Isaiah 31:5

5 The LORD of Armies will defend Jerusalem like a hovering bird. He will defend it and rescue it. He will pass over it and protect it.

Isaiah 31:5 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 31:5

As birds flying, so will the Lord of hosts defend
Jerusalem
As the preceding metaphor expresses the mighty power of God, this his tenderness and affection, as well as his speed and swiftness in the deliverance of his people. As birds in the air, at a distance, especially the eagle, have their eye upon their nests, and their young ones in them, and when in danger fly to their assistance, and hover over them, and about them, to keep off those that would hurt them, or carry them away; so the Lord, on high, sees his people when in distress, and hastens to help them, and does surround, protect, and defend them: thus the Lord did, when Sennacherib with his army besieged Jerusalem; who boasted, with respect to other nations, that he had "found as a nest the riches of the people", and that "there was none that moved the wing against him", ( Isaiah 10:14 ) to which it is thought the allusion is here: defending also he will deliver [it];
from present distress, the siege of the Assyrian army: [and] passing over he will preserve [it];
passing over the city of Jerusalem to the army of the king of Assyria, that lay encamped against it; and smiting that by an angel with a sudden destruction, preserved the city from the ruin it was threatened with. The allusion is rightly thought to be to the Lord's passing over the houses of the Israelites, when he destroyed the firstborn in Egypt, ( Exodus 12:23 ) where the same word is used as here, and nowhere else.

Isaiah 31:5 In-Context

3 The Egyptians are humans, not gods. Their horses are flesh and blood, not spirit. When the LORD uses his powerful hand, the one who gives help will stumble, and the one who receives help will fall. Both will die together.

4 This is what the LORD said to me: A lion, even a young lion, growls over its prey when a crowd of shepherds is called to fight it. It isn't frightened by their voices or disturbed by the noise they make. So the LORD of Armies will come to fight for Mount Zion and its hill.

5 The LORD of Armies will defend Jerusalem like a hovering bird. He will defend it and rescue it. He will pass over it and protect it.

6 You people of Israel, return to the one whom you have so violently rebelled against.

7 When that day comes, all of you will reject the silver and gold idols that your sinful hands have made.