who set out to go down into Egypt, and have not asked my advice, to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to take refuge in the shadow of Egypt!
Parallel Translations
-
who set out to go down into Egypt, and have not asked my advice, to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to take refuge in the shadow of Egypt!
-
That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt!
-
That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at My mouth; to take refuge in the stronghold of Pharaoh, and to take shelter in the shadow of Egypt!
Cross-references (19)
Passages linked to Isaiah 30:2 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Isaiah 36:6 Behold, you trust in the staff of this bruised reed, even in Egypt, which if a man leans on it, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him.
- Numbers 27:21 He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before Yahweh. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation.”
- Deuteronomy 28:68 Yahweh will bring you into Egypt again with ships, by the way of which I told to you that you would never see it again. There you will offer yourselves to your enemies for male and female slaves, and nobody will buy you.
- Jeremiah 42:20 For you have dealt deceitfully against your own souls; for you sent me to Yahweh your God, saying, ‘Pray for us to Yahweh our God; and according to all that Yahweh our God says, so declare to us, and we will do it.’
- Jeremiah 43:7 and they came into the land of Egypt; for they didn’t obey Yahweh’s voice: and they came to Tahpanhes.
- Lamentations 4:20 The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of Yahweh, was taken in their pits; of whom we said, under his shadow we will live among the nations.
- Ezekiel 29:6-7 “ ‘ “All the inhabitants of Egypt will know that I am Yahweh, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel. When they took hold of you by your hand, you broke, and tore all their shoulders. When they leaned on you, you broke, and paralyzed all of their thighs.”
- Joshua 9:14 The men sampled their provisions, and didn’t ask counsel from Yahweh’s mouth.
- Judges 9:15 “The bramble said to the trees, ‘If in truth you anoint me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade; and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’
- 1 Kings 22:7 But Jehoshaphat said, “Isn’t there here a prophet of Yahweh, that we may inquire of him?”
- 2 Kings 17:4 The king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea; for he had sent messengers to So king of Egypt, and offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year. Therefore the king of Assyria seized him, and bound him in prison.
- Isaiah 16:3 Give counsel! Execute justice! Make your shade like the night in the middle of the noonday! Hide the outcasts! Don’t betray the fugitive!
- Isaiah 18:1 Ah, the land of the rustling of wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia;
- Isaiah 20:5-6 They will be dismayed and confounded, because of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory. The inhabitants of this coast land will say in that day, ‘Behold, this is our expectation, where we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria. And we, how will we escape?’ ”
- Isaiah 31:1-3 Woe 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 don’t look to the Holy One of Israel, and they don’t seek Yahweh! Yet he also is wise, and will bring disaster, and will not call back his words, but will arise against the house of the evildoers, and against the help of those who work iniquity. Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit. When Yahweh stretches out his hand, both he who helps shall stumble, and he who is helped shall fall, and they all shall be consumed together.
- Isaiah 36:9 How then can you turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put your trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?
- Jeremiah 21:2 “Please inquire of Yahweh for us; for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon makes war against us. Perhaps Yahweh will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he may withdraw from us.”
- Jeremiah 37:5 Pharaoh’s army had come out of Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news of them, they broke up from Jerusalem.
- Jeremiah 42:2 and said to Jeremiah the prophet, “Please let our supplication be presented before you, and pray for us to Yahweh your God, even for all this remnant; for we are left but a few of many, as your eyes see us;
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (11 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Isa 30:2 That walk to go down into Egypt,…
Isa 30:2 That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt!
Ver. 2. That walk to go down into Egypt.] This they were flatly forbidden to do. But state policy doth sometimes carry it against express Scripture, to the formalising and enervating of the power of truth, till at length they have left us a heartless and sapless religion, as one well observeth. This is no thriving course certainly; here we have a dreadful woe hanged at the heels of it. The Grecian Churches first called in the Turks to their help, who distressed them, and then, through fear of the Turks, A.D. 1438, sent and subjected themselves to the Bishop of Rome, that they might have the help of the Latin Churches; but shortly after they were destroyed, their empire subdued, &c., teaching all others by their example not to trust to carnal combinations, not to seek the association of others in a sinful way.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain That walk to go down into Egypt; that send…
That walk to go down into Egypt; that send ambassadors to Egypt for succour, as we read, Isa 30:4, which the Jews were forward to do upon all occasions, and did now upon the invasion of the king of Assyria, as is evident from Isa 20:5,6, and did the like against the king of Babylon, Jer 37:7; Eze 17:15.
