Isaiah 31-32
King James Version
31 Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the Lord!
2 Yet he also is wise, and will bring evil, and will not call back his words: but will arise against the house of the evildoers, and against the help of them that work iniquity.
3 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.
4 For thus hath the Lord spoken unto me, Like as the lion and the young lion roaring on his prey, when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him, he will not be afraid of their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them: so shall the Lord of hosts come down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill thereof.
5 As birds flying, so will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also he will deliver it; and passing over he will preserve it.
6 Turn ye unto him from whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted.
7 For in that day every man shall cast away his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your own hands have made unto you for a sin.
8 Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of a mighty man; and the sword, not of a mean man, shall devour him: but he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall be discomfited.
9 And he shall pass over to his strong hold for fear, and his princes shall be afraid of the ensign, saith the Lord, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.
32 Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment.
2 And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.
3 And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken.
4 The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly.
5 The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful.
6 For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the Lord, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.
7 The instruments also of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right.
8 But the liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand.
9 Rise up, ye women that are at ease; hear my voice, ye careless daughters; give ear unto my speech.
10 Many days and years shall ye be troubled, ye careless women: for the vintage shall fail, the gathering shall not come.
11 Tremble, ye women that are at ease; be troubled, ye careless ones: strip you, and make you bare, and gird sackcloth upon your loins.
12 They shall lament for the teats, for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine.
13 Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city:
14 Because the palaces shall be forsaken; the multitude of the city shall be left; the forts and towers shall be for dens for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks;
15 Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest.
16 Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field.
17 And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.
18 And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places;
19 When it shall hail, coming down on the forest; and the city shall be low in a low place.
20 Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass.
Isaiah 31-32
1599 Geneva Bible
31 1 He curseth them that forsake God, and seek for the help of men.
1 Woe unto them that [a]go down into Egypt for help, and stay upon horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many, and in horsemen, because they be very strong; but they look not unto the Holy one of Israel, nor [b]seek unto the Lord.
2 But he yet is [c]wisest; therefore he will bring evil, and not turn back his word, but he will arise against the house of the wicked, and against the help of them that work vanity.
3 Now the Egyptians are men and not God, and their horses flesh, and not spirit; and when the Lord shall stretch out his hand, the [d]helper shall fall, and he that is helped shall fall, and they shall altogether fail.
4 For this hath the Lord spoken unto me, As the lion or lion’s whelp roareth upon his prey, against whom if a multitude of shepherds be called, he will not be afraid at their voice, neither will humble himself at their noise: so shall the Lord of hosts come [e]down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill thereof.
5 As birds that fly, so shall the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem by defending and delivering, by passing through and preserving it.
6 O ye children of Israel, turn again, in as much as ye are [f]sunken deep in rebellion.
7 For in that day every man shall [g]cast out his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your hands have made you, even a sin.
8 [h]Then shall Assyria fall by the sword, not of man, neither shall the sword of man devour him, and he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall faint.
9 And he shall go for fear to his [i]tower, and his princes shall be afraid of the standard, saith the Lord, whose [j]fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.
32 The conditions of good rulers and officers describeth by the government of Hezekiah, who was the figure of Christ.
1 Behold, [k]a King shall reign in justice, and the princes shall [l]rule in judgment.
2 And that man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and as a refuge for the tempest, as rivers of water in a dry place, and as the shadow of a great rock in [m]a weary land.
3 The eyes of [n]the seeing shall not be shut, and the ears of them that hear, shall hearken.
4 And the heart of the foolish shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stutters shall be ready to speak distinctly.
5 A [o]niggard shall no more be called liberal, nor the churl rich.
6 But the niggard will speak of niggardness, and his heart will work iniquity, and do wickedly, and speak falsely against the Lord, to make empty the hungry soul, and to cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.
7 For the weapons of the churl are wicked: he deviseth wicked counsels to undo the poor with lying words, and to speak against the poor in judgment.
8 But the liberal man will devise of liberal things, and he will continue his liberality.
9 ¶ Rise up ye women that are at ease: hear my voice, ye [p]careless daughters, hearken to my words.
10 Ye women that are careless, shall be in fear [q]above a year in days, [r]for the vintage shall fail, and the gatherings shall come no more.
11 Ye women that are at ease, be astonied; fear, O ye careless women: put off the clothes; make bare, and gird sackcloth upon the loins.
