Isaiah 30:6
New International Version
A prophecy concerning the animals of the Negev: Through a land of hardship and distress, of lions and lionesses, of adders and darting snakes, the envoys carry their riches on donkeys’ backs, their treasures on the humps of camels, to that unprofitable nation,

New Living Translation
This message came to me concerning the animals in the Negev: The caravan moves slowly across the terrible desert to Egypt— donkeys weighed down with riches and camels loaded with treasure— all to pay for Egypt’s protection. They travel through the wilderness, a place of lionesses and lions, a place where vipers and poisonous snakes live. All this, and Egypt will give you nothing in return.

English Standard Version
An oracle on the beasts of the Negeb. Through a land of trouble and anguish, from where come the lioness and the lion, the adder and the flying fiery serpent, they carry their riches on the backs of donkeys, and their treasures on the humps of camels, to a people that cannot profit them.

Berean Standard Bible
This is the burden against the beasts of the Negev: Through a land of hardship and distress, of lioness and lion, of viper and flying serpent, they carry their wealth on the backs of donkeys and their treasures on the humps of camels, to a people of no profit to them.

King James Bible
The burden of the beasts of the south: into the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the young and old lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they will carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the bunches of camels, to a people that shall not profit them.

New King James Version
The burden against the beasts of the South. Through a land of trouble and anguish, From which came the lioness and lion, The viper and fiery flying serpent, They will carry their riches on the backs of young donkeys, And their treasures on the humps of camels, To a people who shall not profit;

New American Standard Bible
The pronouncement concerning the animals of the Negev: Through a land of distress and anguish, From where come lioness and lion, viper and flying serpent, They carry their riches on the backs of young donkeys, And their treasures on camels’ humps, To a people who will not benefit them;

NASB 1995
The oracle concerning the beasts of the Negev. Through a land of distress and anguish, From where come lioness and lion, viper and flying serpent, They carry their riches on the backs of young donkeys And their treasures on camels’ humps, To a people who cannot profit them;

NASB 1977
The oracle concerning the beasts of the Negev. Through a land of distress and anguish, From where come lioness and lion, viper and flying serpent, They carry their riches on the backs of young donkeys And their treasures on camels’ humps, To a people who cannot profit them;

Legacy Standard Bible
The oracle concerning the beasts of the Negev. Through a land of distress and anguish, From where come lioness and lion, viper and flying fiery serpent, They carry their wealth on the backs of young donkeys And their treasures on camels’ humps, To a people who cannot profit them;

Amplified Bible
A [mournful, inspired] oracle (a burden to be carried) concerning the beasts of the Negev (the South): Through a land of trouble and anguish, From where come lioness and lion, viper and [fiery] flying serpent, They carry their riches on the shoulders of young donkeys And their treasures on the humps of camels, To a people (Egyptians) who cannot benefit them.

Christian Standard Bible
A pronouncement concerning the animals of the Negev: Through a land of trouble and distress, of lioness and lion, of viper and flying serpent, they carry their wealth on the backs of donkeys and their treasures on the humps of camels, to a people who will not help them.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
An oracle about the animals of the Negev: Through a land of trouble and distress, of lioness and lion, of viper and flying serpent, they carry their wealth on the backs of donkeys and their treasures on the humps of camels, to a people who will not help them.

American Standard Version
The burden of the beasts of the South. Through the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the lioness and the lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the humps of camels, to a people that shall not profit them.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
The burden of the animals of the south in the afflicted, grievous land: “The lion and the cub of a lion, and from them the asp and the flying dragon shall carry on the backs of colts their wealth and their treasures upon the sides of camels to a people that do not benefit them

Brenton Septuagint Translation
THE VISION OF THE QUADRUPEDS IN THE DESERT. In affliction and distress, where are the lion and lion's whelp, thence come also asps, and the young of flying asps, there shall they be who bore their wealth on asses and camels to a nation which shall not profit them.

Contemporary English Version
This is a message about the animals of the Southern Desert: "You people carry treasures on donkeys and camels. You travel to a feeble nation through a troublesome desert filled with lions and flying fiery dragons.

