And they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory.
Parallel translations
- WEB They will be dismayed and confounded, because of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory.
- BSB Those who made Cush their hope and Egypt their boast will be dismayed and ashamed.
- NKJV Then they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation and Egypt their glory.
- NASB Then they will be terrified and ashamed because of Cush their hope and Egypt their pride.
- NLT Then the Philistines will be thrown into panic, for they counted on the power of Ethiopia and boasted of their allies in Egypt!
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Those who relied on Ethiopia and Egypt will be dismayed and ashamed. It matters because misplaced trust always ends in disappointment.
Overview
Judah and others who set their hopes on these nations will be left confounded when their 'expectation' and 'glory' collapse. The disappointment is the natural fruit of trusting in what cannot save. Isaiah exposes the emptiness of confidence placed in human strength. The verse warns that hope anchored anywhere but in God leads to shame.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Isa 30:5They were all ashamed of a people that could not profit them, nor be an help nor profit, but a shame, and also a reproach.
- Isa 30:3Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion.
- 1 Cor 3:21Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
- Ezek 29:6–7And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the LORD, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel.
- 2 Kgs 18:21Now, behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt, on which if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt unto all that trust on him.
- Jer 9:23–24Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:
- Jer 17:5Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.
- Isa 2:22Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?
- Isa 36:6Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust in him.
- Isa 30:7For the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I cried concerning this, Their strength is to sit still.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 20:5 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.