Isaiah 31
9 verses
Isaiah pronounces woes against those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses and chariots, condemning the practice of seeking security through military alliance rather than through trust in the Lord. The oracle emphasizes that the Egyptian horses are flesh, not spirit, and will fail when tested, establishing that material power and human strength are ultimately unreliable compared to divine power. The prophecy promises that the Lord Himself will defend and deliver Jerusalem, pledging that He will pass over and protect the city as birds guard their young. The passage includes the promise that the remnant of Jacob will turn from idols and return to the mighty God, indicating that judgment will purify and restore the covenant community. The oracle warns that the Assyrian will fall, not by the sword of humans but by divine judgment, establishing that God's purposes cannot be thwarted by military might. The imagery of the Lord coming down like a lion to seize and protect His prey emphasizes the intensity and power of divine protection. The passage promises that those who return to God will experience deep renewal and that the covenant community will be transformed. Isaiah 31 demonstrates that authentic faith requires exclusive trust in God and abandonment of reliance on human military and political power. The chapter establishes that divine protection is superior to all human military arrangements and that the faithful remnant will be preserved and renewed through their return to covenantal relationship with God.
VERSES IN THIS CHAPTER
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!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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6
Turn ye unto him from whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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