Douay-Rheims Bible
The burden of the beasts of the south. In a land of trouble and distress, from whence come the lioness, and the lion, the viper and the flying basilisk, they carry their riches upon the shoulders of beasts, and their treasures upon the bunches of camels to a people that shall not be able to profit them.

English Revised Version
The burden of the beasts of the South. Through the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the lioness and the lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the bunches of camels, to a people that shall not profit them.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
This is the divine revelation about the animals in the Negev. "My people travel through lands where they experience distress and hardship. Lions and lionesses live there. Vipers and poisonous snakes live there. They carry their riches on the backs of young donkeys and their treasures on the humps of camels to a nation that can't help them.

Good News Translation
This is God's message about the animals of the southern desert: "The ambassadors travel through dangerous country, where lions live and where there are poisonous snakes and flying dragons. They load their donkeys and camels with expensive gifts for a nation that cannot give them any help.

International Standard Version
An oracle about the animals of the Negev: "Through a land of trouble, dryness, and distress, of lionesses and roaring lions, where there is no water, a land of vipers and darting snakes, he carries their riches on donkeys' backs, and their treasures on the humps of camels, to a nation that cannot benefit them,

JPS Tanakh 1917
The burden of the beasts of the South. Through the land of trouble and anguish, From whence come the lioness and the lion, The viper and flying serpent, They carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, And their treasures upon the humps of camels, To a people that shall not profit them.

Literal Standard Version
The burden of the beasts of the south. Into a land of adversity and distress, | Of young lion and of old lion, | From where [are] viper and flying, burning serpent, | They carry their wealth on the shoulder of donkeys, | And their treasures on the hump of camels, | To a people not profitable.

Majority Standard Bible
This is the burden against the beasts of the Negev: Through a land of hardship and distress, of lioness and lion, of viper and flying serpent, they carry their wealth on the backs of donkeys and their treasures on the humps of camels, to a people of no profit to them.

New American Bible
Oracle on the Beasts of the Negeb. Through the distressed and troubled land of the lioness and roaring lion, of the viper and flying saraph, They carry their riches on the backs of donkeys and their treasures on the humps of camels To a people good for nothing,

NET Bible
This is a message about the animals in the Negev: Through a land of distress and danger, inhabited by lionesses and roaring lions, by snakes and darting adders, they transport their wealth on the backs of donkeys, their riches on the humps of camels, to a nation that cannot help them.

New Revised Standard Version
An oracle concerning the animals of the Negeb. Through a land of trouble and distress, of lioness and roaring lion, of viper and flying serpent, they carry their riches on the backs of donkeys, and their treasures on the humps of camels, to a people that cannot profit them.

New Heart English Bible
The oracle of the animals of the Negev. Through the land of trouble and anguish, of the lioness and the lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they carry their riches on the shoulders of young donkeys, and their treasures on the humps of camels, to an unprofitable people.

Webster's Bible Translation
The burden of the beasts of the south: into the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the young and the old lion, the viper and flying serpent, they will carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the bunches of camels, to a people that shall not profit them.

World English Bible
The burden of the animals of the South. Through the land of trouble and anguish, of the lioness and the lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they carry their riches on the shoulders of young donkeys, and their treasures on the humps of camels, to an unprofitable people.

Young's Literal Translation
The burden of the beasts of the south. Into a land of adversity and distress, Of young lion and of old lion, Whence are viper and flying saraph, They carry on the shoulder of asses their wealth, And on the hump of camels their treasures, Unto a people not profitable.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Worthless Treaty with Egypt
5everyone 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.” 6This is the burden against the beasts of the Negev: Through a land of hardship and distress, of lioness and lion, of viper and flying serpent, they carry their wealth on the backs of donkeys and their treasures on the humps of camels, to a people of no profit to them. 7Egypt’s help is futile and empty; therefore I have called her Rahab Who Sits Still.…

Cross References
Genesis 12:9
And Abram journeyed on toward the Negev.

