Therefore the strength of Pharaoh will be your shame, and the refuge in the shadow of Egypt your confusion.
Parallel translations
- KJV Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion.
- BSB But Pharaoh’s protection will become your shame, and the refuge of Egypt’s shade your disgrace.
- NKJV Therefore the strength of Pharaoh Shall be your shame, And trust in the shadow of Egypt Shall be your humiliation.
- NASB “Therefore the safety of Pharaoh will be your shame, And the shelter in the shadow of Egypt, your humiliation.
- NLT But by trusting Pharaoh, you will be humiliated, and by depending on him, you will be disgraced.
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
Pharaoh's strength will become Judah's shame, and Egypt's shelter their humiliation. It matters because misplaced trust ends in disgrace, not safety.
Overview
God declares that the very alliance Judah counts on will betray them. The 'strength' and 'shadow' they sought become sources of shame and confusion. This reversal underscores a recurring biblical principle: those who trust in created things rather than the Creator are put to shame, while those who trust in the LORD will never be ashamed.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Isa 20:5They will be dismayed and confounded, because of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory.
- Jer 17:5–6Yahweh says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man, and makes flesh his arm, and whose heart departs from Yahweh.
- Rom 10:11For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in him will not be disappointed.”
- Rom 5:5and hope doesn’t disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
- Isa 36:6Behold, you trust in the staff of this bruised reed, even in Egypt, which if a man leans on it, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him.
- Jer 37:5–10Pharaoh’s army had come out of Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news of them, they broke up from Jerusalem.
- Isa 30:5–7They shall all be ashamed because of a people that can’t profit them, that are not a help nor profit, but a shame, and also a reproach.”
- Isa 45:16–17They will be disappointed, yes, confounded, all of them. Those who are makers of idols will go into confusion together.
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 30:3 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.