Isaiah 31:5

5 The Lord All-Powerful will defend Jerusalem like birds flying over their nests. He will defend and save it; he will 'pass over' and save Jerusalem."

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 only people and are not God. Their horses are only animals and are not spirit. The Lord will stretch out his arm, and the one who helps will stumble, and the people who wanted help will fall. All of them will be destroyed together.

4 The Lord says this to me: "When a lion or a lion's cub kills an animal to eat, it stands over the dead animal and roars. A band of shepherds may be assembled against it, but the lion will not be afraid of their yelling or upset by their noise. to fight on Mount Zion and on its hill.

5 The Lord All-Powerful will defend Jerusalem like birds flying over their nests. He will defend and save it; he will 'pass over' and save Jerusalem."

6 You children of Israel, come back to the God you fought against.

7 The time is coming when each of you will stop worshiping idols of gold and silver, which you sinned by making.