Charles Ellicott Commentary Isaiah 31

Woe to them that go down ... —The Egyptian alliance was, of course, the absorbing topic of the time, and Isaiah returns to it yet again. As in Isaiah 30:16, the princes of Judah were attracted by the prospect of strengthening themselves in their weakest point, and reinforcing the cavalry of Judah, which could hardly be mentioned by an Assyrian ambassador without a smile (Isaiah 36:9), with an Egyptian contingent. Isaiah once more condemns this as trusting in an arm of flesh instead of in the Holy One of Israel.

Yet he also is wise. — The words have a ring of sarcasm in them. Isaiah admits ironically that the counselors of Hezekiah were wise in their generation. He reminds them that there might be some little wisdom in Jehovah, and in the prophet by whom He spoke.

And will not call back his words. — Such words, e.g., as those of the preceding chapter (Isaiah 30:12–13; Isaiah 30:16–17).

The Egyptians are men ... —We hear again the keynote of Isaiah’s teaching. The true strength of a nation lay in its spiritual, not in its material, greatness: in seeking the Holy One of Israel by practising holiness. Without that condition the alliance with Egypt would be fatal both to those that sought for help and those who gave it.

Like as the lion... — This comparison is noteworthy, not only for its fullness and vividness but also because the lion is made a symbol of protection, not destruction. Just as the king of beasts stands proudly defiant over the prey he has claimed, guarding it against the shepherds who try to take it from him, so will the LORD, in His character as the Lord of hosts, refuse to surrender Jerusalem, His special possession, to the Assyrian armies. (Compare Homer, Iliad, 18:161.)

To fight for Mount Zion. — The preposition has been translated differently as for, on, or against. In the latter case (interpreting the preposition as against), the lion is claiming the sheep as its own prey and will not tolerate outside interference. The LORD, using the Assyrian armies as His instruments, will fight against Jerusalem and will not allow the Egyptian allies to interfere with His punishments. (Compare Isaiah 29:7-8.) The second rendering, on, simply marks Jerusalem as the scene of the conflict, but agrees in substance with the first, for. Considering the following verse, the idea of protection seems more natural than hostility. The thought of supreme ownership, however, includes both aspects: Jerusalem belonged to the LORD to protect or to punish.

As birds flying ...—The picture that follows (Aeschylean, as the former was Homeric; see "Aeschylus, Agamemnon 49-54," though there the point is the wailing of the parent birds over the plundered nest) is, at least, not doubtful in its meaning, whether it is meant as a counterpart or antithesis to what precedes it. The eagles hovering over their nest, and scaring off man or beast that attacked their nestlings, supplied the most vivid image possible of protection. (Compare the image, like, but not the same, in Deuteronomy 32:11.)

Passing over.—The word is the same as that used in connection with the Passover festival, and may perhaps imply a reference to it.