Isaiah 30:16

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible

But ye said, - Nay! but on horses, will we flee For this cause, shall ye indeed flee, - And on the swift, will we ride, For this cause, swift, shall be your pursuers:

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
You say, “No!We will escape on horses”—therefore you will escape!—and, “We will ride on fast horses”—but those who pursue you will be faster.

Hebrew Names Version
but you said, No, for we will flee on horses; therefore shall you flee: and, We will ride on the swift; therefore shall those who pursue you be swift.

King James Version
But ye said, No; for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift.

English Standard Version
and you said, "No! We will flee upon horses"; therefore you shall flee away; and, "We will ride upon swift steeds"; therefore your pursuers shall be swift.

New American Standard Bible
And you said, "No, for we will flee on horses!" Therefore you shall flee! "And we will ride on swift horses!" Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift.

New Century Version
You say, "No, we need horses to run away on." So you will run away on horses. You say, "We will ride away on fast horses." So those who chase you will be fast.

Amplified Bible
And you said, "No! We will flee on horses!" Therefore you will flee [from your enemies]! And [you said], "We will ride on swift horses!" Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift.

World English Bible
but you said, No, for we will flee on horses; therefore shall you flee: and, We will ride on the swift; therefore shall those who pursue you be swift.

Geneva Bible (1587)
For ye haue sayd, No, but we wil flee away vpon horses. Therefore shall ye flee. We will ride vpon the swiftest. Therefore shall your persecuters be swifter.

Legacy Standard Bible
And you said, "No, for we will flee on horses,"Therefore you shall flee!"And we will ride on swift horses,"Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift.

Berean Standard Bible
"No," you say, "we will flee on horses." Therefore you will flee! "We will ride swift horses," but your pursuers will be faster.

Contemporary English Version
said, "No! We will safely escape on speedy horses." But those who chase you will be even faster.

Complete Jewish Bible
‘No!' you say, ‘We will flee on horseback!' Therefore you will surely flee. And, ‘We will ride on swift ones!' So your pursuers will be swift.

Darby Translation
And ye said, No, but we will flee upon horses,—therefore shall ye flee; and, We will ride upon the swift,—therefore shall they that pursue you be swift.

Easy-to-Read Version
You say, "No, we need fast horses for battle." That is true—you will need fast horses, but only to run away because your enemy will be faster than your horses.

George Lamsa Translation
But you said, Not so, for we will ride upon horses, and will flee upon swift ones; therefore you shall flee, and your pursuers shall be swift.

Good News Translation
Instead, you plan to escape from your enemies by riding fast horses. And you are right—escape is what you will have to do! You think your horses are fast enough, but those who pursue you will be faster!

Lexham English Bible
and you said, "No! For we will flee on horses!" Therefore you shall flee! And, "We will ride on swift horses!" Therefore your pursuers shall be swift!

Literal Translation
For you said, No! For we will flee on horseback. On account of this you shall flee. Also, you say , We will ride on swift ones. On account of this, those who pursue you shall be swift.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Notwithstondinge ye regarde it not, but ye will saie: No, for thus are we costrayned to fle vpo horses. (And therfore shall ye fle) we must ryde vpon swift beastes, and therfore youre persecutours shal yet be swifter.

American Standard Version
but ye said, No, for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift.

Bible in Basic English
Saying, No, for we will go in flight on horses; so you will certainly go in flight: and, We will go on the backs of quick-running beasts; so those who go after you will be quick-footed.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
But ye said: 'No, for we will flee upon horses'; therefore shall ye flee; and: 'We will ride upon the swift'; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift.

King James Version (1611)
But ye said; No, for we will flee vpon horses; therefore shall ye flee. And we will ride vpon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you, be swift.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
For ye haue sayde, No, but we wyll escape thorowe horses, therefore shall ye flee: And we wyll get vs vp vpon swift beastes, and therefore shall your persecutours be swifter.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
but ye said, We will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee: and, We will be aided by swift riders; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift.

English Revised Version
but ye said, No, for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And ye seiden, Nai, but we schulen fle to horsis; therfor ye schulen fle. And we schulen stie on swifte horsis; therfor thei schulen be swiftere, that schulen pursue you.

Update Bible Version
but you said, No, for we will flee on horses; therefore you shall flee: and, We will ride on the swift; therefore those that pursue you shall be swift.

Webster's Bible Translation
But ye said, No; for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift.

New English Translation
You say, ‘No, we will flee on horses,' so you will indeed flee. You say, ‘We will ride on fast horses,' so your pursuers will be fast.

New King James Version
And you said, "No, for we will flee on horses"-- Therefore you shall flee! And, "We will ride on swift horses"-- Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift!

New Living Translation
You said, ‘No, we will get our help from Egypt. They will give us swift horses for riding into battle.' But the only swiftness you are going to see is the swiftness of your enemies chasing you!

New Life Bible
You said, "No, we will go away fast on horses." So you will go away in a hurry! You say, "We will go on fast horses." So those who come to take you will be fast.

New Revised Standard
and said, "No! We will flee upon horses"— therefore you shall flee! and, "We will ride upon swift steeds"— therefore your pursuers shall be swift!

Douay-Rheims Bible
But have said: No, but we will flee to horses: therefore shall you flee. And we will mount upon swift ones: therefore shall they be swifter that shall pursue after you.

