30:1 “The rebellious 4 children are as good as dead,” 5 says the Lord,
“those who make plans without consulting me, 6
who form alliances without consulting my Spirit, 7
and thereby compound their sin. 8
30:2 They travel down to Egypt
without seeking my will, 9
seeking Pharaoh’s protection,
and looking for safety in Egypt’s protective shade. 10
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 11 officials are in Zoan
and his messengers arrive at Hanes, 12
30:5 all will be put to shame 13
because of a nation that cannot help them,
who cannot give them aid or help,
but only shame and disgrace.”
30:6 This is a message 14 about the animals in the Negev:
Through a land of distress and danger,
inhabited by lionesses and roaring lions, 15
by snakes and darting adders, 16
they transport 17 their wealth on the backs of donkeys,
their riches on the humps of camels,
to a nation that cannot help them. 18
31:1 Those who go down to Egypt for help are as good as dead, 19
those who rely on war horses,
and trust in Egypt’s many chariots 20
and in their many, many horsemen. 21
But they do not rely on the Holy One of Israel 22
and do not seek help from the Lord.
31:2 Yet he too is wise 23 and he will bring disaster;
he does not retract his decree. 24
He will attack the wicked nation, 25
and the nation that helps 26 those who commit sin. 27
31:3 The Egyptians are mere humans, not God;
their horses are made of flesh, not spirit.
The Lord will strike with 28 his hand;
the one who helps will stumble
and the one being helped will fall.
Together they will perish. 29
1 tc The consonantal text (Kethib) has “when [he was] ruling in Jerusalem,” but the marginal reading (Qere), which has support from Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, and Latin witnesses, has “[preventing him] from ruling in Jerusalem.”
2 tn Or “fine.”
3 tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 7,500 pounds of silver and 75 pounds of gold (cf. NCV, NLT); CEV “almost four tons of silver and about seventy-five pounds of gold.”
4 tn Or “stubborn” (NCV); cf. NIV “obstinate.”
5 tn Heb “Woe [to] rebellious children.”
6 tn Heb “making a plan, but not from me.”
7 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.
8 tn Heb “consequently adding sin to sin.”
9 tn Heb “those who go to descend to Egypt, but [of] my mouth they do not inquire.”
10 tn Heb “to seek protection in the protection of Pharaoh, and to seek refuge in the shade of Egypt.”
11 sn This probably refers to Judah’s officials and messengers.
12 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.
13 tn The present translation follows the marginal (Qere) reading of the Hebrew text; the consonantal text (Kethib) has “made to stink, decay.”
14 tn Traditionally, “burden” (so KJV, ASV); NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “oracle.”
15 tc Heb “[a land of] a lioness and a lion, from them.” Some emend מֵהֶם (mehem, “from them”) to מֵהֵם (mehem), an otherwise unattested Hiphil participle from הָמַם (hamam, “move noisily”). Perhaps it would be better to take the initial mem (מ) as enclitic and emend the form to הֹמֶה (homeh), a Qal active participle from הָמָה (hamah, “to make a noise”); cf. J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:542, n. 9.
16 tn Heb “flying fiery one.” See the note at 14:29.
17 tn Or “carry” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
18 sn This verse describes messengers from Judah transporting wealth to Egypt in order to buy Pharaoh’s protection through a treaty.
19 tn Heb “Woe [to] those who go down to Egypt for help.”
20 tn Heb “and trust in chariots for they are many.”
21 tn Heb “and in horsemen for they are very strong [or “numerous”].”
22 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
23 sn This statement appears to have a sarcastic tone. The royal advisers who are advocating an alliance with Egypt think they are wise, but the Lord possesses wisdom as well and will thwart their efforts.
24 tn Heb “and he does not turn aside [i.e., “retract”] his words”; NIV “does not take back his words.”
25 tn Heb “and he will arise against the house of the wicked.”
26 sn That is, Egypt.
27 tn Heb “and against the help of the doers of sin.”
28 tn Heb “will extend”; KJV, ASV, NASB, NCV “stretch out.”
29 tn Heb “together all of them will come to an end.”