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31. Woe to Those Who Rely on Egypt

¹ Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help,
   who rely on horses,
who trust in the multitude of their chariots
   and in the great strength of their horsemen,
but do not look to the Holy One of Israel,
   or seek help from the LORD.
² Yet he too is wise and can bring disaster;
   he does not take back his words.
He will rise up against that wicked nation,
   against those who help evildoers.
³ But the Egyptians are mere mortals and not God;
   their horses are flesh and not spirit.
When the LORD stretches out his hand,
   those who help will stumble,
   those who are helped will fall;
   all will perish together.

⁴ This is what the LORD says to me:

   “As a lion growls,
   a great lion over its prey—
and though a whole band of shepherds
   is called together against it,
it is not frightened by their shouts
   or disturbed by their clamor—
so the LORD Almighty will come down
   to do battle on Mount Zion and on its heights.
⁵ Like birds hovering overhead,
   the LORD Almighty will shield Jerusalem;
he will shield it and deliver it,
   he will ‘pass over’ it and will rescue it.”

⁶ Return, you Israelites, to the One you have so greatly revolted against. ⁷ For in that day every one of you will reject the idols of silver and gold your sinful hands have made.

    ⁸ “Assyria will fall by no human sword;
   a sword, not of mortals, will devour them.
They will flee before the sword
   and their young men will be put to forced labor.
⁹ Their stronghold will fall because of terror;
   at the sight of the battle standard their commanders will panic,”
declares the LORD,
   whose fire is in Zion,
   whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

9. He shall pass to his stronghold for fear. ³²⁷³²⁷ {Bogus footnote} He now speaks of Sennacherib himself, who, trembling, shall betake himself in base and shameful flight to his “stronghold” or fortress, Nineveh, as to his nest. (2 Kings 19:36.) The Prophet adds that “his princes,” or military officers, whose duty it is to encourage the rest of the soldiers, will be so timid that they shall not venture to join the ranks or await the battle, but shall “flee away from the standard.”

Saith Jehovah, who hath a fire in Zion. At length he declares that he is God’s herald in making this proclamation, that the Jews may not, as they are accustomed to do, dispute or hesitate as to the accomplishment of it, or afterwards forget so great a blessing, and ascribe it to fortune. If we read, as some do, Whose fire is in Zion, the meaning will be, that God has abundance of fiery power to consume his enemies. But I think that the relative אשר (ăshĕr) is redundant, or that it should be rendered in the nominative case, “Who shall be to him a fire;” for God is justly called “a fire,” in reference to the Assyrians, whom he will consume.

When the Prophet calls him “a fire,” some consider it to refer to sacrifices; but such an interpretation appears to me to be feeble and unnatural. I have no doubt that he says either that “the Lord has a fire” to consume the Assyrian, or that “God himself is a fire,” and that he thus makes an implied comparison of the Assyrian to straw or chaff. He says that this “fire” is kindled and kept alive “in Zion and Jerusalem,” that is, in the midst of his people, in order to intimate that the persecution of the Church of God by wicked men shall not pass unpunished; for they shall one day feel that he is their Judge, and shall know by experience that he assists his people, who thought that they had been left without all assistance.

In a word, against wicked men, who have maintained unceasing hostility against the Church, vengeance is prepared; and the Lord will not only avenge himself, but will also avenge his people. Let us therefore enjoy this consolation; and though it may appear as if we were defenceless and exposed to every danger, yet let us be fully convinced that the Lord will be “a fire” to our adversaries.