1 Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD!
2 Yet he also is wise, and will bring evil, and will not call back his words: but will arise against the house of the evildoers, and against the help of them that work iniquity.
3 Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit. When the LORD shall stretch out his hand, both he that helpeth shall fall, and he that is holpen shall fall down, and they all shall fail together.
4 For thus hath the LORD spoken unto me, Like as the lion and the young lion roaring on his prey, when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him, he will not be afraid of their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them: so shall the LORD of hosts come down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill thereof.
5 As birds flying, so will the LORD of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also he will deliver it; and passing over he will preserve it.
6 Turn ye unto him from whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted.
7 For in that day every man shall cast away his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your own hands have made unto you for a sin.
8 Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of a mighty man; and the sword, not of a mean man, shall devour him: but he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall be discomfited.
9 And he shall pass over to his strong hold for fear, and his princes shall be afraid of the ensign, saith the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.
1 Woe H1945 to them that go down H3381 to Egypt H4714 for help; H5833 and stay H8172 on horses, H5483 and trust H982 in chariots, H7393 because they are many; H7227 and in horsemen, H6571 because they are very H3966 strong; H6105 but they look H8159 not unto the Holy One H6918 of Israel, H3478 neither seek H1875 the LORD! H3068
2 Yet he also is wise, H2450 and will bring H935 evil, H7451 and will not call back H5493 his words: H1697 but will arise H6965 against the house H1004 of the evildoers, H7489 and against the help H5833 of them that work H6466 iniquity. H205
3 Now the Egyptians H4714 are men, H120 and not God; H410 and their horses H5483 flesh, H1320 and not spirit. H7307 When the LORD H3068 shall stretch out H5186 his hand, H3027 both he that helpeth H5826 shall fall, H3782 and he that is holpen H5826 shall fall down, H5307 and they all shall fail H3615 together. H3162
4 For thus hath the LORD H3068 spoken H559 unto me, Like as the lion H738 and the young lion H3715 roaring H1897 on his prey, H2964 when a multitude H4393 of shepherds H7462 is called forth H7121 against him, he will not be afraid H2865 of their voice, H6963 nor abase H6031 himself for the noise H1995 of them: so shall the LORD H3068 of hosts H6635 come down H3381 to fight H6633 for mount H2022 Zion, H6726 and for the hill H1389 thereof.
5 As birds H6833 flying, H5774 so will the LORD H3068 of hosts H6635 defend H1598 Jerusalem; H3389 defending H1598 also he will deliver H5337 it; and passing over H6452 he will preserve H4422 it.
6 Turn H7725 ye unto him from whom the children H1121 of Israel H3478 have deeply H6009 revolted. H5627
7 For in that day H3117 every man H376 shall cast away H3988 his idols H457 of silver, H3701 and his idols H457 of gold, H2091 which your own hands H3027 have made H6213 unto you for a sin. H2399
8 Then shall the Assyrian H804 fall H5307 with the sword, H2719 not of a mighty man; H376 and the sword, H2719 not of a mean man, H120 shall devour H398 him: but he shall flee H5127 from H6440 the sword, H2719 and his young men H970 shall be discomfited. H4522
9 And he shall pass over H5674 to his strong hold H5553 for fear, H4032 and his princes H8269 shall be afraid H2865 of the ensign, H5251 saith H5002 the LORD, H3068 whose fire H217 is in Zion, H6726 and his furnace H8574 in Jerusalem. H3389
1 Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help, and rely on horses, and trust in chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they are very strong, but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek Jehovah!
2 Yet he also is wise, and will bring evil, and will not call back his words, but will arise against the house of the evil-doers, and against the help of them that work iniquity.
3 Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit: and when Jehovah shall stretch out his hand, both he that helpeth shall stumble, and he that is helped shall fall, and they all shall be consumed together.
