31:1 Those who go down to Egypt for help are as good as dead, 13
those who rely on war horses,
and trust in Egypt’s many chariots 14
and in their many, many horsemen. 15
But they do not rely on the Holy One of Israel 16
and do not seek help from the Lord.
31:2 Yet he too is wise 17 and he will bring disaster;
he does not retract his decree. 18
He will attack the wicked nation, 19
and the nation that helps 20 those who commit sin. 21
31:3 The Egyptians are mere humans, not God;
their horses are made of flesh, not spirit.
The Lord will strike with 22 his hand;
the one who helps will stumble
and the one being helped will fall.
Together they will perish. 23
1 tn Heb “in order to multiply horses.” The translation uses “do so” in place of “multiply horses” to avoid redundancy (cf. NAB, NIV).
2 tn Heb “gates.”
3 tn Heb “does the evil in the eyes of the
4 tn Or “you.” A number of English versions treat the remainder of this verse and v. 17 as direct discourse rather than indirect discourse (cf. KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
5 tn Heb “brothers.” The term “brothers” could, in English, be understood to refer to siblings, so “fellow citizens” has been used in the translation.
6 tn The Hebrew word צֶדֶק (tsedeq, “fairly”) carries the basic idea of conformity to a norm of expected behavior or character, one established by God himself. Fair judgment adheres strictly to that norm or standard (see D. Reimer, NIDOTTE 3:750).
7 tn Heb “between a man and his brother.”
8 tn Heb “his stranger” or “his sojourner”; NAB, NIV “an alien”; NRSV “resident alien.” The Hebrew word גֵּר (ger) commonly means “foreigner.”
9 tn Heb “you,” and throughout the verse (cf. NASB, NRSV).
10 tn Heb “the small,” but referring to social status, not physical stature.
11 tc The MT reads only “the land.” Smr supplies עַם (’am, “people”) and LXX and its dependents supply “the inhabitants of the land.” The truncated form found in the MT is adequate to communicate the intended meaning; the words “the people of” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
12 tn Or “wilderness” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV, NLT).
13 tn Heb “Woe [to] those who go down to Egypt for help.”
14 tn Heb “and trust in chariots for they are many.”
15 tn Heb “and in horsemen for they are very strong [or “numerous”].”
16 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
17 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.
18 tn Heb “and he does not turn aside [i.e., “retract”] his words”; NIV “does not take back his words.”
19 tn Heb “and he will arise against the house of the wicked.”
20 sn That is, Egypt.
21 tn Heb “and against the help of the doers of sin.”
22 tn Heb “will extend”; KJV, ASV, NASB, NCV “stretch out.”
23 tn Heb “together all of them will come to an end.”
24 tn Heb “How can you turn back the face of an official [from among] the least of my master’s servants and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen?” In vv. 8-9 the chief adviser develops further the argument begun in v. 6. His reasoning seems to be as follows: “In your weakened condition you obviously need military strength. Agree to the king’s terms and I will personally give you more horses than you are capable of outfitting. If I, a mere minor official, am capable of giving you such military might, just think what power the king has. There is no way the Egyptians can match our strength. It makes much better sense to deal with us.”