Christian Standard Bible
Isaiah 30:17
17One thousand will flee at the threat of one, at the threat of five you will flee, until you remain like a solitary pole on a mountaintop or a banner on a hill.
Isaiah 30:17 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on an hill.
- New International Version (NIV)A thousand will flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you will all flee away, till you are left like a flagstaff on a mountaintop, like a banner on a hill.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)A thousand shall flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you shall flee, till you are left like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain, like a signal on a hill.
- New King James Version (NKJV)One thousand shall flee at the threat of one, At the threat of five you shall flee, Till you are left as a pole on top of a mountain And as a banner on a hill.
Context of Isaiah 30:17
15For the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has said: “You will be delivered by returning and resting; your strength will lie in quiet confidence. But you are not willing.” 16You say, “No! We will escape on horses” — therefore you will escape! — and, “We will ride on fast horses” — but those who pursue you will be faster. One thousand will flee at the threat of one, at the threat of five you will flee, until you remain like a solitary pole on a mountaintop or a banner on a hill. 18Therefore the Lord is waiting to show you mercy, and is rising up to show you compassion, for the Lord is a just God. All who wait patiently for him are happy. 19For people will live on Zion in Jerusalem. You will never weep again; he will show favor to you at the sound of your outcry; as soon as he hears, he will answer you.
Read all of Isaiah 30Isaiah 30:17 word by word
אֶ֣לֶף אֶחָ֗ד מִפְּנֵי֙ גַּעֲרַ֣ת אֶחָ֔ד מִפְּנֵ֛י גַּעֲרַ֥ת חֲמִשָּׁ֖ה תָּנֻ֑סוּ עַ֣ד אִם־נוֹתַרְתֶּ֗ם כַּתֹּ֙רֶן֙ עַל־רֹ֣אשׁ הָהָ֔ר וְכַנֵּ֖ס עַל־הַגִּבְעָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Oneאֶחָד'echâd · oneH259
- thousandאֶ֫לֶף'eleph · thousandH505
- atפָּנֶהpânîym · face: becauseH6440
- the rebukeגְּעָרָהge‛ârâh · rebukeH1606
- of fiveחָמֵשׁchâmêsh chămishshâh · fiveH2568
- shall ye fleeנוּסnûs · to fleeH5127
- till ye be leftיָתַרyâthar · to remainH3498
- as a beaconתֹּ֫רֶןtôren · mastH8650
- upon the topרֹאשׁrô'sh · head: topH7218
- of a mountainהַרhar · mountain: mountH2022
- and as an ensignנֵסnês · ensignH5251
- on an hillגִּבְעָהgib‛âh · hillH1389
Cross-references for Isaiah 30:17
- Leviticus 26:8Five of you will pursue a hundred, and a hundred of you will pursue ten thousand; your enemies will fall before you by the sword.
- Deuteronomy 28:25The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will march out against them from one direction but flee from them in seven directions. You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
- Deuteronomy 32:30How could one pursue a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the Lord had given them up?
- Joshua 23:10One of you routed a thousand because the Lord your God was fighting for you, as he promised.
- Proverbs 28:1The wicked flee when no one is pursuing them, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.
- Jeremiah 37:10Indeed, if you were to strike down the entire Chaldean army that is fighting with you, and there remained among them only the badly wounded men, each in his tent, they would get up and burn this city.’”
- Isaiah 1:7Your land is desolate, your cities burned down; foreigners devour your fields right in front of you — a desolation, like a place demolished by foreigners.
- Isaiah 37:3They said to him, “This is what Hezekiah says: ‘Today is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace. It is as if children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to deliver them.
- Nehemiah 1:2Hanani, one of my brothers, arrived with men from Judah, and I questioned them about Jerusalem and the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile.
- Zephaniah 3:12I will leave a meek and humble people among you, and they will take refuge in the name of the Lord.
- Zechariah 13:8In the whole land — this is the Lord’s declaration — two-thirds will be cut off and die, but a third will be left in it.
- Matthew 24:21For at that time there will be great distress, the kind that hasn’t taken place from the beginning of the world until now and never will again.
- Isaiah 6:13Though a tenth will remain in the land, it will be burned again. Like the terebinth or the oak that leaves a stump when felled, the holy seed is the stump.
- Isaiah 27:11When its branches dry out, they will be broken off. Women will come and make fires with them, for they are not a people with understanding. Therefore their Maker will not have compassion on them, and their Creator will not be gracious to them.
- John 15:2Every branch in me that does not produce fruit he removes, and he prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit.
- Romans 11:17Now if some of the branches were broken off, and you, though a wild olive branch, were grafted in among them and have come to share in the rich root of the cultivated olive tree,
Commentaries on Isaiah 30:17
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17At the rebuke of five shall ye flee "At the rebuke of five, ten thousand of you shall flee" - In the second line of this verse a word is manifestly omitted, which should answer to one thousand in the first: the Septuagint supply , רבים rabbim . But the true word is רבבה rebabah, as I am persuaded any one will be convinced, who will compare the following passages with this place: - "How should one chase a thousand; And two put ten thousand (רבבה ) to…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17One thousand - The sense of this is, that you shall be easily alarmed and overcome by those who are inferior in numbers and strength. The number one thousand,‘ is put for a large indefinite number; probably meaning all. At the rebuke of one - The number one here is put to denote a very small number; a number in the ordinary course of warfare entirely disproportionate to those who would be vanquished. There is probably a reference here to the prediction…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 8-18Verses 8-18 The Jews were the only professing people God then had in the world, yet many among them were rebellious. They had the light, but they loved darkness rather. The prophets checked them in their sinful pursuits, so that they could not proceed without fear; this they took amiss. But faithful ministers will not be driven from seeking to awaken sinners. God is the Holy One of Israel, and so they shall find him. They did not like to hear of his holy…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17one … five: This curse is the opposite of God's blessing for obedience (Leviticus 26:8; Deuteronomy 32:30). The Assyrians had taken control of most of the land of Judah. Only Jerusalem remained. The city stood alone, like a single pole on top of a hill. It was isolated and surrounded by enemy territory.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. One thousand--A thousand at once, or, "As one man" [Maurer]. rebuke--the battle cry. shall ye--at the rebuke of five shall ye, namely, all (in contrast to the "one thousand") flee so utterly that even two shall not be left together, but each one shall be as solitary "as a signal staff" [G. V. Smith], or "a banner on a hill" (Is 5:26; 11:12). The signal staff was erected to rally a nation in war. The remnant of Jews left would be beacons to warn all…Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 30:17
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 30
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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