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Isaiah 31:1

Woe to Those Who Go Down to Egypt

1 Woe to 1those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who 2trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong, but 3do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the LORD!

Isaiah 31:1 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 31:1

Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help
Or, "O ye that go down"; what poor foolish creatures are you! And in the end what miserable and wretched ones will ye be! Such were the Jewish rulers and people, who either went themselves, or sent ambassadors to the king of Egypt, to supply them with men and horses against the king of Assyria, contrary to the express command of God, which forbid them returning to Egypt; and which showed their unmindfulness of deliverance from thence, and their not having a due sense of that mercy upon them; as well as their so doing exposed them to the danger of being drawn into the superstitions and idolatries of that people: and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because [they] are many;
and in horsemen, because they are very strong;
having their dependence upon, and placing their confidence in, the strength and numbers of the cavalry of the Egyptians: but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the
Lord;
they did not look unto the Lord with an eye of faith, nor seek him by prayer and supplication; or ask any counsel or instruction of him, as the Targum paraphrases the last clause; so that their sin lay not only in their confidence in the creature, but in their neglect of the Lord himself; and so all such persons are foolish and miserable, that trust in an arm of flesh, that place their confidence in creature acts, in their own righteousness, duties, and services, and have no regard to the Holy One of Israel, to the holiness and righteousness of Christ, neglect that, and do not submit to it; thus the Targum interprets the former clause of the Word of the Holy One of Israel, the essential Word Christ.

Isaiah 31:1 In-Context

1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the LORD!
2 And yet he is wise and brings disaster; he does not call back his words, but will arise against the house of the evildoers and against the helpers of those who work iniquity.
3 The Egyptians are man, and not God, and their horses are flesh, and not spirit. When the LORD stretches out his hand, the helper will stumble, and he who is helped will fall, and they will all perish together.
4 For thus the LORD said to me, "As a lion or a young lion growls over his prey, and when a band of shepherds is called out against him he is not terrified by their shouting or daunted at their noise, so the LORD of hosts will come down to fight on Mount Zion and on its hill.
5 Like birds hovering, so the LORD of hosts will protect Jerusalem; he will protect and deliver it; he will spare and rescue it."

Cross References 3

  • 1. Isaiah 30:2; Isaiah 36:6
  • 2. Psalms 20:7; [Isaiah 30:16; Isaiah 36:9]
  • 3. [Isaiah 22:11]
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.