Isaiah 30ASV
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Isaiah30

American Standard Version · Public Domain

1Woe to the rebellious children, saith Jehovah, that take counsel, but not of me; and that make a league, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin,

2that set out to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to take refuge in the shadow of Egypt!

3Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the refuge in the shadow of Egypt your confusion.

4For their princes are at Zoan, and their ambassadors are come to Hanes.

5They shall all be ashamed because of a people that cannot profit them, that are not a help nor profit, but a shame, and also a reproach.

6The burden of the beasts of the South. Through the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the lioness and the lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the humps of camels, to a people that shall not profit them.

7For Egypt helpeth in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I called her Rahab that sitteth still.

8Now go, write it before them on a tablet, and inscribe it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever.

9For it is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of Jehovah;

10that say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits,

11get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.

12Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and rely thereon;

13therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly in an instant.

14And he shall break it as a potter’s vessel is broken, breaking it in pieces without sparing; so that there shall not be found among the pieces thereof a sherd wherewith to take fire from the hearth, or to dip up water out of the cistern.

15For thus said the Lord Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength. And ye would not:

16but ye said, No, for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift.

17One thousand shall flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on a hill.

18And therefore will Jehovah wait, that he may be gracious unto you; and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for Jehovah is a God of justice; blessed are all they that wait for him.

19For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem; thou shalt weep no more; he will surely be gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear, he will answer thee.

20And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be hidden anymore, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers;

21and thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it; when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.

22And ye shall defile the overlaying of thy graven images of silver, and the plating of thy molten images of gold: thou shalt cast them away as an unclean thing; thou shalt say unto it, Get thee hence.

23And he will give the rain for thy seed, wherewith thou shalt sow the ground; and bread of the increase of the ground, and it shall be fat and plenteous. In that day shall thy cattle feed in large pastures;

24the oxen likewise and the young asses that till the ground shall eat savory provender, which hath been winnowed with the shovel and with the fork.

25And there shall be upon every lofty mountain, and upon every high hill, brooks and streams of waters, in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall.

26Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that Jehovah bindeth up the hurt of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.

27Behold, the name of Jehovah cometh from far, burning with his anger, and in thick rising smoke: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue is as a devouring fire;

28and his breath is as an overflowing stream, that reacheth even unto the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of destruction: and a bridle that causeth to err shall be in the jaws of the peoples.

29Ye shall have a song as in the night when a holy feast is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come unto the mountain of Jehovah, to the Rock of Israel.

30And Jehovah will cause his glorious voice to be heard, and will show the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and the flame of a devouring fire, with a blast, and tempest, and hailstones.

31For through the voice of Jehovah shall the Assyrian be dismayed; with his rod will he smite him.

32And every stroke of the appointed staff, which Jehovah shall lay upon him, shall be with the sound of tabrets and harps; and in battles with the brandishing of his arm will he fight with them.

33For a Topheth is prepared of old; yea, for the king it is made ready; he hath made it deep and large; the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of Jehovah, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.

Study Guide

Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Isaiah 30.

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Chapter Summary

In this chapter: The Jews reproved for seeking aid from Egypt. (1-7). Judgements in consequence of their contempt of God's word. (8-18). God's mercies to his church. (19-26). The ruin of the Assyrian army, and of all God's enemies. (27-33).

vv1-7

It was often the fault and folly of the Jews, that when troubled by their neighbours on one side, they sought for succour from others, instead of looking up to God. Nor can we avoid the dreadful consequences of adding sin to sin, but by making the righteousness of Christ our refuge, and seeking for the sanctification of the Holy Spirit. Men have always been prone to lean to their own understandings, but this will end in their shame and misery. They would not trust in God. They took much pains to gain the Egyptians. The riches so spent turned to a bad account. See what dangers men run into who forsake God to follow their carnal confidences. The Creator is the Rock of ages, the creature a broken reed; we cannot expect too little from man, or too much from God. Our strength is to sit still, in humble dependence upon God and his goodness, and quiet submission to his will.

vv8-18

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 commandments and his hatred of sin; they desired that they might no more be reminded of these things. But as they despised the word of God, their sins undermined their safety. Their state would be dashed in pieces like a potter's vessel. Let us return from our evil ways, and settle in the way of duty; that is the way to be saved. Would we be strengthened, it must be in quietness and in confidence, keeping peace in our own minds, and relying upon God. They think themselves wiser than God; but the project by which they thought to save themselves was their ruin. Only here and there one shall escape, as a warning to others. If men will not repent, turn to God, and seek happiness in his favour and service, their desires will but hasten their ruin. Those who make God alone their confidence, will have comfort. God ever waits to be gracious to all that come to him by faith in Christ, and happy are those who wait for him.

