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Woe to Those Who Go down to Egypt

31 Woe to those who go down to (A)Egypt for help
And (B)rely on horses,
And trust in chariots because they are many
And in horsemen because they are very mighty,
But they do not (C)regard at the (D)Holy One of Israel, nor seek Yahweh!
Yet He also is (E)wise and will (F)bring about an evil demise
And does (G)not turn His words aside,
But will arise against the house of (H)evildoers
And against the help of the (I)workers of iniquity.
Now the Egyptians are (J)men and not God,
And their (K)horses are flesh and not spirit;
So Yahweh will (L)stretch out His hand,
And (M)he who helps will stumble,
And he who is helped will fall,
And all of them will come to an end together.

For thus says Yahweh to me,

“As the (N)lion or the young lion growls over its prey,
Against which a multitude of shepherds is called out,
And it will not be dismayed at their voice nor afflicted at their noise,
So will Yahweh of hosts come down to wage (O)war on Mount Zion and on its hill.”
Like [a]flying (P)birds so Yahweh of hosts will defend Jerusalem.
He will (Q)defend and deliver it;
He will pass over and provide a way of escape.

(R)Return to Him against whom [b]you have (S)deeply rebelled, O sons of Israel. For in that day every man will (T)reject his silver idols and his gold idols, which your (U)hands have made for you as (V)a sin.

And the (W)Assyrian will fall by a sword not of man,
And a (X)sword not of man will devour him.
So he will [c](Y)flee from the sword,
And his choice men will become (Z)forced laborers.
“His (AA)rock will pass away because of terror,
And his princes will be dismayed at the (AB)standard,”
Declares Yahweh, whose (AC)fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 31:5 Or hovering
  2. Isaiah 31:6 Lit they
  3. Isaiah 31:8 Lit flee for himself

Woe to Those Who Rely on Egypt

31 

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help,
who put their faith in horses,
who trust in chariots because there are many of them,
who trust in charioteers[a] because they are very powerful.
They do not trust in the Holy One of Israel.
They do not seek the Lord.
The Lord is wise, and he will bring disaster.
He will not go back on his word,
but he will deal with those who do evil,
and with those who help the wicked.
The Egyptians are merely men, not gods.
Their horses are flesh, not spirit.
When the Lord stretches out his hand to punish,
both the helper and the one seeking help will fall.
Together they will perish.

This is what the Lord said to me:
    When a lion or a young lion snarls over its prey,
    and a band of shepherds is called out to drive it away,
    it is not afraid of their shouts,
    and it is not bothered by the noise they make.
    In the same way, the Lord of Armies will fearlessly come down
        to fight on Mount Zion and on its heights.
Like a hovering[b] bird,
the Lord of Armies will protect Jerusalem.
He will protect it and deliver it.
He will pass over it and preserve it.
O people of Israel, return to the one you have so completely betrayed. In that day every one of you will throw away his idols of silver and his idols of gold—things you made, which caused you to sin.

Assyria will fall, but not by a human sword.
A sword will devour him, but not one wielded by men.
He will flee from the sword,
but his young men will be forced into slavery.
His rocky stronghold will pass away because of fear,
and his officials will abandon their banner in panic,
declares the Lord, whose fire is in Zion,
whose blast furnace is in Jerusalem.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 31:1 Or horsemen
  2. Isaiah 31:5 Or swooping