301 "Woe to the rebellious children ," declares the Lord , "Who execute a plan , but not Mine , And make an alliance , but not of My Spirit , In order to add sin to sin ; 2 Who proceed down to Egypt Without consulting Me, To take refuge in the safety of Pharaoh And to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt ! 3 "Therefore the safety of Pharaoh will be your shame And the shelter in the shadow of Egypt , your humiliation . 4 "For their princes are at Zoan And their ambassadors arrive at Hanes . 5 "Everyone will be ashamed because of a people who cannot profit them, Who are not for help or profit , but for shame and also for reproach ." 6 The oracle concerning the beasts of the Negev . Through a land of distress and anguish , From where come lioness and lion , viper and flying serpent , They carry their riches on the backs of young donkeys And their treasures on camels' humps , To a people who cannot profit them; 7 Even Egypt , whose help is vain and empty . Therefore , I have called her " Rahab who has been exterminated ."
8 Now go , write it on a tablet before them And inscribe it on a scroll , That it may serve in the time to come As a witness forever e . 9 For this is a rebellious people , false sons , Sons who refuse e to listen To the instruction of the Lord ; 10 Who say to the seers , "You must not see visions"; And to the prophets , "You must not prophesy to us what is right , Speak to us pleasant words , Prophesy illusions . 11 "Get out of the way , turn aside from the path , Let us hear no e more about the Holy One of Israel ." 12 Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel , " Since you have rejected this word And have put your trust in oppression and guile , and have relied on them, 13 Therefore this iniquity will be to you Like a breach about to fall , A bulge in a high wall , Whose collapse comes suddenly in an instant , 14 Whose collapse is like the smashing of a potter's jar , So ruthlessly e shattered That a sherd will not be found among its pieces To take fire from a hearth Or to scoop water from a cistern ." 15 For thus the Lord GOD , the Holy One of Israel , has said , "In repentance and rest you will be saved , In quietness and trust is your strength ." But you were not willing , 16 And you said , "No , for we will flee on horses ," Therefore e you shall flee ! "And we will ride on swift horses," Therefore e those who pursue you shall be swift . 17 One thousand will flee at the threat of one man; You will flee at the threat of five , Until e you are left as a flag on a mountain top And as a signal on a hill .
18 Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you, And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the Lord is a God of justice ; How blessed are all those who long for Him. 19 O people in Zion , inhabitant in Jerusalem , you will weep no longer . He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry ; when He hears it, He will answer you. 20 Although the Lord has given you bread of privation and water of oppression , He, your Teacher will no longer hide Himself, but your eyes will behold your Teacher . 21 Your ears will hear a word behind e you, "This is the way , walk in it," whenever you turn to the right or to the left . 22 And you will defile your graven images overlaid with silver , and your molten images plated with gold . You will scatter them as an impure thing , and say to them, " Be gone !" 23 Then He will give you rain for the seed which you will sow in the ground , and bread from the yield of the ground , and it will be rich and plenteous ; on that day your livestock will graze in a roomy pasture . 24 Also the oxen and the donkeys which work the ground will eat salted fodder , which has been winnowed with shovel and fork . 25 On every lofty mountain and on every high hill there will be streams running with water on the day of the great slaughter , when the towers fall . 26 The light of the moon will be as the light of the sun , and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven days , on the day the Lord binds up the fracture of His people and heals the bruise He has inflicted .
27 Behold , the name of the Lord comes from a remote place ; Burning is His anger and dense is His smoke ; His lips are filled with indignation And His tongue is like a consuming fire ; 28 His breath is like an overflowing torrent , Which reaches to the neck , To shake the nations back and forth in a sieve , And to put in the jaws of the peoples the bridle which leads to ruin . 29 You will have songs as in the night when you keep the festival , And gladness of heart as when one marches to the sound of the flute , To go to the mountain of the Lord , to the Rock of Israel . 30 And the Lord will cause His voice of authority to be heard , And the descending of His arm to be seen in fierce anger , And in the flame of a consuming fire In cloudburst , downpour and hailstones. 31 For at the voice of the Lord Assyria will be terrified , When He strikes with the rod . 32 And every blow of the rod of punishment , Which the Lord will lay on him, Will be with the music of tambourines and lyres ; And in battles , brandishing weapons , He will fight them.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Isaiah 30:1-32
Commentary on Isaiah 30:1-7
(Read Isaiah 30:1-7)
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.
Commentary on Isaiah 30:8-18
(Read Isaiah 30:8-18)
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 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.
Commentary on Isaiah 30:19-26
(Read Isaiah 30:19-26)
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.
Commentary on Isaiah 30:27-33
(Read Isaiah 30:27-33)
God curbs and restrains from doing mischief. With a word he guides his people into the right way, but with a bridle he turns his enemies upon their own ruin. Here, in threatening the ruin of Sennacherib's army, the prophet points at the final and everlasting destruction of all impenitent sinners. Tophet was a valley near Jerusalem, where fires were continually burning to destroy things that were hurtful and offensive, and there the idolatrous Jews caused their children to pass through the fire to Moloch. This denotes the certainty of the destruction, as an awful emblem of the place of torment in the other world. No oppressor shall escape the Divine wrath. Let sinners then flee to Christ, seeking to be reconciled to Him, that they may be safe and happy, when destruction from the Almighty shall sweep away all the workers of iniquity.