Isaiah 31
Lexham English Bible
The Egyptians are No Help
31 Ah! Those who go down to Egypt for help!
They rely on horses
and trust in chariots because they are many,
and in horsemen because they are very numerous,
and they do not look to the holy one of Israel,
and they do not consult Yahweh.
2 And indeed, he is wise, and he brings disaster,
and he does not remove his words,
and he will rise against the house of evildoers
and against the help of workers of iniquity.
3 And the Egyptians are human and not God,
and their horses are flesh and not spirit.
And Yahweh stretches out his hand,
and the helper will stumble,
and the one being helped will fall,
and together all of them will come to an end.[a]
4 For Yahweh said this to me:
“As which a lion growls
and a young lion over its prey
when a full group[b] of shepherds is called against him,
it is not terrified by their voice,
and to their noise it does not respond,
so Yahweh of hosts will come down to fight upon Mount Zion
and upon its hill.
5 Like birds flying overhead, so Yahweh of hosts will protect Jerusalem;
he will protect and deliver it;
he will pass over and rescue it.
6 Turn back to the one against whom the sons of Israel have made deep rebellion.
7 For on that day, each one will reject his idols of silver
and his idols of gold which your hands have made in sin for you.
8 And Assyria shall fall by a sword not of a man,
and a sword not of a human shall devour him;
and he shall flee from the sword,
and his young men shall be put to forced labor.
9 And his rock will pass over because of terror,
and his officers will be terrified because of the flag,”
declares[c] Yahweh,
who has a fire in Zion
and has a furnace in Jerusalem.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 31:3 Or “perish”
- Isaiah 31:4 Literally “fullness”
- Isaiah 31:9 Literally “declaration of”
Isaiah 31
Christian Standard Bible
The Lord, the Only Help
31 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help(A)
and who depend on horses!
They trust in the abundance of chariots
and in the large number of horsemen.(B)
They do not look(C) to the Holy One of Israel,
and they do not seek the Lord.
2 But he also is wise and brings disaster.(D)
He does not go back on what he says;(E)
he will rise up against the house of the wicked
and against the allies of evildoers.
3 Egyptians are men, not God;
their horses are flesh, not spirit.
When the Lord raises his hand to strike,
the helper will stumble
and the one who is helped will fall;
both will perish together.
4 For this is what the Lord said to me:
As a lion or young lion growls over its prey(F)
when a band of shepherds is called out against it,
and it is not terrified by their shouting
or subdued by their noise,
so the Lord of Armies will come down
to fight on Mount Zion
and on its hill.(G)
5 Like hovering birds,
so the Lord of Armies will protect Jerusalem;(H)
by protecting it, he will rescue it;
by passing over it, he will deliver it.
6 Return to the one the Israelites have greatly rebelled against.(I) 7 For on that day, every one of you will reject the worthless idols of silver and gold that your own hands have sinfully made.(J)
8 Then Assyria will fall,
but not by human sword;
a sword will devour him,
but not one made by man.(K)
He will flee from the sword;
his young men will be put to forced labor.(L)
9 His rock[a] will pass away because of fear,(M)
and his officers will be afraid because of the signal flag.(N)
This is the Lord’s declaration—whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.(O)
Footnotes
- 31:9 Perhaps the Assyrian king
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