Text -- Isaiah 30:1-5 (NET)

Egypt Will Prove Unreliable

30:1 “The rebellious children are as good as dead,” says the Lord, “those who make plans without consulting me, who form alliances without consulting my Spirit, and thereby compound their sin. 30:2 They travel down to Egypt without seeking my will, seeking Pharaoh’s protection, and looking for safety in Egypt’s protective shade. 30:3 But Pharaoh’s protection will bring you nothing but shame, and the safety of Egypt’s protective shade nothing but humiliation. 30:4 Though his officials are in Zoan and his messengers arrive at Hanes, 30:5 all will be put to shame because of a nation that cannot help them, who cannot give them aid or help, but only shame and disgrace.”

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Isa 30:1

¹ tn Or “stubborn” (NCV); cf. NIV “obstinate.”

² tn Heb “Woe [to] rebellious children.”

³ tn Heb “making a plan, but not from me.”

⁴ tn Heb “and pouring out a libation, but not [from] my spirit.” This translation assumes that the verb נָסַךְ (nasakh) means “pour out,” and that the cognate noun מַסֵּכָה (massekhah) means “libation.” In this case “pouring out a libation” alludes to a ceremony that formally ratifies an alliance. Another option is to understand the verb נָסַךְ as a homonym meaning “weave,” and the cognate noun מַסֵּכָה as a homonym meaning “covering.” In this case forming an alliance is likened to weaving a garment.

⁵ tn Heb “consequently adding sin to sin.”

NET Notes: Isa 30:2

¹ tn Heb “those who go to descend to Egypt, but [of] my mouth they do not inquire.”

² tn Heb “to seek protection in the protection of Pharaoh, and to seek refuge in the shade of Egypt.”

NET Notes: Isa 30:4

¹ sn This probably refers to Judah’s officials and messengers.

² sn Zoan was located in the Egyptian delta in the north; Hanes was located somewhere in southern region of lower Egypt, south of Memphis; the exact location is debated.

NET Notes: Isa 30:5

¹ tn The present translation follows the marginal (Qere) reading of the Hebrew text; the consonantal text (Kethib) has “made to stink, decay.”