4 For thus saith Jehovah unto me, As the lion and the young lion growling over his prey, if a multitude of shepherds be called forth against him, will not be dismayed at their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them: so will Jehovah of hosts come down to fight upon mount Zion, and upon the hill thereof.
5 As birds hovering, so will Jehovah of hosts protect Jerusalem; he will protect and deliver `it', he will pass over and preserve `it'.
6 Turn ye unto him from whom ye have deeply revolted, O children of Israel.
7 For in that day they shall cast away every man his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your own hands have made unto you for a sin.
8 And the Assyrian shall fall by the sword, not of man; and the sword, not of men, shall devour him; and he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall become subject to taskwork.
9 And his rock shall pass away by reason of terror, and his princes shall be dismayed at the ensign, saith Jehovah, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.
1 Wo `to' those going down to Egypt for help, And on horses lean, And trust on chariots, because many, And on horsemen, because very strong, And have not looked on the Holy One of Israel, And Jehovah have not sought.
2 And He also `is' wise, and bringeth in evil, And His words He hath not turned aside, And He hath risen against a house of evil doers, And against the help of workers of iniquity.
3 And the Egyptians `are men', and not God, And their horses `are' flesh, and not spirit, And Jehovah stretcheth out His hand, And stumbled hath the helper, And fallen hath the helped one, And together all of them are consumed.
4 For thus said Jehovah unto me: `As growl doth the lion and the young lion over his prey, Called against whom is a multitude of shepherds, From their voice he is not affrighted, And from their noise he is not humbled; So come down doth Jehovah of Hosts To war on mount Zion, and on her height.
5 As birds flying, so doth Jehovah of Hosts Cover over Jerusalem, covering and delivering, Passing over, and causing to escape.'
6 Turn back to Him from whom sons of Israel Have deepened apostacy.
7 For in that day despise doth each His idols of silver, and his idols of gold, That your hands made to you -- a sin.
8 And fallen hath Asshur by sword, not of the high, Yea, a sword -- not of the low, doth consume him, And he hath fled for himself from the face of a sword, And his young men become tributary.
9 And `to' his rock from fear he passeth on, And affrighted by the ensign have been his princes -- an affirmation of Jehovah, Who hath a light in Zion, And who hath a furnace in Jerusalem!
1 Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help, and depend on horses, and confide in chariots because [they are] many, and in horsemen because they are very strong; and who look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek Jehovah!
2 But he also is wise, and he bringeth evil, and recalleth not his words; and he will arise against the house of evildoers, and against the help of workers of iniquity.
3 And the Egyptians are men, and not ùGod, and their horses flesh, and not spirit; and Jehovah shall stretch forth his hand, and he that helpeth shall stumble, and he that is helped shall fall, and they all shall perish together.
4 For thus hath Jehovah said unto me: Like as the lion and the young lion growling over his prey, when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him, is not afraid of their voice, nor giveth way before the multitude of them; so will Jehovah of hosts come down to war upon mount Zion, and on the hill thereof.
5 As birds with outstretched wings, so will Jehovah of hosts cover Jerusalem; covering, he will also deliver, passing over, he will rescue [it].
6 Turn unto him from whom ye have deeply revolted, ye children of Israel;
7 for in that day every man shall cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold, which your sinful hands have made unto you.
8 And Asshur shall fall by the sword, not of a great man; and the sword, not of a mean man, shall devour him: and he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall become tributary;
9 and for fear, he shall pass over to his rock, and his princes shall be afraid of the banner, saith Jehovah, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.
1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, and rely on horses, and trust in chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they are very strong, but they don't look to the Holy One of Israel, neither seek Yahweh!
2 Yet he also is wise, and will bring evil, and will not call back his words, but will arise against the house of the evil-doers, and against the help of those who work iniquity.
3 Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit: and when Yahweh shall stretch out his hand, both he who helps shall stumble, and he who is helped shall fall, and they all shall be consumed together.
