EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Isaiah 31:3
3The men in Egypt are human. They are not God. Their horses are weak animals, not powerful spirits. When the Lord lifts up his hand to punish them, the strong helpers will not be able to stand. The people who expected them to help will fall down too. They will all come to an end together.
Isaiah 31:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit. When the Lord shall stretch out his hand, both he that helpeth shall fall, and he that is holpen shall fall down, and they all shall fail together.
- New International Version (NIV)But the Egyptians are mere mortals and not God; their horses are flesh and not spirit. When the Lord stretches out his hand, those who help will stumble, those who are helped will fall; all will perish together.
- English Standard Version (ESV)The Egyptians are man, and not God, and their horses are flesh, and not spirit. When the Lord stretches out his hand, the helper will stumble, and he who is helped will fall, and they will all perish together.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; And their horses are flesh, and not spirit. When the Lord stretches out His hand, Both he who helps will fall, And he who is helped will fall down; They all will perish together.
Context of Isaiah 31:3
1It will be very bad for those people who expect that Egypt will help them. They think that Egypt's many horses and chariots will keep them safe. They trust the power of Egypt's strong soldiers who ride on horses. But those people do not trust the Holy God of Israel. They do not ask the Lord to help them. 2But the Lord is very wise. He will bring trouble to people, as he has promised. He will not change his mind. He will punish wicked people, as well as those who help them to do evil things. The men in Egypt are human. They are not God. Their horses are weak animals, not powerful spirits. When the Lord lifts up his hand to punish them, the strong helpers will not be able to stand. The people who expected them to help will fall down too. They will all come to an end together. 4This is what the Lord said to me: ‘The Lord Almighty will come down to fight on Mount Zion and on its hill. He will come like a strong young lion that roars when it has caught a lamb to eat. Even if a whole crowd of shepherds come to chase it away, their shouts will not make the lion afraid. 5The Lord Almighty will make Jerusalem safe. He will protect it like a bird that protects its nest. He will pass over the city and he will rescue it.
Read all of Isaiah 31Isaiah 31:3 word by word
וּמִצְרַ֤יִם אָדָם֙ וְֽלֹא־אֵ֔ל וְסוּסֵיהֶ֥ם בָּשָׂ֖ר וְלֹא־ר֑וּחַ וַֽיהוָ֞ה יַטֶּ֣ה יָד֗וֹ וְכָשַׁ֤ל עוֹזֵר֙ וְנָפַ֣ל עָזֻ֔ר וְיַחְדָּ֖ו כֻּלָּ֥ם יִכְלָיֽוּן׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Now the Egyptiansמִצְרַ֫יִםmitsrayim · EgyptH4714
- menאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
- and not Godאֵל'êl · GodH410
- and their horsesסוּסsûs sûs · horseH5483
- fleshבָּשָׂרbâώâr · fleshH1320
- and not spiritרוּחַrûach · spiritH7307
- When the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- shall stretch outנָטָהnâţâh · to stretchH5186
- his handיָדyâd · handH3027
- both he that helpethעָזַר‛âzar · to helpH5826
- shall fallכָּשַׁלkâshal · to stumbleH3782
- shall fall downנָפַלnâphal · to fall: fallH5307
- and they all shall failכָּלָהkâlâh · to end: destroyH3615
- togetherיָחְדָּוyachad · togetherH3162
Cross-references for Isaiah 31:3
- Isaiah 36:6Yes, you think that Egypt is strong enough to help you. But you should not trust Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. He is like a weak stick. If you use it to walk with, it will break! A broken piece of stick will make a hole through your hand and give you much pain! That is the trouble that the king of Egypt brings to everyone who trusts him to help them.
- Deuteronomy 32:30One man can chase away 1,000 of my people! Two men can chase away 10,000 of them! How can that happen? God, their strong Rock, has left them. The Lord has given their enemies power over them.
- Psalms 9:20Lord, make them afraid! Make the nations know that they are only weak and human. Selah.
- Psalms 146:3Do not trust in human leaders. No human can save you.
- Ezekiel 28:9When your enemies attack you, you will no longer say, ‘I am a god.’ When they are ready to kill you, you will know that you are only human.
- Acts 12:22When he spoke, the people shouted, ‘This is not a man who is speaking to us. This is the voice of a god!’
- 2 Thessalonians 2:4This man will be God's great enemy. He will say that he is greater than everything that people call their gods. He will say that he is greater than everything that people worship. As a result, he will even go into the temple. He will sit down there like a king. He will tell everyone that he himself is God.
- Psalms 33:17In war, do not hope that even a strong horse will help you to win. You can not trust it to save you.
- Isaiah 9:17So the Lord God is not pleased with their young men. He will not help their widows or their children who have no family. Nobody respects God and they all do evil things. They only speak about foolish things. But the Lord is still angry. His hand is ready to hit them again.
- Jeremiah 15:6I tell you this: You have turned away from me. You continue to go further away from me. So I will prepare to use my power to destroy you. I can no longer be kind to you.
- Ezekiel 20:33The Almighty Lord says, I promise you this, as surely as I live: I will use my great power and authority to rule you as your King. You will know how angry I am!
- Jeremiah 37:7‘The Lord, Israel's God, says: Go to the king of Judah, who sent you to ask for my help. Tell him, “Pharaoh's army marched out of Egypt to bring you help. But they will turn back and return to their own land, Egypt.
Commentaries on Isaiah 31:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3He that helpeth (the Egyptians) shall fall and he that is holpen (the Israelites) shall fall down-together.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3Now the Egyptians are men - They are nothing but people; they have no power but such as other people possess. The idea here is, that the case in reference to which they sought aid was one in which “divine” help was indispensable, and that, therefore, they relied on the aid of the Egyptians in vain. And their horses flesh, and not spirit - There is need, not merely of “physical” strength, but of wisdom, and intelligence, and it is in vain to look for that…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-3Isaiah delivered another vision regarding Judah’s negotiations with Egypt, which probably took place in 705–701 BC. During that time, the conquering Assyrians were on the move, threatening Judah. At first, Hezekiah tried political and military means to avert being totally conquered (see 2 Kings 18:13–16).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. not spirit--not of divine power (Psa 56:4; 146:3, 5; Zec 4:6). he that helpeth--Egypt. holpen--Judah.Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 31:3
In the dictionaries
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
EasyEnglish Bible 2018 — Copyright © MissionAssist 2018
Commentaries