Isaiah 31:1-5 ▼

1 |How terrible it will be for those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the chariot, because there are so many, and in charioteers, because they are so strong— but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or seek the LORD!

2 Yet he is also wise and can bring disaster; he does not take back his words, but will rise up against the house of those who practice evil and against anyone who assists people who work iniquity.

3 The Egyptians are men, not God, and their horses are physical, not spirit. When the LORD stretches out his hand, anyone who assists will stumble, and the one who is helped will fall; and they will all perish together.|

4 For this is what the LORD told me: |Just as a lion or a young lion growls over his objects of prey, — even when a whole band of shepherds is called out against it, it is not alarmed at their shouting or disturbed by their clamor— so the LORD of the Heavenly Armies will come down to do battle on Mount Zion and on its hill.

5 Like birds hovering overhead, so the LORD of the Heavenly Armies will protect Jerusalem; he will shield and deliver it; and he will pass over and bring it to safety.