesse", "burneth", "fire", "deuoureth", "briers", "thornes", "kindle", and "thicke". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "wickednesse" and "burneth", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

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