Isaiah 30:5
in Isaiah 30everyone will be put to shame because of a people useless to them. They cannot be of help; they are good for nothing but shame and reproach.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
They shall all be ashamed because of a people that cannot profit them, that are not a help nor profit, but a shame, and also a reproach.
KJV
They were all ashamed of a people that could not profit them, nor be an help nor profit, but a shame, and also a reproach.
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This verse in Isaiah 30
Commentary
9 notes on this verseAnd he shows their lack of hope: they were all confounded: put not your trust in princes: in the children of men, in whom there is no salvation (Ps 145:2–3[146:3]).
This site's exposition
their princes are at Zoan
on Isaiah 30:4-5
Judah’s embassy has reached Egypt, for "their princes are at Zoan and their envoys have arrived in Hanes". Everyone in it "will be put to shame because of a people useless to them". The words "have arrived" show, as Albert Barnes noted, that the embassy was already on the road.
This site's exposition
a people useless to them
Everyone who shared in the embassy shares its shame. Matthew Henry set Egypt beside God as a broken reed beside the Rock of Ages. Hope placed in God keeps its footing, while trust in a creature turns to reproach sooner or later.
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
Those that trust in God, in his power, providence, and promise, are never made ashamed of their hope; but those that put confidence in any creature will sooner or later find it a reproach to them. God is true, and may be trusted, but every man a liar, and must be suspected. The Creator is a rock of ages, the creature a broken reed.
They were all ashamed of a people that could not profit them,....
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
Were - ashamed - Eight MSS. (one ancient) of Kennicott’s, and ten of De Rossi’s, read הביש hobish, without א aleph. So the Chaldee and Vulgate. But a shame “But proved even a shame” - Four MSS. (three ancient) after כי ki, add אם im, unless, which seems wanted to complete the phrase in its usual form.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
They were all ashamed - That is, all the legates or ambassadors. When they came into Egypt, they found them either unwilling to enter into an alliance, or unable to render them any aid, and they were ashamed that they had sought their assistance rather than depend on God (compare Jer 2:36).
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כֹּ֣ל | kol | everyone | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הֹבִ֔ישׁ | hivish | he will be ashamed | H954 → | 127 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| עַ֖ם | ʾam | a people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | [which] not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יוֹעִ֣ילוּ | yoilu | they will confer profit | H3276 → | 23 times |
| לָ֑מוֹ | lamo | to them | ||
| לֹ֤א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| לְעֵ֙זֶר֙ | leezer | for help | H5828 → | |
| וְלֹ֣א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| לְהוֹעִ֔יל | lehoil | to confer profit | H3276 → | 23 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לְבֹ֖שֶׁת | levoshet | for shame | H1322 → | 30 times |
| וְגַם־ | vegam- | and also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| לְחֶרְפָּֽה׃ ס | lecherpah | for reproach | H2781 → | 73 times |
כֹּ֣לeveryone
kolH3605 →5413 times
הֹבִ֔ישׁhe will be ashamed
hivishH954 →127 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
עַ֖םa people
ʾamH5971 →1873 times
לֹא־[which] not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יוֹעִ֣ילוּthey will confer profit
yoiluH3276 →23 times
לָ֑מוֹto them
lamo
לֹ֤אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
לְעֵ֙זֶר֙for help
leezerH5828 →
וְלֹ֣אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
לְהוֹעִ֔ילto confer profit
lehoilH3276 →23 times
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
לְבֹ֖שֶׁתfor shame
levoshetH1322 →30 times
וְגַם־and also
vegam-H1571 →769 times
לְחֶרְפָּֽה׃ סfor reproach
lecherpahH2781 →73 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 30:7Egypt’s help is futile and empty; therefore I have called her Rahab Who Sits Still.
it leads to
- Isaiah 2:22
Put no more trust in man, who has only the breath in his nostrils. Of what account is he?
- Isaiah 31:1–5
Woe 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…
- Isaiah 7:4
and say to him: Calm down and be quiet. Do not be afraid or disheartened over these two smoldering stubs of firewood—over the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of…
- Lamentations 3:26
It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.
- Psalms 118:8–9
It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.
- Isaiah 2:22
Through
Jeremiah 2:36How unstable you are, constantly changing your ways! You will be disappointed by Egypt just as you were by Assyria.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 31:22
How long will you wander, O faithless daughter? For the LORD has created a new thing in the land—a woman will shelter a man.”
- Hosea 5:13
When Ephraim saw his sickness and Judah his wound, then Ephraim turned to Assyria and sent to the great king. But he cannot cure you or heal your wound.
- Jeremiah 31:22
Through
Isaiah 30:16“No,” you say, “we will flee on horses.” Therefore you will flee! “We will ride swift horses,” but your pursuers will be faster.
it leads to
- Isaiah 31:1
Woe 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…
- Isaiah 31:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
About Isaiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.