But Pharaoh’s protection will become your shame, and the refuge of Egypt’s shade your disgrace.
Parallel translations
- WEB Therefore the strength of Pharaoh will be your shame, and the refuge in the shadow of Egypt your confusion.
- KJV Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion.
- 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 20:5Those who made Cush their hope and Egypt their boast will be dismayed and ashamed.
- Jer 17:5–6This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes the flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD.
- Rom 10:11It is just as the Scripture says: “Anyone who believes in Him will never be put to shame.”
- Rom 5:5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.
- Isa 36:6Look now, you are trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff that will pierce the hand of anyone who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him.
- Jer 37:5–10Pharaoh’s army had left Egypt, and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard the report, they withdrew from Jerusalem.
- Isa 30:5–7everyone will be put to shame because of a people useless to them. They cannot be of help; they are good for nothing but shame and reproach.”
- Isa 45:16–17They will all be put to shame and humiliated; the makers of idols will depart together in disgrace.
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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.