New International Version
Isaiah 30:17
17A 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.”
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.
- 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.
- 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
15This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it. 16You said, ‘No, we will flee on horses.’ Therefore you will flee! You said, ‘We will ride off on swift horses.’ Therefore your pursuers will be swift! 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.” 18Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! 19People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, 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, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.
- Deuteronomy 28:25The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will come at them from one direction but flee from them in seven, and you will become a thing of horror to all the kingdoms on earth.
- Deuteronomy 32:30How could one man chase a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the Lord had given them up?
- Joshua 23:10One of you routs a thousand, because the Lord your God fights for you, just as he promised.
- Proverbs 28:1The wicked flee though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.
- Jeremiah 37:10Even if you were to defeat the entire Babylonian army that is attacking you and only wounded men were left in their tents, they would come out and burn this city down.”
- Isaiah 1:7Your country is desolate, your cities burned with fire; your fields are being stripped by foreigners right before you, laid waste as when overthrown by strangers.
- Isaiah 37:3They told him, “This is what Hezekiah says: This day is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace, as when children come to the moment of birth and there is no strength to deliver them.
- Nehemiah 1:2Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem.
- Zephaniah 3:12But I will leave within you the meek and humble. The remnant of Israel will trust in the name of the Lord.
- Zechariah 13:8In the whole land,” declares the Lord, “two-thirds will be struck down and perish; yet one-third will be left in it.
- Matthew 24:21For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.
- Isaiah 6:13And though a tenth remains in the land, it will again be laid waste. But as the terebinth and oak leave stumps when they are cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump in the land.”
- Isaiah 27:11When its twigs are dry, they are broken off and women come and make fires with them. For this is a people without understanding; so their Maker has no compassion on them, and their Creator shows them no favor.
- John 15:2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
- Romans 11:17If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root,
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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