Isaiah 30:17
New International Version
A thousand will flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you will all flee away, till you are left like a flagstaff on a mountaintop, like a banner on a hill.”

New Living Translation
One of them will chase a thousand of you. Five of them will make all of you flee. You will be left like a lonely flagpole on a hill or a tattered banner on a distant mountaintop.”

English Standard Version
A thousand shall flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you shall flee, till you are left like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain, like a signal on a hill.

Berean Standard Bible
A thousand will flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you will all flee, until you are left alone like a pole on a mountaintop, like a banner on a hill.

King James Bible
One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on an hill.

New King James Version
One thousand shall flee at the threat of one, At the threat of five you shall flee, Till you are left as a pole on top of a mountain And as a banner on a hill.

New American Standard Bible
One thousand will flee at the threat of one man; You will flee at the threat of five, Until you are left like a signal post on a mountain top, And like a flag on a hill.

NASB 1995
One thousand will flee at the threat of one man; You will flee at the threat of five, Until you are left as a flag on a mountain top And as a signal on a hill.

NASB 1977
One thousand shall flee at the threat of one man, You shall flee at the threat of five; Until you are left as a flag on a mountain top, And as a signal on a hill.

Legacy Standard Bible
One thousand will flee at the threat of one man; You will flee at the threat of five, Until you are left as a flag on a mountain top And as a standard on a hill.

Amplified Bible
A thousand of you will flee at the threat of one man; You will flee at the threat of five, Until you are left like a flag on the top of a mountain, And like a signal on a hill.

Christian Standard Bible
One thousand will flee at the threat of one, at the threat of five you will flee, until you remain like a solitary pole on a mountaintop or a banner on a hill.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
One thousand will flee at the threat of one, at the threat of five you will flee, until you alone remain like a solitary pole on a mountaintop or a banner on a hill.

American Standard Version
One thousand shall flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on a hill.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
You shall flee, one thousand from the reproof of one, and from the reproof of five, until you will be left like a wild donkey on the top of a mountain and like a flag on a hill

Brenton Septuagint Translation
A thousand shall flee because of the voice of one, and many shall flee on account of the voice of five; until ye be left as a signal-post upon a mountain, and as one bearing an ensign upon a hill.

Contemporary English Version
As few as five of them, or even one, will be enough to chase a thousand of you. Finally, all that will be left will be a few survivors as lonely as a flag pole on a barren hill.

Douay-Rheims Bible
A thousand men shall flee for fear of one: and for fear of five shall you flee, till you be left as the mast of a ship on the top of a mountain, and as an ensign upon a hill.

English Revised Version
One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on an hill.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
One thousand people will flee when one person threatens them, and you will flee when five threaten you. Then you will be left alone like a flagpole on top of a mountain, like a signpost on a hill.

Good News Translation
A thousand of you will run away when you see one enemy soldier, and five soldiers will be enough to make you all run away. Nothing will be left of your army except a lonely flagpole on the top of a hill.

International Standard Version
A thousand will flee at the threat of one; and run away, pursued by five, until you are left like a flagpole on a mountaintop, like a banner on a hill."

JPS Tanakh 1917
One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one, At the rebuke of five shall ye flee; Till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, And as an ensign on a hill.

Literal Standard Version
One thousand [flee] because of the rebuke of one, | Because of the rebuke of five you flee, | Until you have surely been left as a pole | On the top of the mountain, | And as an ensign on the height.

Majority Standard Bible
A thousand will flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you will all flee, until you are left alone like a pole on a mountaintop, like a banner on a hill.

New American Bible
A thousand shall tremble at the threat of one— if five threaten, you shall flee. You will then be left like a flagstaff on a mountaintop, like a flag on a hill.

NET Bible
One thousand will scurry at the battle cry of one enemy soldier; at the battle cry of five enemy soldiers you will all run away, until the remaining few are as isolated as a flagpole on a mountaintop or a signal flag on a hill."

New Revised Standard Version
A thousand shall flee at the threat of one, at the threat of five you shall flee, until you are left like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain, like a signal on a hill.

New Heart English Bible
One thousand will flee at the threat of one. At the threat of five, you will flee until you are left like a beacon on the top of a mountain, and like a banner on a hill.

Webster's Bible Translation
One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on a hill.

World English Bible
One thousand will flee at the threat of one. At the threat of five, you will flee until you are left like a beacon on the top of a mountain, and like a banner on a hill.

