Isaiah 30

Woe to the Rebellious Children

¹“Woe to the rebellious children”, says the LORD, “who take counsel, but not from me; and who make an alliance, but not with my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin;

²who set out to go down into Egypt without asking for my advice, to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to take refuge in the shadow of Egypt!

³Therefore the strength of Pharaoh will be your shame, and the refuge in the shadow of Egypt your confusion.

⁴For their princes are at Zoan, and their ambassadors have come to Hanes.

⁵They shall all be ashamed because of a people that can’t profit them, that are not a help nor profit, but a shame, and also a reproach.”

⁶The burden of the animals of the South. Through the land of trouble and anguish, of the lioness and the lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they carry their riches on the shoulders of young donkeys, and their treasures on the humps of camels, to an unprofitable people.

⁷For Egypt helps in vain, and to no purpose; therefore I have called her Rahab who sits still.

⁸Now go, write it before them on a tablet, and inscribe it in a book, that it may be for the time to come forever and ever.

⁹For it is a rebellious people, lying children, children who will not hear the LORD’s law;

¹⁰who tell the seers, “Don’t see!” and the prophets, “Don’t prophesy to us right things. Tell us pleasant things. Prophesy deceits.

¹¹Get out of the way. Turn away from the path. Cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.”

¹²Therefore the Holy One of Israel says, “Because you despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and rely on it,

¹³therefore this iniquity shall be to you like a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking comes suddenly in an instant.

¹⁴He will break it as a potter’s vessel is broken, breaking it in pieces without sparing, so that there won’t be found among the broken pieces a piece good enough to take fire from the hearth, or to dip up water out of the cistern.”

¹⁵For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, “You will be saved in returning and rest. Your strength will be in quietness and in confidence.” You refused,

¹⁶but you said, “No, for we will flee on horses;” therefore you will flee; and, “We will ride on the swift;” therefore those who pursue you will be swift.

¹⁷One thousand will flee at the threat of one. At the threat of five, you will flee until you are left like a beacon on the top of a mountain, and like a banner on a hill.

God's Gracious Response to His People

¹⁸Therefore the LORD will wait, that he may be gracious to you; and therefore he will be exalted, that he may have mercy on you, for the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all those who wait for him.

¹⁹For the people will dwell in Zion at Jerusalem. You will weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the voice of your cry. When he hears you, he will answer you.

²⁰Though the Lord may give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your teachers won’t be hidden any more, but your eyes will see your teachers;

²¹and when you turn to the right hand, and when you turn to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way. Walk in it.”

²²You shall defile the overlaying of your engraved images of silver, and the plating of your molten images of gold. You shall cast them away as an unclean thing. You shall tell it, “Go away!”

²³He will give the rain for your seed, with which you will sow the ground; and bread of the increase of the ground will be rich and plentiful. In that day, your livestock will feed in large pastures.

²⁴The oxen likewise and the young donkeys that till the ground will eat savory feed, which has been winnowed with the shovel and with the fork.

²⁵There will be brooks and streams of water on every lofty mountain and on every high hill in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall.

²⁶Moreover the light of the moon will be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD binds up the fracture of his people, and heals the wound they were struck with.

²⁷Behold, the LORD’s name comes from far away, burning with his anger, and in thick rising smoke. His lips are full of indignation. His tongue is as a devouring fire.

²⁸His breath is as an overflowing stream that reaches even to the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of destruction. A bridle that leads to ruin will be in the jaws of the peoples.

²⁹You will have a song, as in the night when a holy feast is kept, and gladness of heart, as when one goes with a flute to come to the LORD’s mountain, to Israel’s Rock.

³⁰The LORD will cause his glorious voice to be heard, and will show the descent of his arm, with the indignation of his anger and the flame of a devouring fire, with a blast, storm, and hailstones.

³¹For through the LORD’s voice the Assyrian will be dismayed. He will strike him with his rod.

³²Every stroke of the rod of punishment, which the LORD will lay on him, will be with the sound of tambourines and harps. He will fight with them in battles, brandishing weapons.

³³For his burning place has long been ready. Yes, it is prepared for the king. He has made its pyre deep and large with fire and much wood. The LORD’s breath, like a stream of sulfur, kindles it.

Previous Isaiah 29

Next Isaiah 31

Isaiah 30 condemns Judah's rebellion against God through their alliance with Egypt rather than trusting in divine protection. The chapter begins with harsh judgment against those who seek political solutions while rejecting God's counsel, warning that Egypt will prove useless and bring only shame. However, the prophecy transitions to hope, promising that God will show grace and mercy to those who wait for Him, ultimately restoring Jerusalem and providing divine guidance to His people.

Context

This chapter continues Isaiah's warnings against foreign alliances from chapters 28-29, while anticipating the restoration themes that will dominate later sections of the book.

Key Themes

Outline

1-7
Condemnation of the Egyptian Alliance God denounces Judah's political alliance with Egypt as rebellion that will result in shame and confusion.
8-14
Rejection of God's Word and Its Consequences The people refuse to hear God's law and prophetic truth, leading to sudden destruction like a broken potter's vessel.
15-17
The Path of True Security Rejected God offers salvation through rest and quietness, but the people choose military might and will face swift defeat.
18-26
Promise of Divine Grace and Restoration Despite judgment, God will wait to show mercy, restore Jerusalem, and provide guidance to His repentant people.
27-33
God's Judgment on Assyria The Lord will destroy Assyria with divine wrath while His people celebrate with songs of deliverance.

Woe to the Rebellious Children

30:1–30:17

prophecy wrathful

Isaiah condemns Judah's rebellious alliance with Egypt instead of trusting in God, warning that this misplaced trust will result in shame and sudden destruction like a broken potter's vessel.

geographic

Hanes, mentioned only here in Scripture, represents the furthest extent of Judah's desperate diplomatic mission to Egypt, emphasizing the futility of their rebellion against God.

God's Gracious Response to His People

30:18–30:33

prophecy hopeful

God promises to show grace and mercy to His people who wait for Him, providing guidance, provision, and restoration while also bringing judgment on the nations.

theme_rarity

Isaiah uniquely pairs divine grace with tangible guidance ("your Teacher will not hide himself anymore"), creating one of only two biblical passages where God's mercy manifests through direct instructional presence.

Insight Geography

Hanes, mentioned only here in Scripture, represents the furthest extent of Judah's desperate diplomatic mission to Egypt, emphasizing the futility of their rebellion against God.

Insight Rare Theme