Isaiah 30:4-7
The Message
All Show, No Substance
30 1-5 “Doom, rebel children!”
God’s Decree.
“You make plans, but not mine.
You make deals, but not in my Spirit.
You pile sin on sin,
one sin on top of another,
Going off to Egypt
without so much as asking me,
Running off to Pharaoh for protection,
expecting to hide out in Egypt.
Well, some protection Pharaoh will be!
Some hideout, Egypt!
They look big and important, true,
with officials strategically established in
Zoan in the north and Hanes in the south,
but there’s nothing to them.
Anyone stupid enough to trust them
will end up looking stupid—
All show, no substance,
an embarrassing farce.”
6-7 And this note on the animals of the Negev
encountered on the road to Egypt:
A most dangerous, treacherous route,
menaced by lions and deadly snakes.
And you’re going to lug all your stuff down there,
your donkeys and camels loaded down with bribes,
Thinking you can buy protection
from that hollow farce of a nation?
Egypt is all show, no substance.
My name for her is Toothless Dragon.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
Bible Gateway Recommends
![The Message Deluxe Gift Bible--soft leather-look, crosshatch denim](https://g.christianbook.com/dg/product/web/f108/581257.jpg)
![4.5 of 5.0 stars](/assets/images/merch/stars45.png?7668a670)
![The Message Remix Solo New Testament, Brown Imitation Leather - Slightly Imperfect](https://g.christianbook.com/dg/product/cbd/f108/215332.jpg)
![The Daily Message: Through the Bible in One Year - eBook](https://g.christianbook.com/dg/product/web/f108/63282EB.jpg)
![5.0 of 5.0 stars](/assets/images/merch/stars50.png?7668a670)
![Message Slimline Bible--soft leather-look, brown/tan](https://g.christianbook.com/dg/product/web/f108/464312.jpg)
![3.5 of 5.0 stars](/assets/images/merch/stars35.png?7668a670)
![The Message Bible, Dusty Rose Floral Large Print Leather-Look](https://g.christianbook.com/dg/product/web/f108/466763.jpg)
![4.5 of 5.0 stars](/assets/images/merch/stars45.png?7668a670)
![The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language - eBook](https://g.christianbook.com/dg/product/web/f108/63139EB.jpg)
![4.0 of 5.0 stars](/assets/images/merch/stars40.png?7668a670)