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Isaiah 31 · a question people ask

What was wrong with going to Egypt for help?

In the text

The chapter doesn't say that horses or chariots were wrong in themselves. It sets two things side by side: what was trusted, and what was left undone. "Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, and rely on horses, and trust in chariots" (31:1), "but they don’t look to the Holy One of Israel, and they don’t seek the LORD!" (31:1). Its reason is in 31:3: "Now the Egyptians are men, and not God" (31:3). The chapter before speaks of those "who set out to go down into Egypt without asking for my advice" (30:2). These notes say what the chapter says of the people it speaks to, and apply none of it to any nation, alliance or conflict today.

The verses

“Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, and rely on horses, and trust in chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they are very strong, but they don’t look to the Holy One of Israel, and they don’t seek the LORD!”
Isaiah 31:1 · World English Bible
“Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit. When the LORD stretches out his hand, both he who helps shall stumble, and he who is helped shall fall, and they all shall be consumed together.”
Isaiah 31:3 · World English Bible
“who set out to go down into Egypt without asking for my advice, to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to take refuge in the shadow of Egypt!”
Isaiah 30:2 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Isaiah 31

Isaiah 31: 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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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions