Isaiah 31

Isaiah 31 is the thirty-first chapter of the Book of Isaiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Isaiah, and is one of the Books of the Prophets. The Jerusalem Bible groups chapters 28–35 together as a collection of "poems on Israel and Judah". Biblical commentators Keil and Delitzsch note that "again and again", Isaiah returns to the subject of Judah's alliance with Egypt, this chapter being a notable example.

Text

The original text was written in Hebrew language. This chapter is divided into 9 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, i.e., the Isaiah Scroll, and of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes Codex Cairensis, the Petersburg Codex of the Prophets, Aleppo Codex, Codex Leningradensis.
There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus, Codex Sinaiticus, Codex Alexandrinus and Codex Marchalianus.

Parashot

The parashah sections listed here are based on the Aleppo Codex. Isaiah 31 is a part of the Prophecies about Judah and Israel . : open parashah; : closed parashah.

Analysis

Chapters 28–35 form a six-part unity, marked with the recurrence of the word 'Woe' or 'Ho!' with a balance between two sets of three woes: the first three offer 'principles of divine action', whereas the second three give 'matching applications to history and eschatology' as follows:

Principles	Applications
28:1–29	30:1–33
29:1–14	31:1–32:20
29:15–24	33:1–35:10

Chapters 30–32 specifically deals with Egypt and Assyrians while placing the Messianic kingdom alongside the downfall of Assyria.

Woe to those who trust Egypt (31:1–3)

This section reminds the futility of turning to Egypt for help, that was spoken in 30:1-5.

Verse 1

taught that the Israelite kings were not to keep many horses, marry many wives, or amass excess silver and gold.

"Chariots...and... horsemen": evocative of the Exodus account, where

'Pharaoh's chariots and his army were cast into the sea'.

God will deliver Jerusalem (31:4–9)

Verse 4

Robert Lowth's translation:
The NIV and NKJV treat the reference to the shepherds' intervention as a parenthesis:
New International Version: