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Isaiah 31 Bible study: Men, and not God

When the LORD promises to protect Jerusalem, the verse says, "He will pass over and preserve it" (31:5), with the verb of "I will pass over you" (Exodus 12:13), which the Hebrew Bible has in that sense only in Exodus 12 and here. And the chapter calls the help people trusted, plainly, "men, and not God" (31:3).

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“As birds hovering, so the LORD of Armies will protect Jerusalem. He will protect and deliver it. He will pass over and preserve it.”
Isaiah 31:5 · World English Bible

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“In Isaiah 31:3, the one who helps stumbles, and the one who is helped falls.”

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What's really going on

The helper and the helped

In the text

The chapter opens with the fifth of the six woes in chapters 28-33: "Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help" (31:1) (tap Woe). Here is what almost everyone misses: the first three verses turn on one idea, help, and the Hebrew says it four times. For help (31:1) and the help (31:2) are one noun, ezrah (tap help). Then the verb from the same root comes twice in one line: "both he who helps shall stumble, and he who is helped shall fall" (31:3) (tap helps). The one who gives the help and the one who leans on it end the same way: "they all shall be consumed together" (31:3). Isaiah has ezrah only four times. The other two come earlier: in a question, "To whom will you flee for help?" (10:3), and in words that end with one, "where we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria. And we, how will we escape?" (20:6). The chapter on Isaiah 20 sets those verses side by side.

Honest questions

Questions people ask about Isaiah 31

That was a taste

The rest of Isaiah 31 is waiting in Favor

  • Men, and not God; flesh, and not spirit
  • "He will pass over"
  • Horses and chariots in other books
  • Idols of silver and gold, again
  • 8 questions as you read
  • 14 more Hebrew words
  • A short check at the end
  • Your notes, saved as you go
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The Hebrew word behind it

עֶזְרָהezrahsay ez-RAH

Brown-Driver-Briggs: "help, succour, assistance". Strong's gives it as "feminine of 5828", the noun ezer. "Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help" (31:1), and "against the help of those who work iniquity" (31:2). Isaiah has it only four times. The first is in a question, "To whom will you flee for help?" (Isaiah 10:3), and the second in words that end with one: "where we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria. And we, how will we escape?" (Isaiah 20:6). The chapter on Isaiah 20 studies the word, and its go-deeper on help from Egypt looks ahead to this chapter. The next verse has the verb from the same root twice, azar, helps and is helped (31:3).

For your group

Isaiah 31 Bible study questions

  1. 1Egypt's help looked good for plain reasons: chariots "because they are many", horsemen "because they are very strong" (31:1). What looks strong enough to lean on in your life right now, and what would it mean to "look to the Holy One of Israel" (31:1) instead?
  2. 2"Return to him from whom you have deeply revolted" (31:6). What makes coming back to God hard after drifting a long way, and what makes it easier?
  3. 3The chapter pictures the LORD as a lion that isn't dismayed (31:4) and as birds hovering over Jerusalem (31:5). Which picture speaks to you more this week, and why?

Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Isaiah 31 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.

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Questions

What is Favor?

Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.

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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home