4 For thus says Yahweh to me, As the lion and the young lion growling over his prey, if a multitude of shepherds are called forth against him, will not be dismayed at their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them: so will Yahweh of Hosts come down to fight on Mount Zion, and on the hill of it.
5 As birds hovering, so will Yahweh of Hosts protect Jerusalem; he will protect and deliver [it], he will pass over and preserve [it].
6 Turn you to him from whom you have deeply revolted, children of Israel.
7 For in that day they shall cast away every man his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your own hands have made to you for a sin.
8 The Assyrian shall fall by the sword, not of man; and the sword, not of men, shall devour him; and he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall become subject to forced labor.
9 His rock shall pass away by reason of terror, and his princes shall be dismayed at the ensign, says Yahweh, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.
1 Cursed are those who go down to Egypt for help, and who put their faith in horses; looking to war-carriages for salvation, because of their numbers; and to horsemen, because they are very strong; but they are not looking to the Holy One of Israel, or turning their hearts to the Lord;
2 Though he is wise, and able to send evil, and his purpose will not be changed; but he will go against the house of the evil-doers, and against those to whom they are looking for help.
3 For the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses are flesh, and not spirit: and when the Lord's hand is stretched out, the helper and he who is helped will come down together.
4 For the Lord has said to me, As a lion, or a young lion, makes an angry noise over his food, and if a band of herdsmen come out against him, he will not be in fear of their voices, or give up his food for their noise: so the Lord of armies will come down to make war against Mount Zion and its hill.
5 Like birds with outstretched wings, so will the Lord of armies be a cover to Jerusalem; he will be a cover and salvation for it, going over it he will keep it from danger.
6 Come back to him who has been so deeply sinned against by the children of Israel.
7 For in that day they will all give up their images of silver and of gold, the sin which they made for themselves.
8 Then the Assyrian will come down by the sword, but not of man; the sword, not of men, will be the cause of his destruction: and he will go in flight from the sword, and his young men will be put to forced work.
9 And his rock will come to nothing because of fear, and his chiefs will go in flight from the flag, says the Lord, whose fire is in Zion, and his altar in Jerusalem.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Isaiah 31
Commentary on Isaiah 31 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
There is nothing to surprise us in the fact, that the prophet returns again and again to the alliance with Egypt. After his warning had failed to prevent it, he wrestled with it in spirit, set before himself afresh the curse which would be its certain fruit, brought out and unfolded the consolation of believers that lay hidden in the curse, and did not rest till the cursed fruit, that had become a real thing, had been swallowed up by the promise, which was equally real. The situation of this fourth woe is just the same as that of the previous one. The alliance with Egypt is still in progress. “Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help, and rely upon horses, and put their trust in chariots, that there are many of them; and in horsemen, that there is a powerful multitude of them; and do not look up to the Holy One of Israel, and do not inquire for Jehovah! And yet He also is wise; thus then He brings evil, and sets not His words aside; and rises up against the house of miscreants, and against the help of evil-doers. And Egypt is man, and not God; and its horses flesh, and not spirit. And when Jehovah stretches out His hand, the helper stumbles, and he that is helped falls, and they all perish together.” The expression “them that go down” ( hayyōredı̄m ) does not imply that the going down was taking place just then for the first time. It is the participle of qualification, just as God is called הבּרא . לעזרה with Lamed of the object, as in Isaiah 20:6. The horses, chariots, and horsemen here, as those of Egypt, which Diodorus calls ἱππάσιμος , on account of its soil being so suitable for cavalry (see Lepsius in Herzog's Cyclopaedia ). The participle is combined in the finite verb. Instead of ועל־סוּסים , we also find the reading preferred by Norzi, of על without Vav , as in Isaiah 5:11 (cf., Isaiah 5:23). The perfects, שׁעוּ לא and דרשׁוּ לא , are used without any definite time, to denote that which was always wanting in them. The circumstantial clause, “whilst He is assuredly also wise,” i.e., will bear comparison with their wisdom