Isaiah chapter 31
English Standard Version
1Woe 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! 2And 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. 3The 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. 4For 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." 6Turn to him from whom people have deeply revolted, O children of Israel. 7For in that day everyone shall cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold, which your hands have sinfully made for you.
8 "And the Assyrian shall fall by a sword, not of man; and a sword, not of man, shall devour him; and he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall be put to forced labor. 9 His rock shall pass away in terror, and his officers desert the standard in panic," declares the Lord, whose fire is in Zion, and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.
New International Version
1Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the Lord. 2Yet he too is wise and can bring disaster; he does not take back his words. He will rise up against that wicked nation, against those who help evildoers. 3But 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.
4This 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. 5Like 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."
6Return, you Israelites, to the One you have so greatly revolted against. 7For in that day every one of you will reject the idols of silver and gold your sinful hands have made.
8"Assyria will fall by no human sword; a sword, not of mortals, will devour them. They will flee before the sword and their young men will be put to forced labor. 9Their stronghold will fall because of terror; at the sight of the battle standard their commanders will panic," declares the Lord, whose fire is in Zion, whose furnace is in Jerusalem.
New American Standard Bible
1Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help And rely on horses, And trust in chariots because they are many And in horsemen because they are very strong, But they do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the Lord! 2Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster, And does not retract His words, But will arise against the house of evildoers, And against the help of the workers of injustice.
6Return to Him against whom you have been profoundly obstinate, you sons of Israel. 7For on that day every person will reject his silver idols and his gold idols, which your hands have made for you as a sin.
8And the Assyrian will fall by a sword not wielded by a man, And a sword not of man will devour him. So he will not escape the sword, And his young men will become forced laborers. 9'His rock will pass away because of panic, And his officers will be terrified by the flag,' Declares the Lord, whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.
Christian Standard Bible
1Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and who depend on horses! They trust in the abundance of chariots and in the large number of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel and they do not seek the Lord. 2But he also is wise and brings disaster. He does not go back on what he says; he will rise up against the house of the wicked and against the allies of evildoers. 3Egyptians are men, not God; their horses are flesh, not spirit. When the Lord raises his hand to strike, the helper will stumble and the one who is helped will fall; both will perish together.
4For this is what the Lord said to me: As a lion or young lion growls over its prey when a band of shepherds is called out against it, and is not terrified by their shouting or subdued by their noise, so the Lord of Armies will come down to fight on Mount Zion and on its hill. 5Like hovering birds, so the Lord of Armies will protect Jerusalem — by protecting it, he will rescue it, by sparing it, he will deliver it.
New Living Translation
1What sorrow awaits those who look to Egypt for help, trusting their horses, chariots, and charioteers and depending on the strength of human armies instead of looking to the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. 2In his wisdom, the Lord will send great disaster; he will not change his mind. He will rise against the wicked and against their helpers. 3For these Egyptians are mere humans, not God! Their horses are puny flesh, not mighty spirits! When the Lord raises his fist against them, those who help will stumble, and those being helped will fall. They will all fall down and die together.
4But this is what the Lord has told me: 'When a strong young lion stands growling over a sheep it has killed, it is not frightened by the shouts and noise of a whole crowd of shepherds. In the same way, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will come down and fight on Mount Zion. 5The 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.'
6Though you are such wicked rebels, my people, come and return to the Lord. 7I know the glorious day will come when each of you will throw away the gold idols and silver images your sinful hands have made.
8'The Assyrians will be destroyed, but not by the swords of men. The sword of God will strike them, and they will panic and flee. The strong young Assyrians will be taken away as captives. 9Even the strongest will quake with terror, and princes will flee when they see your battle flags,' says the Lord, whose fire burns in Zion, whose flame blazes from Jerusalem.
King James Version
3Now 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. 4For 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.
5As birds flying, so will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also he will deliver it; and passing over he will preserve it. 6Turn ye unto him from whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted. 7For 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. 8Then 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.
New King James Version
1Woe 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 who do not look to the Holy One of Israel, Nor seek the Lord! 2Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster, And will not call back His words, But will arise against the house of evildoers, And against the help of those who work iniquity. 3Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; And their horses are flesh, and not spirit. When the Lord stretches out His hand, Both he who helps will fall, And he who is helped will fall down; They all will perish together.
4For thus the Lord has spoken to me: “As a lion roars, And a young lion over his prey (When a multitude of shepherds is summoned against him, He will not be afraid of their voice Nor be disturbed by their noise), So the Lord of hosts will come down To fight for Mount Zion and for its hill. 5 Like birds flying about, So will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem. Defending, He will also deliver it; Passing over, He will preserve it.”
6Return to Him against whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted. 7For in that day every man shall throw away his idols of silver and his idols of gold— sin, which your own hands have made for yourselves.
8“Then Assyria shall fall by a sword not of man, And a sword not of mankind shall devour him. But he shall flee from the sword, And his young men shall become forced labor. 9 He shall cross over to his stronghold for fear, And his princes shall be afraid of the banner,” Says the Lord, Whose fire is in Zion And whose furnace is in Jerusalem.
What does Isaiah chapter 31 mean?
Isaiah 31 covers similar subject matter to the previous chapter but in a condensed format. Isaiah begins by predicting misery declaring woe on those who seek Egyptian help against an Assyrian invasion. They are trusting in earthly war tools, which Egypt apparently had in abundance. The words predict "woe" for those who don't look to the Lord God but instead rely on other nations (Isaiah 31:1).Despite what Judah seems to think, the Lord is both wise and strong. Unlike Egypt, He won't change His mind or go back on His word. The Egyptians are merely men; the Lord is God. Their horses are only flesh; He is spirit. The Lord will bring disaster against both Judah and her helper Egypt, causing both to perish together (Isaiah 31:2–3).
After that, though, the Lord will stand against the Assyrians to save Jerusalem from their attack. He will be like a powerful lion that attacks a flock without being afraid of the shepherds. He will hover over Jerusalem like a mother bird hovers over a nest to protect it (Isaiah 31:4–5).
Isaiah then calls for the children of Israel to turn back to the God they have rebelled against. That will only happen when the people throw away the idols they have made, which they worship instead of the Lord. The people will repent and cry out to God for help (Isaiah 31:6–7).
When the people repent and return to the Lord, He will turn to attack the Assyrians. Their defeat may come in battle, but the real cause will be God's supernatural power. Assyrian men will be enslaved. The king of Assyria, their "rock," will die in terror. The king's officers will scatter in fear over God's fiery defense of Jerusalem (Isaiah 31:8–9).