Have not asked at my mouth; either by the priests or prophets, as they were to do in weighty cases; of which see Num 27:21; Jos 9:14; 1Sa 23:9,10; 1Ki 22:7; Jer 21:2; 42:2,20; or by studying my word, which plainly directs them to another course, and forbids them this practice.
Read full note →
In the shadow; in their power (as it is in the foregoing clause) and protection, which is oft signified by the shadow, as Jdg 9:15; Psa 17:8; 91:1,4.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain That walk to go down into Egypt,.... That walk…
That walk to go down into Egypt,.... That walk out of their own land to go thither; who sent messengers thither to form an alliance, and get help and assistance, or went in person, to secure themselves from present danger. Jarchi refers this to the times of Hoshea, the son of Elah, king of Israel, who sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, Kg2 17:4. Jerom to the times of Jeremiah, to the history in his prophecy, Jer 41:17 and others to Zedekiah. Kimchi thinks it respects the time of Ahaz, though there is no account, either in the books of Kings or Chronicles, of sending then to Egypt for help; or else to the times of Hezekiah himself; which latter is right, as appears from the insults of Rabshakeh, when Sennacherib's army was before Jerusalem, Isa 36:6,
and have not asked at my mouth: or as the Targum,
Read full note →
"the words of my prophets they have not asked;''
they did not inquire of the prophets of the Lord, whether they should go down or not:
to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh; by making an alliance with him, and receiving men and horses from him, to assist them against the Assyrians; this Pharaoh was he whom the Scriptures call So, Kg2 17:4 and by other writers, Sevechus and Sethon:
and to trust in the shadow of Egypt; the protection that would afford them, in which they placed their confidence, and thought themselves safe from their other enemy, by having so powerful an ally; but this was but a shadow, as are whatsoever men trust in short of the Lord himself, be they riches or righteousness, or any creature or creature enjoyment.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Asked - Either by the priests or prophets.
Asked - Either by the priests or prophets.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain That walk to go down to Egypt - Hebrew,…
That walk to go down to Egypt - Hebrew, ‘Going in the descent to Egypt.’ That is, they do it by their ambassadors Isa 30:4. The journey to Egypt from Palestine is always represented as going down Gen 12:10; Gen 42:3; Gen 43:15; Num 20:15; Deu 10:22.
To strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh - To form an alliance with Pharaoh, that thus they might be able to repel the threatened invasion. Pharaoh was the general name of the kings of Egypt, in the same manner as Caesar was the common name of the emperors of Rome.
Read full note →
To trust in the shadow of Egypt - A ‘shadow’ (צל tsêl) is an emblem of protection and defense, as a shade is a protection from the burning rays of the sun (see the note at Isa 4:6).
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Down, with presents, ver. 6., and 4 Kings xviii.…
Down, with presents, ver. 6., and 4 Kings xviii. 20.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain walk--are now setting out, namely, their ambassadors (Isa 30:4).
walk--are now setting out, namely, their ambassadors (Isa 30:4).
Egypt--See on Isa 19:1; Isa 20:1.
Read full note →
Pharaoh--the generic name of the kings of Egypt, as Cæsar was at Rome. The word in Egyptian means "king" [JOSEPHUS, Antiquities, 8.6,2]. Phra, "the sun," was the hieroglyphic symbol and title of the king.
shadow--image from shelter against heat: protection (Psa 121:5-6).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 2-4. That walk to go down into Egypt —…
2-4. That walk to go down into Egypt — “Going in the descent of Egypt,” by their ambassadors. Trusting in the shadow of Egypt — in her protection rather than in the protection of Jehovah — is most disgraceful. Their trust in Pharaoh’s protection shall, however, prove to be to them a shame, a confusion. The folly has already gone so far that ambassadors are already at Zoan, (the present Tsan,) the royal seat in lower northeastern Egypt, and at Hanes, (a name perhaps contracted from Tahpanhes, so Grotius thinks,) another royal seat in middle Egypt, to both of which it may be assumed applications were made.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 2. and have not asked at my mouth] “have…
2. and have not asked at my mouth] “have not consulted my prophet” (for the expression cf. Jos_9:14; Gen_24:57).
