Isaiah 31:5

5 Like birds hovering overhead, the LORD Almighty will shield Jerusalem; he will shield it and deliver it, he will ‘pass over’ it and will rescue it.”

Isaiah 31:5 in Other Translations

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.

5 Like birds hovering, so the LORD of hosts will protect Jerusalem; he will protect and deliver it; he will spare and rescue it."

5 The LORD of Heaven’s Armies will hover over Jerusalem and protect it like a bird protecting its nest. He will defend and save the city; he will pass over it and rescue it.”

5 Like hovering birds, so the Lord of Hosts will protect Jerusalem- by protecting [it], He will rescue [it], by sparing [it], He will deliver [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 But the Egyptians are mere mortals and not God; their horses are flesh and not spirit. When the LORD stretches out his hand, those who help will stumble, those who are helped will fall; all will perish together.

4 This is what the LORD says to me: “As a lion growls, a great lion over its prey— and though a whole band of shepherds is called together against it, it is not frightened by their shouts or disturbed by their clamor— so the LORD Almighty will come down to do battle on Mount Zion and on its heights.

5 Like birds hovering overhead, the LORD Almighty will shield Jerusalem; he will shield it and deliver it, he will ‘pass over’ it and will rescue it.”

6 Return, you Israelites, to the One you have so greatly revolted against.

7 For in that day every one of you will reject the idols of silver and gold your sinful hands have made.

Cross References

• 1. S Genesis 1:2; S Matthew 23:37
• 2. S Psalms 91:4; S Isaiah 5:2; S Zechariah 9:15
• 3. S Psalms 34:7; Isaiah 37:35; Isaiah 38:6
• 4. S Exodus 12:23