vv19-26

God's people will soon arrive at the Zion above, and then they will weep no more for ever. Even now they would have more comfort, as well as holiness, if they were more constant in prayer. A famine of bread is not so great a judgment as a famine of the word of God. There are right-hand and left-hand errors; the tempter is busy courting us into by-paths. It is happy if, by the counsels of a faithful minister or friend, or the checks of conscience, and the strivings of God the Spirit, we are set right when doubting, and prevented from going wrong. They shall be cured of their idolatry. To all true penitents sin becomes very hateful. This is shown daily in the conversion of souls, by the power of Divine grace, to the fear and love of God. Abundant means of grace, with the influences of the Holy Spirit, would be extended to places destitute of them. The effect of this should be comfort and joy to the people of God. Light, that is, knowledge, shall increase. This is the light which the gospel brought into the world, and which proclaims healing to the broken-hearted.

Cross References

Isaiah 30
v1Isaiah 31:1thematic

Direct sister prophecy denouncing trust in Egyptian horses and strength rather than the Holy One.

Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB

v332 Kings 23:10thematic

Tophet identified as the valley near Jerusalem where children passed through the fire to Moloch.

Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB

v2Joshua 9:14thematic

Historical parallel of Israel failing to ask counsel at the mouth of the Lord.

Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB

v2Numbers 27:21thematic

The law requiring leaders to ask counsel from the Lord through the priest's judgment.

Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB

v7Isaiah 30:15thematic

Echoes the call to sit still and rest quietly as the only source of strength.

Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB

v33Matthew 25:41typology

Tophet as a prepared place of fire, prefiguring the eternal fire prepared for the devil.

Supported by Matthew Henry

Writing down prophecy as a permanent written witness against a rebellious people.

Supported by JFB

v14Psalms 2:9thematic

The classic image of God breaking rebellious nations like a potter's vessel.

Supported by JFB

v14Jeremiah 19:11thematic

A physical enactment of breaking a potter's bottle, signifying irreparable national destruction.

Supported by JFB

v22Isaiah 31:7thematic

The casting away of silver and gold idols in repentance, mirroring casting away as a menstruous cloth.

Supported by Matthew Henry

v28Isaiah 37:29thematic

God putting a hook in the nose and a bridle in the jaws of Assyria.

Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB

v31Isaiah 10:5thematic

The Assyrian designated as the rod of God's anger, now beaten down by God's voice.

Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, John Calvin

v1Jeremiah 37:7thematic

Historical fulfillment where Pharaoh's army failed to prevent the Babylonian conquest.

Supported by Matthew Poole

v5Jeremiah 2:36thematic

Parallel indictment of Judah being ashamed of alliances with Egypt and Assyria.

Supported by JFB

v10Micah 2:11thematic

Condemns the popular desire for false prophets who speak deceptive, pleasing falsehoods.

Supported by JFB

Fulfills the covenant curse of fleeing before enemies due to disobedience.

Supported by John Calvin

v21Jeremiah 6:16thematic

Instruction to ask for the old paths and walk in the good way.

Supported by Matthew Henry

v21Isaiah 35:8thematic

The Highway of Holiness, where the wayfaring men shall not err.

Supported by Matthew Henry

v22Deuteronomy 7:25thematic

The command to burn the images of silver and gold and not covet them.

Supported by JFB

v24Matthew 3:12thematic

The spiritual winnowing fan and shovel, separating the wheat from the chaff.

Supported by Matthew Henry

v32Isaiah 30:29thematic

The tabrets and harps celebrating judgment correspond to the song in the night.

Supported by Matthew Poole

v4Isaiah 19:11thematic

Identifies Zoan as the seat of Pharaoh's foolish counsellors.

Supported by JFB

The wilderness landscape described as a land of trouble, fiery serpents, and drought.

Supported by JFB

v8Habakkuk 2:2thematic

Command to write the vision plainly upon tables for public, future testimony.

Supported by JFB

v101 Kings 22:13thematic

Illustrates the pressure put on prophets to speak only favorable, smooth predictions.

Supported by JFB

v22Hosea 14:8thematic

Ephraim's final renunciation of idols: 'What have I to do any more with idols?'

Supported by Matthew Henry

v25Isaiah 37:36fulfillment

The historical destruction of the Assyrian army, fulfilling the slaughter and falling towers.

Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole

v26Revelation 21:23typology

The ultimate fulfillment of spiritual light where the Lamb is the light thereof.

Supported by Matthew Henry

v33Jeremiah 7:31thematic

Tophet in the valley of Ben-Hinnom built for burning children in sacrifice.

Supported by Matthew Henry