Exodus 5:10
So the taskmasters and foremen of the people went out and said to them, "This is what Pharaoh says: 'I am no longer giving you straw.

Exodus 5:21
"May the LORD look upon you and judge you," the foremen said, "for you have made us a stench before Pharaoh and his officials; you have placed in their hand a sword to kill us!"

Numbers 21:8
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent and mount it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will live."

Deuteronomy 4:20
Yet the LORD has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be the people of His inheritance, as you are today.

Deuteronomy 8:15
He led you through the vast and terrifying wilderness with its venomous snakes and scorpions, a thirsty and waterless land. He brought you water from the rock of flint.

1 Kings 10:2
She arrived in Jerusalem with a very large caravan--with camels bearing spices, gold in great abundance, and precious stones. So she came to Solomon and spoke to him all that was on her mind.


Treasury of Scripture

The burden of the beasts of the south: into the land of trouble and anguish, from where come the young and old lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they will carry their riches on the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures on the bunches of camels, to a people that shall not profit them.

burden

Isaiah 46:1,2
Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth, their idols were upon the beasts, and upon the cattle: your carriages were heavy loaden; they are a burden to the weary beast

Isaiah 57:9
And thou wentest to the king with ointment, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thy messengers far off, and didst debase thyself even unto hell.

Hosea 8:9,10
For they are gone up to Assyria, a wild ass alone by himself: Ephraim hath hired lovers…

beasts

1 Kings 10:2
And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart.

Matthew 12:42
The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

into the land.

Isaiah 19:4
And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts.

Exodus 1:14
And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.

Exodus 5:10-21
And the taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers, and they spake to the people, saying, Thus saith Pharaoh, I will not give you straw…

the viper

Numbers 21:6,7
And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died…

Deuteronomy 8:15
Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint;

Jeremiah 2:6
Neither said they, Where is the LORD that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt?

riches

2 Chronicles 9:1
And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to prove Solomon with hard questions at Jerusalem, with a very great company, and camels that bare spices, and gold in abundance, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart.

2 Chronicles 16:2
Then Asa brought out silver and gold out of the treasures of the house of the LORD and of the king's house, and sent to Benhadad king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying,

2 Chronicles 28:20-23
And Tilgathpilneser king of Assyria came unto him, and distressed him, but strengthened him not…

Jump to Previous
Anguish Animals Asses Beasts Bunches Burden Camels Carry Donkeys Fiery Flying Lioness Riches Serpent Shoulders South Treasures Trouble Unprofitable Viper Whence Young
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Anguish Animals Asses Beasts Bunches Burden Camels Carry Donkeys Fiery Flying Lioness Riches Serpent Shoulders South Treasures Trouble Unprofitable Viper Whence Young
Isaiah 30
1. The prophet threatens the people for their confidence in Egypt
8. And contempt of God's word
18. God's mercies toward his church
27. God's wrath and the people's joy, in the destruction of Assyria














(6) The burden of the beasts of the south.--It has been conjectured that this, which reads like the heading of a new section, was first placed in the margin by a transcriber, as suggested by the mention of the lions, the vipers, the camels, and the asses, and then found its way into the text (Cheyne). There seems no reason, however, why the prophet should not have prefixed it as with the sarcasm of an indignant irony. "You ask for an oracle," he seems to say, and you shall have one; but its very heading will imply condemnation and derision; "and then he continues his picture of the journey of the embassy. They pass through the Negeb, the south country, arid and waste, haunted only by lions, and vipers, and fiery (i.e., venomous) serpents, and they had their asses and camels with them, laden with the treasures with which they hoped to purchase the Egyptian alliance.

