Isaiah 30:16
in Isaiah 30“No,” you say, “we will flee on horses.” Therefore you will flee! “We will ride swift horses,” but your pursuers will be faster.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
but ye said, No, for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift.
KJV
But ye said, No; for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift.
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This verse in Isaiah 30
Commentary
10 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
But ye said, No - Ye who proposed an alliance with Egypt. For we will flee upon horses - The word ‘flee’ (נוּס nûc), usually signifies to flee before or from any person or thing. But here it seems to have the notion of making a rapid motion in general, and not to refer to the fact that they expected to flee “from” their enemy, for it does not seem to have been a part of their expectation.
This site's exposition
By repentance and rest you would be saved
on Isaiah 30:15-17
The Lord GOD sets His own way: "By repentance and rest you would be saved", and then comes "but you were not willing". The people chose horses, and the LORD answers their own words, "Therefore you will flee". They are left "like a pole on a mountaintop".
This site's exposition
we will flee on horses
The LORD turns their own word back on them. They meant to ride fast to Egypt for help, and Matthew Henry saw their sin become their punishment, for now they will flee in earnest. Their pursuers will be faster still.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 15 and following) For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: If you return and rest, you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength. But you were unwilling, and you said, 'No! We will flee upon horses'; therefore you shall flee away, and, 'We will ride upon swift steeds'; therefore your pursuers shall be swift. One thousand at the threat of one; at the threat of five you shall flee. LXX: Thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: When you turn to me and groan, then you shall be saved, and you shall know where you have been: for you trusted in idols, your strength became vain; and you were unwilling to hear, but you said, 'We will flee upon horses'; therefore you shall flee; and, 'We will ride upon swift steeds'; therefore those who pursue you shall be swift. A thousand will flee at the threat of one, and at the threat of five, many will flee. The Holy One, whom I had kept silent about his name, is the Lord God, who speaks to you and through me and through Jeremiah (Jeremiah XII): If you repent and either abandon vices or the error of evil counsel, and remain in Judah, fearing not the attack of the Babylonians, but my commandments, you will be saved. Rest and hope in the Lord, and take hold of the strength of faith in my promises. You, who have despised the commandments of life and have said in despair, it will not be as you speak; instead, we will flee to the Egyptian horses and go swiftly to them in haste. […]
The Medieval Church1 voice
Second, their contempt: but have said: no. Therefore shall you flee: these are the words of the Lord. One way may we go out (Deut 28:25); and we will mount upon swift ones: the voice of the rebellious people; therefore shall they be swifter: the …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
(3.) The sentence passed upon them for this. Their sin shall be their punishment: "You will flee, and therefore you shall flee; you will be upon the full speed, and therefore so shall those be that pursue you." The dogs are most apt to run barking after him that rides fast.
The God that knew them, and knew what was proper for them, and desired their welfare, gave them this prescription; and it is recommended to us all. [1.] Would we be saved from the evil of every calamity, guarded against the temptation of it and secured from the curse of it, which are the only evil things in it?
A gracious promise to those who trusted in God, that they should not only see through the trouble, but should see happy days after it, times of joy and reformation, plenty of the means of grace, and therewith plenty of outward good things and increasing joys and triumphs (
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2 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
But ye said, No, for we will flee upon horses,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
flee--not as fugitives, but we will speed our course; namely, against the Assyrians, by the help of cavalry supplied by Egypt (Isa 31:1). This was expressly against the Mosaic law (De 17:16; see on Isa 2:7; Ho 14:3). shall . . . flee--literally, "before your enemies"; their sin and its punishment correspond.
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The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתֹּ֨אמְר֥וּ | vatomeru | and you said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | In- | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| כִ֛י | khi | deed | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| ס֥וּס | sus | horse[s] | H5483 → | 140 times |
| נָנ֖וּס | nanus | we will flee | H5127 → | 159 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | there- | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כֵּ֣ן | ken | -fore | H3651 → | 771 times |
| תְּנוּס֑וּן | tenusun | you will flee ! | H5127 → | 159 times |
| וְעַל־ | veal- | and on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| קַ֣ל | kal | swift [horse][s] | H7031 → | 13 times |
| נִרְכָּ֔ב | nirkav | we will ride | H7392 → | 78 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | there- | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כֵּ֖ן | ken | -fore | H3651 → | 771 times |
| יִקַּ֥לּוּ | yikalu | they will prove swift | H7043 → | 82 times |
| רֹדְפֵיכֶֽם׃ | rodefeikhem | [those who] pursue you | H7291 → | 143 times |
וַתֹּ֨אמְר֥וּand you said
vatomeruH559 →5305 times
לֹא־In-
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
כִ֛יdeed
khiH3588 →4482 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
ס֥וּסhorse[s]
susH5483 →140 times
נָנ֖וּסwe will flee
nanusH5127 →159 times
עַל־there-
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
כֵּ֣ן-fore
kenH3651 →771 times
תְּנוּס֑וּןyou will flee !
tenusunH5127 →159 times
וְעַל־and on
veal-H5921 →5755 times
קַ֣לswift [horse][s]
kalH7031 →13 times
נִרְכָּ֔בwe will ride
nirkavH7392 →78 times
עַל־there-
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
כֵּ֖ן-fore
kenH3651 →771 times
יִקַּ֥לּוּthey will prove swift
yikaluH7043 →82 times
רֹדְפֵיכֶֽם׃[those who] pursue you
rodefeikhemH7291 →143 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 31:1Woe 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…
it leads to
- Psalms 20:7
Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 17:5
This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes the flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD.
- Deuteronomy 17:16
But the king must not acquire many horses for himself or send the people back to Egypt to acquire more horses, for the LORD has said, ‘You are never to go back that way…
- Jeremiah 2:13
“For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living water, and they have dug their own cisterns—broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
- Isaiah 36:9
For how can you repel a single officer among the least of my master’s servants when you depend on Egypt for chariots and horsemen?
- Psalms 20:7
Through
Psalms 33:17A horse is a vain hope for salvation; even its great strength cannot save.
it leads to
- Proverbs 21:31
A horse is prepared for the day of battle, but victory is of the LORD.
- Proverbs 21:31
Through
Jeremiah 4:13Behold, he advances like the clouds, his chariots like the whirlwind. His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for we are ruined!
it leads to
- Isaiah 19:1
This is the burden against Egypt: Behold, the LORD rides on a swift cloud; He is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt will tremble before Him, and the hearts of the Egyptians will…
- Isaiah 66:15
For behold, the LORD will come with fire—His chariots are like a whirlwind—to execute His anger with fury and His rebuke with flames of fire.
- Isaiah 19:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
About Isaiah
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.