New American Standard Bible 2020
Isaiah 31:3
3Now the Egyptians are 1human and not God, And their 2horses are flesh and not spirit; So the Lord will 3stretch out His hand, And any 4helper will stumble, And one who is helped will fall. And all of them will 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
1Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help And rely on horses, And trust in chariots because they are many And in horsemen because they are very strong, But they do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the Lord! 2Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster, And does not retract His words, But will arise against the house of evildoers, And against the help of the workers of injustice. Now the Egyptians are human and not God, And their horses are flesh and not spirit; So the Lord will stretch out His hand, And any helper 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 lion 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 war on Mount Zion and on its hill.” 5Like flying birds so the Lord of armies will protect Jerusalem. He will protect and save it; He will pass over and 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
- Now the Egyptiansמִצְרַ֫יִםmitsrayim · EgyptH4714
- humanאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
- and not Godאֵל'êl · GodH410
- horsesסוּסsûs sûs · horseH5483
- are fleshבָּשָׂרbâώâr · fleshH1320
- and not spiritרוּחַrûach · spiritH7307
- So the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- stretchנָטָהnâţâh · to stretchH5186
- His handיָדyâd · handH3027
- helperעָזַר‛âzar · to helpH5826
- will stumbleכָּשַׁלkâshal · to stumbleH3782
- will fallנָפַלnâphal · to fall: fallH5307
- And allכֹּלkôl kôl · allH3605
- of them will comeכָּלָהkâlâh · to end: destroyH3615
- toכָּלָהkâlâh · to end: destroyH3615
Cross-references for Isaiah 31:3
- Isaiah 36:6Behold, you have relied on the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who rely on him.
- Deuteronomy 32:30How could one chase a thousand, And two put ten thousand to flight, Unless their Rock had sold them, And the Lord had given them up?
- Psalms 9:20Put them in fear, Lord; Let the nations know that they are merely human. Selah
- Psalms 146:3Do not trust in noblemen, In mortal man, in whom there is no salvation.
- Ezekiel 28:9Will you still say, “I am a god,” In the presence of one who kills you, Though you are a mortal and not God, In the hands of those who wound you?
- Acts 12:22The people repeatedly cried out, “The voice of a god and not of a man!”
- 2 Thessalonians 2:4who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.
- Psalms 33:17A horse is a false hope for victory; Nor does it rescue anyone by its great strength.
- Isaiah 9:17Therefore the Lord does not rejoice over their young men, Nor does He have compassion on their orphans or their widows; For every one of them is godless and an evildoer, And every mouth is speaking foolishness. In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away, And His hand is still stretched out.
- Jeremiah 15:6You who have forsaken Me,” declares the Lord, “You keep going backward. So I will stretch out My hand against you and destroy you; I am tired of relenting!
- Ezekiel 20:33“As I live,” declares the Lord God, “with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out, I assuredly shall be king over you.
- Jeremiah 37:7“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘This is what you are to say to the king of Judah, who sent you to Me to inquire of Me: “Behold, Pharaoh’s army, which has come out to help you, is going to return to its own land of 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
Notes
- 1. Isaiah 31:3 Ezek 28:9; 2 Thess 2:4 ↩
- 2. Isaiah 31:3 Is 36:9 ↩
- 3. Isaiah 31:3 Is 9:17; Jer 15:6; Ezek 20:33, 34 ↩
- 4. Isaiah 31:3 Is 30:5, 7; Matt 15:14 ↩
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
New American Standard Bible 2020 — © 1960–2020 The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Commentaries