12 Men shall lament for the [s]teats, even for the pleasant fields, and for the fruitful vine.
13 Upon the land of my people shall grow thorns and briers: yea, upon all the houses of joy in the city of rejoicing,
14 Because the palace shall be forsaken, and the [t]noise of the city shall be left: the tower and fortress shall be dens forever, and the delight of wild asses, and a pasture for flocks,
15 Until the [u]Spirit be poured upon us from above, and the wilderness become a fruitful field, and the [v]plenteous field be counted as a forest.
16 And judgment shall dwell in the desert, and justice shall remain in the fruitful field.
17 And the work of justice shall be peace, even the work of justice and quietness, and assurance forever.
18 And my people shall dwell in the tabernacle of peace, and in sure dwellings, and in safe resting places.
19 When it haileth, it shall fall on the forest, and the [w]city shall be in the low place.
20 Blessed are ye [x]that sow upon all waters, and [y]drive thither the feet of the ox and the ass.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 31:1 There were two special causes, why the Israelites should not join amity with the Egyptians: first, because the Lord had commanded them never to return thither, Deut. 17:16 and 28:68, lest they should forget the benefit of their redemption: and secondly, lest they should be corrupted with the superstition and idolatry of the Egyptians, and so forsake God, Jer. 2:18.
- Isaiah 31:1 Meaning, that they forsake the Lord, that put their trust in worldly things: for they cannot trust in both.
- Isaiah 31:2 And knoweth their crafty enterprises, and will bring all to naught.
- Isaiah 31:3 Meaning, both the Egyptians and the Israelites.
- Isaiah 31:4 He showeth the Jews, that if they would put their trust in him, he is so able, that none can resist his power: and so careful over them, as a bird over her young, which ever flieth about them for their defense: which similitude the scripture useth in divers places, as Deut. 32:11; Matt. 23:37.
- Isaiah 31:6 He toucheth their conscience, that they might earnestly feel their grievous sins, and so truly repent, forasmuch as now they are almost drowned and past recovery.
- Isaiah 31:7 By these fruits your repentance shall be known, as Isa. 2:20.
- Isaiah 31:8 When your repentance appeareth.
- Isaiah 31:9 This was accomplished soon after when Sennacherib’s army was discomfited, and he fled to his castle in Nineveh for succor.
- Isaiah 31:9 To destroy his enemies.
- Isaiah 32:1 This prophecy is of Hezekiah, who was a figure of Christ, and therefore it ought chiefly to be referred to him.
- Isaiah 32:1 By judgment and justice is meant an upright government, both in policy, and religion.
- Isaiah 32:2 Where men are weary with traveling for lack of water.
- Isaiah 32:3 He promiseth to give the true light, which is the pure doctrine of God’s word, and understanding, and zeal of the same, are contrary to the threatenings against the wicked, Isa. 6:9 and 29:10.
- Isaiah 32:5 Vice shall no more be called virtue, nor virtue esteemed by power and riches.
- Isaiah 32:9 He prophesieth of such calamity to come, that they will not spare the women and children, and therefore willeth them to take heed and provide.
- Isaiah 32:10 Meaning, that the affliction should continue long, and when one year were past, yet they should look for new plagues.
- Isaiah 32:10 God will take from you the means and occasions, which made you to contemn him: to wit, abundance of worldly goods.
- Isaiah 32:12 By the teats he meaneth the plentiful fields, whereby men are nourished as children with the teat: or, the mothers for sorrow and heaviness shall lack milk.
- Isaiah 32:14 Or, multitude.
- Isaiah 32:15 That is, when the Church shall be restored: thus the Prophets, after they have denounced God’s judgments against the wicked, used to comfort the godly, lest they should faint.
- Isaiah 32:15 The field which is now fruitful, shall be but as a barren forest in comparison of that it shall be then, as Isa. 29:17, which shall be fulfilled in Christ’s time, for then they that were before as the barren wilderness, being regenerate shall be fruitful, and they that had some beginning of godliness, shall bring forth fruits in such abundance, that their former life shall seem but as a wilderness where no fruits were.
- Isaiah 32:19 They shall not need to build it in high places for fear of the enemy: for God will defend it, and turn away the storms from hurting of their commodities.
- Isaiah 32:20 That is, upon fat ground and well watered, which bringeth forth in abundance, or in places which before were covered with waters, and now made dry for your uses.
- Isaiah 32:20 The fields shall be so rank, that they shall send out their cattle to eat up the first crop, which abundance shall be signs of God’s love and favor toward them.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