and that of Egypt, is a touching μείωσις . It was not necessary to think very highly of Jehovah, in order to perceive the reprehensible and destructive character of their apostasy from Him. The fut. consec. ויּבא is used to indicate the inevitable consequence of their despising Him who is also wise. He will not set aside His threatening words, but carry them out. The house of miscreants is Judah (Isaiah 1:4); and the help ( abstr. pro concr. , just as Jehovah is frequently called “my help,” ‛ ezrâthı̄ , by the Psalmist) of evil-doers is Egypt, whose help has been sought by Judah. The latter is “man” ( ' âdâm ), and its horses “flesh” ( bâsâr ); whereas Jehovah is God ( El ) and spirit ( rūăch ; see Psychol. p. 85). Hofmann expounds it correctly: “As ruuach has life in itself, it is opposed to the bâsâr , which is only rendered living through the rūăch ; and so El is opposed to the corporeal ' âdâm , who needs the spirit in order to live at all.” Thus have they preferred the help of the impotent and conditioned, to the help of the almighty and all-conditioning One. Jehovah, who is God and spirit, only requires to stretch out His hand (an anthropomorphism, by the side of which we find the rule for interpreting it); and the helpers, and those who are helped (i.e., according to the terms of the treaty, though not in reality), that is to say, both the source of the help and the object of help, are all cast into one heap together.
And things of this kind would occur. “For thus hath Jehovah spoken to me, As the lion growls, and the young lion over its prey, against which a whole crowd of shepherds is called together; he is not alarmed at their cry, and does not surrender at their noise; so will Jehovah of hosts descend to the campaign against the mountain of Zion, and against their hill.” There is no other passage in the book of Isaiah which sounds so Homeric as this (vid., Il . xviii. 161, 162, xii. 299ff.). It has been misunderstood by Knobel, Umbreit, Drechsler, and others, who suppose על לצבּא to refer to Jehovah's purpose to fight for Jerusalem: Jehovah, who would no more allow His city to be taken from Him, than a lion would give up a lamb that it had taken as its prey. But how could Jerusalem be compared to a lamb which a lion holds in its claws as tereph ? (Isaiah 5:29). We may see, even from Isaiah 29:7, what construction is meant to be put upon על צבא . Those sinners and their protectors would first of all perish; for like a fierce indomitable lion would Jehovah advance against Jerusalem, and take it as His prey, without suffering Himself to be thwarted by the Judaeans and Egyptians, who set themselves in opposition to His army (The Assyrians). The mountain of Zion was the citadel and temple; the hill of Zion the city of Jerusalem (Isaiah 10:32). They would both be given up to the judgment of Jehovah, without any possibility of escape. The commentators have been misled by the fact, that a simile of a promising character follows immediately afterwards, without anything to connect the one with the other. But this abrupt μετάβασις was intended as a surprise, and was a true picture of the actual fulfilment of the prophecy; for in the moment of the greatest distress, when the actual existence of Jerusalem was in question (cf., Isaiah 10:33-34), the fate of Ariel took suddenly and miraculously a totally different turn (Isaiah 29:2). In this sense, a pleasant picture is placed side by side with the terrible one (compare Micah 5:6-7).
Jehovah suddenly arrests the work of punishment, and the love which the wrath enfolds within itself begins to appear. “Like fluttering birds, so will Jehovah of Hosts screen Jerusalem; screening and delivering, sparing and setting free.” The prophet uses the plural, “like fluttering birds,” with an object - namely, not so much to represent Jehovah Himself, as the tender care and, as it were, maternal love, into which His leonine fierceness would be changed. This is indicated by the fact, that he attaches the feminine ‛ âphōth to the common gender tsippŏrı̄m . The word pâsōăch recals to mind the deliverance from Egypt (as in Isaiah 30:29) in a very significant manner. The sparing of the Israelites by the destroyer passing over their doors, from which the passover derived its name, would be repeated once more. We may see from this, that in and along with Assyria, Jehovah Himself, whose instrument of punishment Assyria was, would take the filed against Jerusalem (Isaiah 29:2-3); but His attitude towards Jerusalem is suddenly changed into one resembling the action of birds, as they soar round and above their threatened nests. On the inf. abs. kal ( gânōn ) after the hiphil , see Ewald, §312, b ; and on the continuance of the inf. abs. in the finite verb, §350, a. This generally takes place through the future, but here through the preterite, as in Jeremiah 23:14; Genesis 26:13, and 1 Samuel 2:26 (if indeed v e gâdēl is the third pers. preterite there).
