English Standard Version
Isaiah 30:17
17A 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.
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.”
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)One of them will chase a thousand of you. Five of them will make all of you flee. You will be left like a lonely flagpole on a hill or a tattered banner on a distant mountaintop.”
Context of Isaiah 30:17
15For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, "In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength." But you were unwilling, 16and you said, "No! We will flee upon horses"; therefore you shall flee away; and, "We will ride upon swift steeds"; therefore your pursuers shall be swift. 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. 18Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. 19For a people shall dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers 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 shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand, and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.
- Deuteronomy 28:25"The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them. And you shall be a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
- Deuteronomy 32:30How could one have chased a thousand, and two have put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, and the Lord had given them up?
- Joshua 23:10One man of you puts to flight a thousand, since it is the Lord your God who fights for you, just as he promised you.
- Proverbs 28:1The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion.
- Jeremiah 37:10For even if you should defeat the whole army of Chaldeans who are fighting against you, and there remained of them only wounded men, every man in his tent, they would rise up and burn this city with fire.'"
- Isaiah 1:7Your country lies desolate; your cities are burned with fire; in your very presence foreigners devour your land; it is desolate, as overthrown by foreigners.
- Isaiah 37:3They said to him, "Thus says Hezekiah, 'This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth.
- Nehemiah 1:2that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem.
- Zephaniah 3:12But I will leave in your midst a people humble and lowly. They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord,
- Zechariah 13:8In the whole land, declares the Lord, two thirds shall be cut off and perish, and one third shall be left alive.
- Matthew 24:21For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.
- Isaiah 6:13And though a tenth remain in it, it will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains when it is felled." The holy seed is its stump.
- Isaiah 27:11When its boughs are dry, they are broken; women come and make a fire of them. For this is a people without discernment; therefore he who made them will not have compassion on them; he who formed them will show them no favor.
- John 15:2Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
- Romans 11:17But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the 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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