God’s Word Translation
Isaiah 30:17
17One thousand people will flee when one person threatens them, and you will flee when five threaten you. Then you will be left alone like a flagpole on top of a mountain, like a signpost 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
15This is what the Almighty Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: You can be saved by returning to me. You can have rest. You can be strong by being quiet and by trusting me. But you don’t want that. 16You’ve said, “No, we’ll flee on horses.” So you flee. You’ve added, “We’ll ride on fast horses.” So those who chase you will also be fast. One thousand people will flee when one person threatens them, and you will flee when five threaten you. Then you will be left alone like a flagpole on top of a mountain, like a signpost on a hill. 18The Lord is waiting to be kind to you. He rises to have compassion on you. The Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all those who wait for him. 19You will live in Zion, in Jerusalem. You won’t cry anymore. The Lord will certainly have pity on you when you cry for help. As soon as he hears you, 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 chase a hundred of them, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand of them. You will defeat your enemies,
- Deuteronomy 28:25The Lord will let your enemies defeat you. You will attack them from one direction but run away from them in seven directions. You will become a thing of horror to all the kingdoms in the world.
- Deuteronomy 32:30How could one person chase a thousand or two people make ten thousand flee? Their rock used these people to defeat them and the Lord gave them no help.
- Joshua 23:10One of you used to chase a thousand. That was because the Lord your God was fighting for you, as he had promised you.
- Proverbs 28:1A wicked person flees when no one is chasing him, but righteous people are as bold as lions.
- Jeremiah 37:10Even if you would defeat the entire Babylonian army so that they had only a few badly wounded men left in their tents, they would get up and burn down this city.’ ”
- Isaiah 1:7“Your country is devastated. Your cities are burned down. Your fields are destroyed right before your eyes by foreigners. Your fields are devastated and taken over by foreigners.
- Isaiah 37:3They said to him, “This is what Hezekiah says: Today is a day filled with misery, punishment, and disgrace. We are like a woman who is about to give birth but doesn’t have the strength to do it.
- Nehemiah 1:2one of my brothers, Hanani, arrived with some men from Judah. I asked them about the Jews who had survived captivity and about Jerusalem.
- Zephaniah 3:12So with you I will leave a faithful few, a humble and poor people. They will seek refuge in the name of the Lord.
- Zechariah 13:8The Lord declares, “Throughout the land two-thirds will be cut off and die. Yet, one-third will be left in it.
- Matthew 24:21There will be a lot of misery at that time, a kind of misery that has not happened from the beginning of the world until now and will certainly never happen again.
- Isaiah 6:13Even if one out of ten people is left in it, the land will be burned again. When a sacred oak or an oak is cut down, a stump is left The holy seed will be the land’s stump.”
- Isaiah 27:11When the branches are dried up, they will be broken off. Women will come and build a fire with them. These people don’t understand ⌞these things⌟. That is why their maker won’t have compassion on them, and their Creator won’t have pity on them.
- John 15:2He removes every one of my branches that doesn’t produce fruit. He also prunes every branch that does produce fruit to make it produce more fruit.
- Romans 11:17But some of the olive branches have been broken off, and you, a wild olive branch, have been grafted in their place. You get your nourishment from the roots 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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