Verse 6. - Burden of the beasts of the south. Delitzsch thinks that the Egyptians are intended by the "beasts of the south" - the expression pointing primarily to the hippopotamus, which was an apt emblem of the slow-moving Egyptians. But most commentators regard the "beasts" of this clause as equivalent to the "young asses and camels" mentioned towards the end of the verse. (On the sense of the word "burden," see the introductory paragraph to Isaiah 13.) Into the lane of trouble and anguish; rather, through a laud. It is not Egypt that is spoken of, but the desert between Judaea and Egypt. The reminiscences of this desert were such that the Israelites always exaggerated its terrors and dangers (see Deuteronomy 8:15; Jeremiah 2:6). From whence come the young and old lion; rather, the lioness and the lion (see 'Speaker's Commentary' on Genesis 49:9; vol. 1. p. 227). Lions can never have been numerous in the tract in question; but they may have haunted portions of it, when it was better watered than at present. The viper and fiery flying serpent. Snakes of various kinds have always been abundant in the desert between Judaea and Egypt (Numbers 21:6; Strab., 16. p. 759; Schubert,' Travels,' sol. it. p. 406; Burckhardt, 'Travels,' p. 499, etc.). Seine of them were believed anciently to have wings (Herod., 2:75; 3:107); but the fact is doubted. Isaiah is not concerned with natural history, but with definitely marking out the locality through which the ambassadors would march. For this purpose it was best to describe it in terms drawn from the popular belief. Their riches... their treasures. Ambassadors who came to request military aid, as a matter of course carried rich presents with them. Young asses... camels. The ordinary beasts of burden employed in the passage of the desert (Genesis 37:25; Genesis 42:26; Herod., 3:9, etc.).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
[This is] an oracle
מַשָּׂ֖א (maś·śā)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 4853: A burden, tribute, porterage, an utterance, chiefly a, doom, singing, mental, desire

concerning the animals
בַּהֲמ֣וֹת (ba·hă·mō·wṯ)
Noun - feminine plural construct
Strong's 929: A dumb beast, any large quadruped, animal

of the Negev:
נֶ֑גֶב (ne·ḡeḇ)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 5045: South country, the Negeb, south

Through a land
בְּאֶרֶץ֩ (bə·’e·reṣ)
Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 776: Earth, land

of hardship
צָרָ֨ה (ṣā·rāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 6869: Tightness, a female rival

and distress,
וְצוּקָ֜ה (wə·ṣū·qāh)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 6695: Constraint, distress

of lioness
לָבִ֧יא (lā·ḇî)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3833: To roar, a lion,

and lion,
וָלַ֣יִשׁ (wā·la·yiš)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3918: A lion

of viper
אֶפְעֶה֙ (’ep̄·‘eh)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 660: An asp, other venomous serpent

and flying
מְעוֹפֵ֔ף (mə·‘ō·w·p̄êp̄)
Verb - Piel - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 5774: To fly, to faint

serpent,
וְשָׂרָ֣ף (wə·śā·rāp̄)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 8314: Burning, poisonous, a saraph, symbolical creature

they carry
יִשְׂאוּ֩ (yiś·’ū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 5375: To lift, carry, take

their wealth
חֵֽילֵהֶ֗ם (ḥê·lê·hem)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 2428: A force, an army, wealth, virtue, valor, strength

on
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

the backs
כֶּ֨תֶף (ke·ṯep̄)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 3802: The shoulder, side-piece, lateral projection of anything

of donkeys
עֲיָרִ֜ים (‘ă·yā·rîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 5895: A young ass, an ass-colt

and their treasures
אֽוֹצְרֹתָ֔ם (’ō·wṣ·rō·ṯām)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 214: Treasure, store, a treasury, storehouse

on
וְעַל־ (wə·‘al-)
Conjunctive waw | Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

the humps
דַּבֶּ֤שֶׁת (dab·be·šeṯ)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 1707: A sticky mass, the hump of a, camel

of camels,
גְּמַלִּים֙ (gə·mal·lîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 1581: A camel

to
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

a people
עַ֖ם (‘am)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5971: A people, a tribe, troops, attendants, a flock

of no
לֹ֥א (lō)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

profit to them.
יוֹעִֽילוּ׃ (yō·w·‘î·lū)
Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 3276: To confer or gain profit or benefit


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OT Prophets: Isaiah 30:6 The burden of the animals (Isa Isi Is)
Isaiah 30:5
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