On the ground of this half terrible, half comforting picture of the future, the call to repentance is now addressed to the people of the prophet's own time. “Then turn, O sons of Israel, to Him from whom men have so deeply departed.” Strictly speaking, “to Him with regard to whom ( אשׁר ) ye are deeply fallen away” ( he‛ĕmı̄q , as in Hosea 9:9, and sârâh , that which is alienated, alienation, as in Isaiah 1:5); the transition to the third person is like the reverse in Isaiah 1:29. This call to repentance the prophet strengthens by two powerful motives drawn from the future.
The first is, that idolatry would one day be recognised in all its abomination, and put away. “For in that day they will abhor every one their silver idols and their gold idols, which your hands have made you for a sin,” i.e., to commit sin and repent, with the preponderance of the latter idea, as in Hosea 8:11 (compare 1 Kings 13:34). חטא , a second accusative to עשׂוּ , indicating the result. The prospect is the same as that held out in Isaiah 30:22; Isaiah 27:9; Isaiah 17:8; Isaiah 2:20.
The second motive is, that Israel will not be rescued by men, but by Jehovah alone; so that even He from whom they have now so deeply fallen will prove Himself the only true ground of confidence. “And Asshur falls by a sword not of a man, and a sword not of a man will devour him; and he flees before a sword, and his young men become tributary. And his rock, for fear will it pass away, and his princes be frightened away by the flags: the saying of Jehovah, who has His fire in Zion, and His furnace in Jerusalem.” The lxx and Jerome render this falsely φεύξεται οὐκ ( לא ) ἀπὸ προσώπου μαχαίρας . לו is an ethical dative, and the prophet intentionally writes “before a sword” without any article, to suggest the idea of the unbounded, infinite, awful (cf., Isaiah 28:2, b e yâd ; Psalter , vol. i. p. 15). A sword is drawn without any human intervention, and before this Asshur falls, or at least so many of the Assyrians as are unable to save themselves by flight. The power of Asshur is for ever broken; even its young men will henceforth become tributary, or perform feudal service. By “his rock” most commentators understand the rock upon which the fugitive would gladly have taken refuge, but did not dare (Rosenmüller, Gesenius, Knobel, etc.); others, again, the military force of Asshur, as its supposed invincible refuge (Saad., etc.); others, the apparently indestructible might of Asshur generally (Vulgate, Rashi, Hitzig). But the presence of “his princes” in the parallel clause makes it most natural to refer “his rock” to the king; and this reference is established with certainty by what Isaiah 32:2 affirms of the king and princes of Judah. Luther also renders it thus: und jr Fels wird fur furcht wegzihen (and their rock will withdraw for fear). Sennacherib really did hurry back to Assyria after the catastrophe in a most rapid flight. Minnēs are the standards of Asshur, which the commanders of the army fly away from in terror, without attempting to rally those that were scattered. Thus speaks Jehovah, and this is what He decrees who has His 'ūr and tannūr in Jerusalem. We cannot suppose that the allusion here is to the fire and hearth of the sacrifices; for tannūr does not mean a hearth, but a furnace (from nūr , to burn). The reference is to the light of the divine presence, which was outwardly a devouring fire for the enemies of Jerusalem, an unapproachable red-hot furnace ( ignis et caminus qui devorat peccatores et ligna, faenum stipulamque consumit : Jerome).