Isaiah 30:3
in Isaiah 30But Pharaoh’s protection will become your shame, and the refuge of Egypt’s shade your disgrace.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the refuge in the shadow of Egypt your confusion.
KJV
Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion.
⋯
This verse in Isaiah 30
Commentary
8 notes on this verseAnd he sets out the effect: and the strength of Pharaoh shall be to your confusion: I will change their glory into shame (Hos 4:7).
This site's exposition
Woe to the rebellious children
on Isaiah 30:1-3
The woe falls on "rebellious children" who "form an alliance, but against My will". Matthew Henry counted two sins, a treaty made and a God not consulted, for they went down to Egypt "without asking My advice". The shelter they sought in Pharaoh ends as "your shame".
This site's exposition
will become your shame
The shelter Judah bought becomes the thing that disgraces it. Barnes saw two ways this could fall out: Egypt might refuse the treaty, or sign it and then fail to defend. Either road ends in the same reproach.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Chapter 30, Verse 1 and following) Woe to the rebellious children, says the Lord, who make plans that are not from me, who weave a web without my Spirit, adding sin upon sin. You who walk to go down to Egypt, without consulting me, hoping for help from Pharaoh's strength and relying on the protection of Egypt's shadow. But Pharaoh's strength will be your shame, and the trust in Egypt's shadow will bring you disgrace. For there will be princes in Tanis, and your messengers have reached Hanes.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
): " The strength of Pharaoh, which was your pride, shall be your shame; all your neighbours will upbraid you, and you will upbraid yourselves, with your folly in trusting to it.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame,....
A terrible threatening against those who slighted the good advice which God by his prophets gave them for the repose of their minds in that distress, assuring them that whatever became of others the judgment would certainly overtake them,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame - (see the note at Isa 20:5). Your confusion - Hebrew, ‘For reproach.’ It would either occur that the Egyptians “would” not enter into an alliance; or that if they did, they “could” not defend them, and in either case it would be the source of deep regret and shame.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָיָ֥ה | vehayah | and it will become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לָכֶ֛ם | lakhem | for you | ||
| מָע֥וֹז | maoz | [the] refuge of | H4581 → | 36 times |
| פַּרְעֹ֖ה | paroh | Pharaoh | H6547 → | 274 times |
| לְבֹ֑שֶׁת | levoshet | <into> shame | H1322 → | 30 times |
| וְהֶחָס֥וּת | vehechasut | and the refuge | H2622 → | |
| בְּצֵל־ | betzel- | in [the] shadow of | H6738 → | 49 times |
| מִצְרַ֖יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| לִכְלִמָּֽה׃ | likhlimah | <into> ignominy | H3639 → | 30 times |
וְהָיָ֥הand it will become
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
לָכֶ֛םfor you
lakhem
מָע֥וֹז[the] refuge of
maozH4581 →36 times
פַּרְעֹ֖הPharaoh
parohH6547 →274 times
לְבֹ֑שֶׁת<into> shame
levoshetH1322 →30 times
וְהֶחָס֥וּתand the refuge
vehechasutH2622 →
בְּצֵל־in [the] shadow of
betzel-H6738 →49 times
מִצְרַ֖יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
לִכְלִמָּֽה׃<into> ignominy
likhlimahH3639 →30 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
Romans 10:11It is just as the Scripture says: “Anyone who believes in Him will never be put to shame.”
it leads to
- Isaiah 28:16
So this is what the Lord GOD says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will never be shaken.
- Romans 9:33
as it is written: “See, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense; and the one who believes in Him will never be put to shame.”
- 1 Peter 2:6
For it stands in Scripture: “See, I lay in Zion a stone, a chosen and precious cornerstone; and the one who believes in Him will never be put to shame.”
- Isaiah 49:23
Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow to you facedown and lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD;…
- Jeremiah 17:7
But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him.
- Isaiah 28:16
Through
Romans 5:5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.
it leads to
- Galatians 4:6
And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”
- Ephesians 3:16–19
I ask that out of the riches of His glory He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being,
- Philippians 1:20
I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have complete boldness so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or…
- Galatians 4:6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
About Isaiah
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); 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.