Revised Standard Version
but you said, "No! We will speed upon horses," therefore you shall speed away; and, "We will ride upon swift steeds," therefore your pursuers shall be swift.

Young's Literal Translation
And ye say, No, for on a horse we flee? Therefore ye flee, And on the swift we ride! Therefore swift are your pursuers.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
And you said, "No, for we will flee on horses," Therefore you shall flee! "And we will ride on swift horses," Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift.

Contextual Overview

⁸ Now, enter - Write it upon a tablet before them And upon a scroll, inscribe it, - That it may serve for a later day, For futurity, unto times age-abiding: - ⁹ That it is, a rebellious people, Sons apt at deceiving, - Sons unwilling to hear the law of Yahweh: ¹⁰ Who have said to the seers, Ye must not see! To the prophets, Ye must not prophesy to us reproofs! Speak to us smooth things, Prophesy delusions: ¹¹ Depart ye from the way, Turn aside from the path, - Desist from setting before us the Holy One of Israel. ¹² Therefore - Thus, saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye have rejected this word, - And have trusted in oppression and perverseness, And have relied thereon, ¹³ Therefore, shall this iniquity become to you As a breach ready to fall, A bulging in a high wall, - Whose breaking down cometh, suddenly in a twinkling. ¹⁴ Yea he will break it - as the breaking of the pitcher of a potter, crushed, he will not spare; So that there shall not be found when it is smashed, A sherd wherewith to snatch fire from a hearth, Or to skim off water out of a cistern. ¹⁵ For thus, said my Lord Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel - By returning and resting, shall ye be saved, In keeping quiet and trusting, shall be your strength, - Howbeit ye would not! ¹⁶ But ye said, - Nay! but on horses, will we flee For this cause, shall ye indeed flee, - And on the swift, will we ride, For this cause, swift, shall be your pursuers: ¹⁷ One thousand, before the war-cry of one - before the war-cry of five, shall ye flee, - Until ye have been left, As a pole on the top of a mountain, And as an ensign upon a hill.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

for we will: Isaiah 5:26-30, Isaiah 10:28-32, Isaiah 31:1, Deuteronomy 28:25, 2 Kings 25:5, Psalms 33:17, Psalms 147:10, Jeremiah 52:7, Amos 2:14-16, Amos 9:1, Micah 1:13

therefore: Deuteronomy 28:49, Jeremiah 4:13, Lamentations 4:19, Habakkuk 1:8

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 32:25 - sword Joshua 11:6 - horses 1 Samuel 27:1 - there is nothing 2 Chronicles 28:20 - distressed him Job 39:11 - trust Psalms 20:7 - Some trust Isaiah 2:7 - their land is Isaiah 10:3 - to whom Isaiah 20:6 - whither Isaiah 30:5 - General Isaiah 36:9 - and put Isaiah 50:11 - all ye Jeremiah 39:4 - when Jeremiah 41:18 - for they Jeremiah 42:14 - we will go Jeremiah 46:6 - not Jeremiah 52:8 - General Ezekiel 11:8 - General Hosea 2:7 - she shall follow Hosea 14:3 - we will not

Gill's Notes on the Bible

But ye said, No, for we will flee upon horses,.... Hither and thither to get help and assistance; go down to Egypt for it on them, or thither for them, as some render it; and then face the enemy, and, if we can not conquer him, will flee from him, and so provide for our safety; this is man's way of salvation, as opposed to God's way; see Hosea 1:7 or this may design their fleeing on horses and camels with their riches into Egypt, both for the security of them and their persons, Isaiah 30:6:

therefore shall ye flee; on horses from the enemy, and be pursued and taken by him; this was fulfilled long after, when the city was taken by the Chaldeans; see 2 Kings 25:4:

and, We will ride upon the swift; horses or camels, to the swiftness of which they trusted, and doubted not to get off safe, but would find themselves mistaken:

therefore shall they that pursue you be swift; yea, swifter than the horses and camels they rode on, and overtake them, and either put them to death, or carry them captive. The Chaldeans are represented as very swift, Jeremiah 4:13.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

But ye said, No - Ye who proposed an alliance with Egypt.

For we will flee upon horses - The word ‘flee’ (נוּס nûc), usually signifies to flee before or from any person or thing. But here it seems to have the notion of making a rapid motion in general, and not to refer to the fact that they expected to flee “from” their enemy, for it does not seem to have been a part of their expectation. The idea seems to be that by their alliance with Egypt they would secure the means of “rapid motion,” whatever might be the necesity or occasion for it, whether against or from an enemy. The sense is, ‘we will by this alliance secure the assistance of cavalry;’ and, doubtless, the design was to employ it in the attack and discomfiture of their foes. It will be recollected that Moses Deuteronomy 17:16 strictly forbade that the future monarch of the Jews should ‘multiply horses to himself, to cause the people to return to Egypt,’ and that consequently the employment of cavalry was against the laws of the nation. For the reasons of this prohibition, see the note at Isaiah 2:7. The attempt, therefore, in the time of Hezekiah to call in the aid of the cavalry of Egypt, was a violation of both the letter and the spirit of the Jewish institutions (compare Isaiah 31:1; Hosea 14:4).

Therefore shall ye flee - You shall fly before your enemies; you shall be defeated and scattered.

We will ride upon the swift - That is, upon fleet horses or coursers. Arabia was celebrated, and is still, for producing fleet coursers, and the same was formerly true of Egypt (see the note at Isaiah 2:7).