Isaiah 30:1-18
New King James Version
Futile Confidence in Egypt
30 “Woe to the rebellious children,” says the Lord,
(A)“Who take counsel, but not of Me,
And who [a]devise plans, but not of My Spirit,
(B)That they may add sin to sin;
2 (C)Who walk to go down to Egypt,
And (D)have not asked My advice,
To strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh,
And to trust in the shadow of Egypt!
3 (E)Therefore the strength of Pharaoh
Shall be your shame,
And trust in the shadow of Egypt
Shall be your humiliation.
4 For his princes were at (F)Zoan,
And his ambassadors came to Hanes.
5 (G)They were all ashamed of a people who could not benefit them,
Or be help or benefit,
But a shame and also a reproach.”
6 (H)The [b]burden against the beasts of the South.
Through a land of trouble and anguish,
From which came the lioness and lion,
(I)The viper and fiery flying serpent,
They will carry their riches on the backs of young donkeys,
And their treasures on the humps of camels,
To a people who shall not profit;
7 (J)For the Egyptians shall help in vain and to no purpose.
Therefore I have called her
[c]Rahab-Hem-Shebeth.
A Rebellious People
8 Now go, (K)write it before them on a tablet,
And note it on a scroll,
That it may be for time to come,
Forever and ever:
9 That (L)this is a rebellious people,
Lying children,
Children who will not hear the law of the Lord;
10 (M)Who say to the seers, “Do not see,”
And to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us right things;
(N)Speak to us smooth things, prophesy deceits.
11 Get out of the way,
Turn aside from the path,
Cause the Holy One of Israel
To cease from before us.”
12 Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel:
“Because you (O)despise this word,
And trust in oppression and perversity,
And rely on them,
13 Therefore this iniquity shall be to you
(P)Like a breach ready to fall,
A bulge in a high wall,
Whose breaking (Q)comes suddenly, in an instant.
14 And (R)He shall break it like the breaking of the potter’s vessel,
Which is broken in pieces;
He shall not spare.
So there shall not be found among its fragments
[d]A shard to take fire from the hearth,
Or to take water from the cistern.”
15 For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel:
(S)“In returning and rest you shall be saved;
In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.”
(T)But you would not,
16 And you said, “No, for we will flee on horses”—
Therefore you shall flee!
And, “We will ride on swift horses”—
Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift!
17 (U)One thousand shall flee at the threat of one,
At the threat of five you shall flee,
Till you are left as a [e]pole on top of a mountain
And as a banner on a hill.
God Will Be Gracious
18 Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be (V)gracious to you;
And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
(W)Blessed are all those who (X)wait for Him.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 30:1 Lit. weave a web
- Isaiah 30:6 oracle, prophecy
- Isaiah 30:7 Lit. Rahab Sits Idle
- Isaiah 30:14 A piece of broken pottery
- Isaiah 30:17 A tree stripped of branches
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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