to strengthen themselves … Egypt] Rather: to take refuge in the refuge of Pharaoh, and to hide in the shadow of Egypt.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (2) To strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh.—Literally,…
(2) To strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh.—Literally, the fortress of Pharaoh, used as the symbol of his kingdom: This, then, was the course into which even Hezekiah had been led or driven, and it had been done without consulting Isaiah as the recognised prophet of Jehovah. For the “shadow of Egypt” see Note on Isa_18:1.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain That walk; or, are on their way. (comp. Isa_31:1)…
That walk; or, are on their way. (comp. Isa_31:1) Either the Jewish ambassadors have already started, or the anticipatory vision of the prophet sees them as if starting. In the history (2Ki_18:13-37 Isa_36:1-22) it is not expressly said that Hezekiah made application to Egypt for aid; but the reproaches of Rabshakeh (2Ki_18:21, 2Ki_18:24) would be pointless if he had not done so. Have not asked at my mouth. As they ought to have done. (see Num_27:21 Jud_1:1 20:18 1Sa_23:2 1Ki_22:7, etc.) To strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh. It is very uncertain who is the "Pharaoh" here intended. The supreme power over Egypt was probably, at the time, in the hands of Tirkakah; (2Ki_19:9) but Lower Egypt seems to have been ruled by various princes, the chief of whom was Shabatok, and any one of these may have been regarded by Isaiah as a "Pharaoh." To trust in the shadow of Egypt. Trust in the "shadow of God" was an expression very familiar to the Jews. (see Psa_17:8 Psa_36:7 Psa_63:7 Psa_91:1 Isa_25:4 Isa_32:2) To "trust in the shadow of Egypt" was to put Egypt in the place of God.
Trusting others than Jehovah.
Read full note →
Relying upon human aid, involving a distrust of the Divine promises, was a crying sin of the ancient Church, not at one time only, but throughout her history." It is quite as truly the crying sin of the modern Church, and of the Christian individual. In every time of pressure and need we first fly to some form of human help. It is either the expression of "first simplicity," or else of "cultured sanctity," to act on the words, "Our help is in the Lord our God.
I THE DELUSIONS ON WHICH OUR TRUSTING OTHERS REST. Some of these take shape, and we can recognize them. Others lie down in men"s souls, doing their mischievous work, but never getting put into propositions, which can be fairly dealt with. They are such as the following:
1. God is far away, and his help is not anything really practical.
2. God does not heed; he is so largely concerned in the great affairs of the universe that it is only an imagination that he can take interest in an individual life.
3. God is so long about his work; and impatient man cannot bear waiting if he is in any trouble, he wants it dealt with at once. Compare the King of Israel, in the famine-time, saying pettishly to Elisha, "What should I wait for the Lord any longer?
4. God makes such hard terms. He always wants repentance and submission, and letting our own hands hang down; he crushes human energy and enterprise. The very statement of these cherished delusions of men suggests their correctives. Surely to all who cherish them the great Father is an unknown God.
II THE FORMS WHICH OUR TRUSTING OTHERS MAY TAKE. The Jewish nation leaned on the help of another nation in her extremity. We, in our individual life and experience, are in danger of some form of sacerdotalism; we pin our faith to some sect-leader, some scientific teacher, some admired statesman, some popular preacher, some assertive priest. Thousands of people find individual responsibility in religion too heavy a burden for them to bear, and do not grasp the truth that God is with them in the bearing, and that it is their dignity to stand under the yoke only with God. Sacerdotalism is just the "man-trust" which prophets denounce. In public life and association the tendency is to lean on, and worship material strength. We seek the help of riches for the carrying out of all our religions schemes. We fly to men rather than to God.
III HISTORY AND EXPERIENCE ALIKE PROVE THE PRACTICAL FOLLY, AS WELL AS THE INGRATITUDE AND REBELLIOUSNESS, OF THUS FORSAKING GOD. Our trusts prove, like Egypt, only shebheth, inactive, do-nothings (see ver. 7). Egypt promised much, but failed utterly in the day of trial. R.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.