Isaiah 31:5

Isaiah 31:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)As birds flying, so will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also he will deliver it; and passing over he will preserve it.
• New International Version (NIV)Like 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.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)Like birds hovering, so the Lord of hosts will protect Jerusalem; he will protect and deliver it; he will spare and rescue it."
• New King James Version (NKJV)Like birds flying about, So will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem. Defending, He will also deliver it; Passing over, He will preserve it.”

Context of Isaiah 31:5

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 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. Like hovering birds, so the Lord of Armies will protect Jerusalem; 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. 7For on that day, every one of you will reject the worthless idols of silver and gold that your own hands have sinfully made.

Isaiah 31:5 word by word

כְּצִפֳּרִ֣ים עָפ֔וֹת כֵּ֗ן יָגֵ֛ן יְהוָ֥ה צְבָא֖וֹת עַל־יְרֽוּשָׁלִָ֑ם גָּנ֥וֹן וְהִצִּ֖יל פָּסֹ֥חַ וְהִמְלִֽיט׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• As birdsצִפּוֹרtsippôr tsippôr · birdH6833
• flyingעוּף‛ûph · to flyH5774
• so will the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• of hostsצָבָאtsâbâ' tsebâ'âh · HostsH6635
• defendגָּנַןgânan · to defendH1598
• Jerusalemיְרוּשָׁלִַ֫ם, יְרוּשְׁלֵםyerûshâlaim yerûshâlayim · JerusalemH3389
• also he will deliverנָצַלnâtsal · to rescueH5337
• passing overפָּסַחpâsach · to passH6452
• he will preserveמָלַטmâlaţ · to escapeH4422

Cross-references for Isaiah 31:5

• Isaiah 10:14My hand has reached out, as if into a nest, to seize the wealth of the nations. Like one gathering abandoned eggs, I gathered the whole earth. No wing fluttered; no beak opened or chirped.
• Exodus 19:4‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.
• Deuteronomy 32:11He watches over his nest like an eagle and hovers over his young; he spreads his wings, catches him, and carries him on his feathers.
• Psalms 46:5God is within her; she will not be toppled. God will help her when the morning dawns.
• Psalms 91:4He will cover you with his feathers; you will take refuge under his wings. His faithfulness will be a protective shield.
• Psalms 37:40The Lord helps and delivers them; he will deliver them from the wicked and will save them because they take refuge in him.
• Exodus 12:27you are to reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when he struck the Egyptians, and he spared our homes.’” So the people knelt low and worshiped.

Commentaries on Isaiah 31:5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5Passing over "Leaping forward" - The generality of interpreters observe in this place an allusion to the deliverance which God vouchsafed to his people when he destroyed the first-born of the Egyptians, and exempted those of the Israelites sojourning among them by a peculiar interposition. The same word is made use of here which is used upon that occasion, and which gave the name to the feast which was instituted in commemoration of that deliverance, פסח…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5As birds flying - This is another comparison indicating substantially the same thing as the former, that Yahweh would protect Jerusalem. The idea here is, that He would do it in the same manner as birds defend their young by hovering over them, securing them under their wings, and leaping forward, if they are suddenly attacked, to defend them. Our Saviour has used a similar figure to indicate his readiness to have defended and saved the same city Matthew…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4-9This prophecy concerned God’s protection of Jerusalem and its rescue from the Assyrians.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. As in the image of "the lion," the point of comparison is the fearless might of Jehovah; so in that of the birds, it is His solicitous affection (De 32:11; Psa 91:4; Mt 23:37). flying--Rather, "which defend" their young with their wings; "to fly" is a secondary meaning of the Hebrew word [Maurer]. "Hovering over" to protect their young [G. V. Smith]. passing over--as the destroying angel passing over, so as to spare the blood-marked houses of the…Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 31:5

• Church
• Isaiah

In the dictionaries

• Jerusalem
• Lord of Hosts
• Fail
• Hezekiah
• Revolt
• Fly
• Isaiah
• Passover

Commentaries on Isaiah 31

• 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