Isaiah 31:1–2

1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help,

who rely on horses,

who trust in the multitude of their chariots

and in the great strength of their horsemen,

but do not look to the Holy One of Israel,

or seek help from the Lord.

2 Yet he too is wise and can bring disaster;

he does not take back his words.

He will rise up against that wicked nation,

against those who help evildoers.

1 Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help;

And stay on horses,

And trust in chariots, because they are many;

And in horsemen, because they are very strong;

But they look not unto the Holy One of Israel,

Neither seek the Lord!

2 Yet he also is wise, and will bring evil,

And will not call back his words:

But will arise against the house of the evildoers,

And against the help of them that work iniquity.

1 What sorrow awaits those who look to Egypt for help,

trusting their horses, chariots, and charioteers

and depending on the strength of human armies

instead of looking to the Lord,

the Holy One of Israel.

2 In his wisdom, the Lord will send great disaster;

he will not change his mind.

He will rise against the wicked

and against their helpers.

1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help,

And rely on horses,

Who trust in chariots because they are many,

And in horsemen because they are very strong,

But who do not look to the Holy One of Israel,

Nor seek the Lord!

2 Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster,

And will not call back His words,

But will arise against the house of evildoers,

And against the help of those who work iniquity.

1 How terrible it will be for those people who go down to Egypt for help.

They think horses will save them.

They think their many chariots

and strong horsemen will save them.

But they don’t trust God, the Holy One of Israel,

or ask the Lord for help.

2 But he is wise and can bring them disaster.

He does not change his warnings.

He will rise up and fight against the evil people

and against those who try to help evil people.

1 Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help, and rely on horses, and trust in chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they are very strong, but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek Jehovah! 2 Yet he also is wise, and will bring evil, and will not call back his words, but will arise against the house of the evil-doers, and against the help of them that work iniquity.

1 Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help, and depend on horses, and confide in chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they are very strong; and who look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek Jehovah! 2 But he also is wise, and he bringeth evil, and recalleth not his words; and he will arise against the house of evildoers, and against the help of workers of iniquity.

1 How horrible it will be for those 

who go to Egypt for help, 

who rely on horses, 

who depend on many chariots, 

who depend on very strong war horses. 

They don’t look to the Holy One of Israel. 

They don’t seek the Lord. 

2 He is wise and can bring about disaster. 

He doesn’t take back his words. 

He rises against wicked people 

and against those who help troublemakers. 

1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help

and who depend on horses!

They trust in the abundance of chariots

and in the large number of horsemen.

They do not look to the Holy One of Israel

and they do not seek the Lord’s help.

2 But He also is wise and brings disaster.

He does not go back on what He says;

He will rise up against the house of wicked men

and against the allies of evildoers.

1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help

and who rely on horses,

who trust in chariots because they are many

and in horsemen because they are very strong,

but do not look to the Holy One of Israel

or consult the Lord!

2 Yet he is wise and can bring disaster;

he does not depart from his words

but will rise against the house of the evildoers

and against the helpers of those who work iniquity.

1 Ah! Those who go down to Egypt for help!

They rely on horses

and trust in chariots because they are many,

and in horsemen because they are very numerous,

and they do not look to the holy one of Israel,

and they do not consult Yahweh.

2 And indeed, he is wise, and he brings disaster,

and he does not remove his words,

and he will rise against the house of evildoers

and against the help of workers of iniquity.

1 How terrible it will be for those who go down to Egypt for help!

How terrible for those who depend on horses!

They trust in how many chariots they have.

They trust in how strong their horsemen are.

But they don’t look to the Holy One of Israel.

They don’t ask the Lord for his help.

2 He too is wise. He can bring horrible trouble.

He does what he says he’ll do.

He’ll rise up against everyone who does what is evil.

He’ll fight against those who help them.

1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help

And rely on horses,

And trust in chariots because they are many

And in horsemen because they are very strong,

But they do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the Lord!

2 Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster

And does not retract His words,

But will arise against the house of evildoers

And against the help of the workers of iniquity.