as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil— to make your name known to your adversaries, and that the nations might tremble at your presence!
English Standard Version (ESV)
God's power is depicted not just as overwhelming force, but as a consuming intensity that melts and boils, utterly transforming what it touches. This isn't just a display of power to intimidate enemies, but an active, almost volatile presence designed to make His name and character undeniably known.
as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil— to make your name known to your adversaries, and that the nations might tremble at your presence!
English Standard Version (ESV)
The people of Israel are crying out to God in distress, confessing their sin and the resulting devastation of Jerusalem and the temple. They're pleading with God to act decisively, comparing His power to natural forces like fire and boiling water, so that His enemies will know He is God and tremble before Him. This plea is rooted in their desperate hope for divine intervention and restoration, recalling God's powerful acts in the past to save His people.
Imagine a force so potent it makes mountains melt and water boil. This verse paints a picture of God's overwhelming power, not just as a force of nature, but as a deliberate act.
Isaiah uses vivid natural imagery to describe God's appearance and power. The comparison to fire kindling brushwood and boiling water highlights the intensity and unstoppable nature of God's presence.
Why does God display such overwhelming power? It's not for His own ego, but for a profound purpose that extends to His adversaries and the nations.
The ultimate goal of this powerful manifestation is to reveal God's identity and might.
Ask a follow-up
Understand the original words
goy · Hebrew Noun
A general term for the various people groups of the world, often used in contrast to the covenant people of God, implying the scope of God’s sovereignty over all creation.
This passage powerfully expresses a desperate longing for God's direct intervention. It reflects a community in crisis, recalling past displays of God's power (like the Sinai theophany, implied by the 'fire' imagery) amidst current suffering and the fear of powerful enemies, possibly recalling the terror of the Assyrian invasions or the devastation of the Babylonian conquest.
c. 740 BC
Isaiah's Ministry Begins
Isaiah begins his prophetic ministry in Judah, a time of political tension and growing Assyrian dominance.
722 BC
Fall of Samaria and Northern Kingdom
Assyria conquers the Northern Kingdom of Israel, exiling its people and scattering them. This event deeply impacted Judah, highlighting their vulnerability.
c. 701 BC— this verse
Assyrian Invasion of Judah
Assyrian king Sennacherib invades Judah, conquering many cities and threatening Jerusalem. This event instilled deep fear and a longing for divine intervention.
Post-Exilic Period (after 586 BC)
Babylonian Exile
Judah is conquered by Babylon, Jerusalem and the Temple are destroyed, and the people are exiled. This period profoundly shaped Jewish identity and eschatological hopes.
Post-Exilic Period (after 538 BC)
Return from Exile
Cyrus the Great allows the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple. Despite rebuilding efforts, the community faced hardship and a sense of God's distant presence.
This passage describes God's powerful, fiery descent on Mount Sinai, which directly parallels Isaiah's imagery of God's presence causing mountains to melt and water to boil, showing a powerful display of divine might.
Psalm 97:3-5These verses depict God's coming with fire and tempest, causing the earth to tremble, mirroring the intense, destructive, and awe-inspiring power described in Isaiah 64:2.
Nahum 1:3-6This passage describes God's powerful and wrathful judgment against His enemies, using imagery of fire and melting mountains, which resonates with the purpose of God's powerful manifestation in Isaiah to make His name known and cause adversaries to tremble.
Hebrews 12:29This New Testament verse directly references God as a 'consuming fire,' aligning with the imagery of fire in Isaiah 64:2 that melts and boils, highlighting the purifying and judgmental aspects of God's presence.
barnesIsaiah 64:2: "As when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence!"
As when the melting fire burneth - Margin, 'The fire of meltings.' Lowth renders it, 'As when the fire kindleth the dry fuel.' So Noyes, 'As fire kindleth the dry stubble.' The Septuagint render it: Ὡς κηρὸς ἀπὸ προσώπου πυρὸς τήκεται Hōs kēros apo prosōpou puros tēketai - 'As wax is melted before the fire.'…
cambridgeIsaiah 64:2: "As when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence!"
2 . Render: As fire kindleth brushwood, as fire maketh water boil , &c. to make thy name known to thine adversaries &c. ]—the purpose of the Theophany. Cf. ch. Isaiah 59:18-19 .
God's power is depicted not just as overwhelming force, but as a consuming intensity that melts and boils, utterly transforming what it touches. This isn't just a display of power to intimidate enemies, but an active, almost volatile presence designed to make His name and character undeniably known.
The people of Israel are crying out to God in distress, confessing their sin and the resulting devastation of Jerusalem and the temple. They're pleading with God to act decisively, comparing His power to natural forces like fire and boiling water, so that His enemies will know He is God and tremble before Him. This plea is rooted in their desperate hope for divine intervention and restoration, recalling God's powerful acts in the past to save His people.
The people of Israel are crying out to God in distress, confessing their sin and the resulting devastation of Jerusalem and the temple. They're pleading with God to act decisively, comparing His power to natural forces like fire and boiling water, so that His enemies will know He is God and tremble before Him. This plea is rooted in their desperate hope for divine intervention and restoration, recalling God's powerful acts in the past to save His people.
"as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil— to make your name known to your adversaries, and that the nations might tremble at your presence!" — God's power is depicted not just as overwhelming force, but as a consuming intensity that melts and boils, utterly transforming what it touches. This isn't just a display of power to intimidate enemi…
Get the original Greek and Hebrew, verse-by-verse context, and related passages inside the app.
Last reviewed October 2026