And on that day the dwellers of this coastland will say, ‘See what has happened to our source of hope, those to whom we fled for help and deliverance from the king of Assyria! How then can we escape?’”
Parallel translations
- WEB The inhabitants of this coast land will say in that day, ‘Behold, this is our expectation, where we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria. And we, how will we escape?’”
- KJV And the inhabitant of this isle shall say in that day, Behold, such is our expectation, whither we flee for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria: and how shall we escape?
- NKJV And the inhabitant of this territory will say in that day, ‘Surely such is our expectation, wherever we flee for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria; and how shall we escape?’ ”
- NASB So the inhabitants of this coastland will say on that day, ‘Behold, such is our hope, where we fled for help to be saved from the king of Assyria; and how are we ourselves to escape?’ ”
- NLT They will say, ‘If this can happen to Egypt, what chance do we have? We were counting on Egypt to protect us from the king of Assyria.’”
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
The coastland peoples lament that their refuge has failed and ask how they will escape. It matters because it shows the despair of those who trust in collapsing human help.
Overview
The inhabitants of the Philistine coast voice dismay when the power they fled to for protection is itself overthrown. Their anguished question, 'How will we escape?', reveals the hopelessness of misplaced trust. The chapter closes by underscoring that only the LORD is a sure refuge. It points readers to seek deliverance in God rather than in the strongest nations of the day.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- 1 Th 5:3While people are saying, “Peace and security,” destruction will come upon them suddenly, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
- Matt 23:33You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape the sentence of hell?
- Heb 2:3how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? This salvation was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,
- Job 22:30He will deliver even one who is not innocent, rescuing him through the cleanness of your hands.”
- Jer 47:4For the day has come to destroy all the Philistines, to cut off from Tyre and Sidon every remaining ally. Indeed, the LORD is about to destroy the Philistines, the remnant from the coasts of Caphtor.
- Isa 31:1–3Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel; they do not seek the LORD.
- Isa 10:3What will you do on the day of reckoning when devastation comes from afar? To whom will you flee for help? Where will you leave your wealth?
- Jer 30:15–17Why do you cry out over your wound? Your pain has no cure! Because of your great iniquity and your numerous sins I have done these things to you.
- Isa 30:15–16For the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, has said: “By repentance and rest you would be saved; your strength would lie in quiet confidence—but you were not willing.”
- Job 6:20They are confounded because they had hoped; their arrival brings disappointment.
- Isa 28:17I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the level. Hail will sweep away your refuge of lies, and water will flood your hiding place.
- Isa 30:1–7“Woe to the rebellious children,” declares the LORD, “to those who carry out a plan that is not Mine, who form an alliance, but against My will, heaping up sin upon sin.
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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 20:6 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.