Like birds flying about, So will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem. Defending, He will also deliver it; Passing over, He will preserve it.”
Parallel translations
- WEB As birds hovering, so Yahweh of Armies will protect Jerusalem. He will protect and deliver it. He will pass over and preserve it.”
- KJV As birds flying, so will the LORD of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also he will deliver it; and passing over he will preserve it.
- BSB Like birds hovering overhead, so the LORD of Hosts will protect Jerusalem. He will shield it and deliver it; He will pass over it and preserve it.”
- NASB Like flying birds so the Lord of armies will protect Jerusalem. He will protect and save it; He will pass over and rescue it.
- NLT The Lord of Heaven’s Armies will hover over Jerusalem and protect it like a bird protecting its nest. He will defend and save the city; he will pass over it and rescue it.”
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
Like birds hovering over their nest, the LORD will protect, deliver, pass over, and preserve Jerusalem. It matters because it pictures God's tender, watchful guardianship of His people.
Overview
Shifting from lion to hovering birds, God promises protection, deliverance, and preservation for Jerusalem. The phrase 'pass over' recalls the Passover, evoking God's saving care that shields His people from destruction. This rich image points to the protecting, redeeming love ultimately revealed in Christ, our Passover.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Ps 91:4He will cover you with his feathers. Under his wings you will take refuge. His faithfulness is your shield and rampart.
- Ps 37:40Yahweh helps them, and rescues them. He rescues them from the wicked, and saves them, Because they have taken refuge in him.
- Isa 38:6I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city.
- Deut 32:11As an eagle that stirs up her nest, that flutters over her young, he spread abroad his wings, he took them, he bore them on his feathers.
- Isa 37:35‘For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.’”
- Ps 46:5God is within her. She shall not be moved. God will help her at dawn.
- Exod 19:4‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to myself.
- Isa 10:14My hand has found the riches of the peoples like a nest, and like one gathers eggs that are abandoned, I have gathered all the earth. There was no one who moved their wing, or that opened their mouth, or chirped.”
- Exod 12:27that you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of Yahweh’s Passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians, and spared our houses.’” The people bowed their heads and worshiped.
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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 31:5 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.