Isaiah 31
31
Against the Egyptian Alliance
1Ah! Those who go down to Egypt for help,
who rely on horses;
Who put their trust in chariots because of their number,
and in horsemen because of their combined power,
But look not to the Holy One of Israel
nor seek the Lord!#Seek the Lord: a technical expression for seeking a prophetic or priestly oracle, similar to the expression “asking my counsel” in 30:2. The prophet complains that Judah has decided on its policy of alliance with Egypt without first consulting the Lord. #Is 5:12, 24; 18:2; 22:11; 29:15; 30:2; 36:6.
2Yet he too is wise and will bring disaster;
he will not turn from his threats.
He will rise up against the house of the wicked
and against those who help evildoers.#Is 28:21.
3The Egyptians are human beings, not God,
their horses flesh, not spirit;
When the Lord stretches forth his hand,
the helper shall stumble, the one helped shall fall,
and both of them shall perish together.#Ps 146:3–5.
4For thus says the Lord to me:
As a lion or its young
growling over the prey,
With a band of shepherds
assembled against it,
Is neither dismayed by their shouts
nor cowed by their noise,
So shall the Lord of hosts come down
to wage war upon Mount Zion, upon its height.#Hos 5:14; Am 1:2; 3:8, 12.
5Like hovering birds, so the Lord of hosts
shall shield Jerusalem,
To shield and deliver,
to spare and rescue.#Is 37:35; Dt 32:11; Ps 91:4.
6Return, O Israelites, to him whom you have utterly deserted.#Is 1:2–4; Jer 3:12. 7On that day each one of you shall reject his idols of silver and gold, which your hands have made.#Is 2:20; 30:22.
8Assyria shall fall by a sword, not wielded by human being,
no mortal sword shall devour him;
He shall flee before the sword,
and his young men shall be impressed as laborers.#Is 27:1; 34:5–6; 37:36.
9He shall rush past his crag#Crag: the king as the rallying point of the princes. Panic: terror is an element of Israel’s holy war tradition, in which defeat of the enemy is accomplished by the Lord rather than by human means (cf. v. 8). in panic,
and his princes desert the standard in terror,
Says the Lord who has a fire in Zion
and a furnace in Jerusalem.#Is 30:17, 33.
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Isaiah 31
31
The Lord, the Only Help
1Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help#Is 30:2,7; 36:6
and who depend on horses!
They trust in the abundance of chariots
and in the large number of horsemen.#Dt 17:16; Ps 20:7; 33:17; Is 2:7; 30:16; 36:9
They do not look#Is 9:13; 17:7–8; Dn 9:13; Am 5:4–8 to the Holy One of Israel,
and they do not seek the Lord.
2But he also is wise and brings disaster.#Is 45:7
He does not go back on what he says;#Nm 23:19; Is 22:14; Jr 44:29
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#Nm 24:9; Hs 11:10; Am 3:8
when a band of shepherds is called out against it,
and it 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.#Is 42:13; Zch 12:8
5Like hovering birds,
so the Lord of Armies will protect Jerusalem;#Dt 32:11; Ps 91:4
by protecting it, he will rescue it;
by passing over it, he will deliver it.
6Return to the one the Israelites have greatly rebelled against.#Is 1:5; 59:13 7For on that day, every one of you will reject the worthless idols of silver and gold that your own hands have sinfully made.#Is 2:20; 30:22
8Then Assyria will fall,
but not by human sword;
a sword will devour him,
but not one made by man.#Is 37:7,36–38
He will flee from the sword;
his young men will be put to forced labor.#Gn 49:15; Is 14:2
9His rock#31:9 Perhaps the Assyrian king will pass away because of fear,#Dt 32:31,37
and his officers will be afraid because of the signal flag.#Is 5:26; 13:2; Jr 4:6,21; 51:12,27
This is the Lord’s declaration — whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.#Lv 10:2; Is 10:17; 30:33
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