Isaiah 31:3

The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible

Contextual Overview

¹Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel; they do not seek the LORD. ²Yet He too is wise and brings disaster; He does not call back His words. He will rise up against the house of the wicked and against the allies of evildoers. ³But the Egyptians are men, not God; their horses are flesh, not spirit. When the LORD stretches out His hand, the helper will stumble and the one he helps will fall; both will perish together.⁴For this is what the LORD has said to me: "Like a lion roaring or a young lion over its prey-and though a band of shepherds is called out against it, it is not terrified by their shouting or subdued by their clamor-so the LORD of Hosts will come down to do battle on Mount Zion and its heights. ⁵Like birds hovering overhead, so the LORD of Hosts will protect Jerusalem. He will shield it and deliver it; He will pass over it and preserve it."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the Egyptians: Isaiah 36:6, Deuteronomy 32:30, Deuteronomy 32:31, Psalms 9:20, Psalms 146:3-5, Ezekiel 28:9, Acts 12:22, Acts 12:23, 2 Thessalonians 2:4-8

their horses: Psalms 33:17

stretch: Isaiah 9:17, Jeremiah 15:6, Ezekiel 20:33, Ezekiel 20:34

both: Jeremiah 37:7-10

Reciprocal: 2 Samuel 8:5 - came 2 Kings 18:24 - thy trust Job 9:13 - the proud helpers Psalms 56:4 - in God I have Psalms 60:11 - vain Psalms 108:12 - for vain Isaiah 29:5 - the multitude Isaiah 31:2 - against the help Jeremiah 17:5 - flesh Jeremiah 46:17 - Pharaoh Ezekiel 22:14 - Thine heart Ezekiel 28:2 - yet Ezekiel 30:6 - They also Hosea 14:3 - we will not

Cross-References

Genesis 13:15
For all the land that you see, I will give to you and your offspring forever.

Genesis 21:22
At that time Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army said to Abraham, "God is with you in all that you do.

Genesis 26:24
and that night the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of My servant Abraham."

Genesis 28:4
And may He give the blessing of Abraham to you and your descendants, so that you may possess the land where you dwell as a foreigner, the land God gave to Abraham."

Genesis 28:13
And there at the top the LORD was standing and saying, "I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you now lie.

Genesis 30:25
Now after Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, "Send me on my way so I can return to my homeland.

Genesis 31:2
And Jacob saw from the countenance of Laban that his attitude toward him had changed.

Genesis 31:3
Then the LORD said to Jacob, "Go back to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you."

Genesis 31:5
and he told them, "I can see from your father's face that his attitude toward me has changed; but the God of my father has been with me.

Genesis 31:13
I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and made a solemn vow to Me. Now get up and leave this land at once, and return to your native land.'"

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Now the Egyptians [are] men, and not God,.... Be it that they are mighty, they are not mighty, as God is; and indeed they are but frail, feeble, mortal, and mutable men, and therefore not to be trusted in, and depended on; or to be put upon an equality with God, and even to be preferred to him, as they were by the Jews; and of what use and service could they be unto them, seeing God was against them?

and their horses flesh, and not spirit; only flesh, without an immortal soul or spirit, which man has; and therefore a foolish thing in man to trust in them, who must be entirely guided and directed by them; and much less angelic spirits, or like them, which are incorporeal, invisible, and exceedingly mighty and powerful, which excel all creatures in strength, and are called the mighty angels; these are God's cavalry, his horses and chariots; see Psalms 68:17 Habakkuk 3:8 and what mighty things have been done by them, even by a single one? Witness the destruction of the Assyrian army, in one night, by one of them; wherefore the Egyptian cavalry was not to be named with them q:

When the Lord shall stretch out his hand; as soon as he does it, before he strikes, and when he does this in order to it:

both he that helpeth shall fall; or "stumble", take a false step; meaning the Egyptians, sent for and come forth to help the Jews; but, stumbling and falling themselves, would be but poor assistants to them. Aben Ezra interprets this of the king of Assyria destroying the Egyptians, when he came to Jerusalem:

and he that is holpen shall fall down; the Jews, helped by the Egyptians, who should fall, and be destroyed, though not now; yet hereafter by the Chaldeans, as they were:

and they all shall fail together; both the Egyptians and the Jews.

q So Ben Melech interprets "spirit" of an angel, as he does the word "God" in the preceding clause.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Now the Egyptians are men - They are nothing but people; they have no power but such as other people possess. The idea here is, that the case in reference to which they sought aid was one in which “divine” help was indispensable, and that, therefore, they relied on the aid of the Egyptians in vain.

And their horses flesh, and not spirit - There is need, not merely of “physical” strength, but of wisdom, and intelligence, and it is in vain to look for that in mere brutes.

Both he that helpeth - Egypt, whose aid is sought.

And he that is holpen - Judah, that had sought the aid of Egypt. Neither of them would be able to stand against the wrath of God.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Isaiah 31:3. He that helpeth (the Egyptians) shall fall and he that is holpen (the Israelites) shall fall down - together.