Isaiah 31

Help Not in Egypt but in God

1Woe to those who go down to 1Egypt for help And 2rely on horses, And trust in chariots because they are many And in horsemen because they are very strong, But they do not 3look to the 4Holy One of Israel, nor seek the Lord!2Yet He also is 5wise and will 6bring disaster, And does 7not retract His words, But will arise against the house of 8evildoers, And against the help of the 9workers of injustice.3Now the Egyptians are 10human and not God, And their 11horses are flesh and not spirit; So the Lord will 12stretch out His hand, And any 13helper will stumble, And one who is helped will fall. And all of them will come to an end together.

4For this is what the Lord says to me: “As the 14lion or the young lion growls over his prey, Against which a band of shepherds is called out, And he will not be terrified at their voice nor disturbed at their noise, So will the Lord of armies come down to wage 15war on Mount Zion and on its hill.”5Like 16flying 17birds so the Lord of armies will protect Jerusalem. He will 18protect and save it; He will pass over and rescue it.

619Return to Him against whom 20you have been 21profoundly obstinate, you sons of Israel. 7For on that day every person will 22reject his silver idols and his gold idols, which your hands have made for you as 23a sin.8And the 24Assyrian will fall by a sword not wielded by a man, And a 25sword not of man will devour him. So he will 2627not escape the sword, And his young men will become 28forced laborers.9“His 29rock will pass away because of panic, And his officers will be terrified by the 30flag,” Declares the Lord, whose 31fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.