Young's Literal Translation
One thousand because of the rebuke of one, Because of the rebuke of five ye flee, Till ye have been surely left as a pole On the top of the mountain, And as an ensign on the height.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Worthless Treaty with Egypt
16“No,” you say, “we will flee on horses.” Therefore you will flee! “We will ride swift horses,” but your pursuers will be faster. 17A thousand will flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you will all flee, until you are left alone like a pole on a mountaintop, like a banner on a hill.

Cross References
Leviticus 26:36
As for those of you who survive, I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies, so that even the sound of a windblown leaf will put them to flight. And they will flee as one flees the sword, and fall when no one pursues them.

Deuteronomy 28:25
The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will march out against them in one direction but flee from them in seven. You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.

Deuteronomy 32:30
How could one man pursue a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the LORD had given them up?

Joshua 23:10
One of you can put a thousand to flight, because the LORD your God fights for you, just as He promised.

Proverbs 28:1
The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.

Jeremiah 37:10
Indeed, if you were to strike down the entire army of the Chaldeans that is fighting against you, and only wounded men remained in their tents, they would still get up and burn this city down."

Lamentations 4:19
Those who chased us were swifter than the eagles in the sky; they pursued us over the mountains and ambushed us in the wilderness.


Treasury of Scripture

One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall you flee: till you be left as a beacon on the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on an hill.

thousand

Leviticus 26:8,36
And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword…

Deuteronomy 28:25
The LORD shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them: and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.

Deuteronomy 32:30
How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had shut them up?

till ye

Isaiah 1:7,8
Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers…

Isaiah 37:3,4
And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth…

Nehemiah 1:2,3
That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem…

a beacon.

Isaiah 6:13
But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.

Isaiah 27:11
When the boughs thereof are withered, they shall be broken off: the women come, and set them on fire: for it is a people of no understanding: therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them, and he that formed them will shew them no favour.

John 15:2-6
Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit…

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Banner Beacon Ensign Fear Five Flag Flee Flight Height Hill Left Mountain Pillar Pole Rebuke Signal Surely Thousand Threat Top
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Banner Beacon Ensign Fear Five Flag Flee Flight Height Hill Left Mountain Pillar Pole Rebuke Signal Surely Thousand Threat Top
Isaiah 30
1. The prophet threatens the people for their confidence in Egypt
8. And contempt of God's word
18. God's mercies toward his church
27. God's wrath and the people's joy, in the destruction of Assyria














(17) One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one.--The hyperbole is natural and common enough (Deuteronomy 32:30; Joshua 23:10; Leviticus 26:8); but the fact that the inscription of King Piankhi Mer. Amon., translated in Records of the Past, ii. 84, gives it in the self-same words ("many shall turn their backs on a few; and one shall rout a thousand") as his boast of the strength of Egypt, may have given a special touch of sarcasm to Isaiah's words.

As a beacon upon the top of a mountain.--Literally, as a pine. As with a poet's eye, the prophet paints two of the most striking emblems of solitariness: the tall pine standing by itself on the mountain height, the flag-staff seen alone far off against the sky. (Comp. the lowlier imagery of Isaiah 1:8.)

Verse 17. - One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one. A hyperbole common in Scripture (Deuteronomy 32:30; Joshua 23:10; Leviticus 26:8), and not confined to the sacred writers. Piankhi the Ethiopian boasts, in his great inscription, that, with Ammon's help, "many should turn their backs upon a few, and one should rout a thousand" ('Records of the Past,' vol. it. p. 84). At the rebuke of five. The "rebuke" of five (i.e. their war-shout) would put to flight the whole army. As a beacon; rather, as a flag-staff - stripped and bare (comp. Isaiah 33:23; Ezekiel 27:5). A tree stripped of its branches and left standing as a landmark seems to be intended. As an ensign. A military standard, such as was in common use among the Assyrians and Egyptians, as among the Greeks and Romans (see 'Ancient Monarchies,' vol. 2. p. 57; Rawlinson, 'Hist. of Egypt,' vol. 1. p. 463).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
A
אֶחָ֗ד (’e·ḥāḏ)
Number - masculine singular
Strong's 259: United, one, first

thousand
אֶ֣לֶף (’e·lep̄)
Number - masculine singular
Strong's 505: A thousand

will take flight at
מִפְּנֵי֙ (mip·pə·nê)
Preposition-m | Noun - common plural construct
Strong's 6440: The face

the threat
גַּעֲרַ֣ת (ga·‘ă·raṯ)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 1606: A chiding

of one,
אֶחָ֔ד (’e·ḥāḏ)
Number - masculine singular
Strong's 259: United, one, first

at
מִפְּנֵ֛י (mip·pə·nê)
Preposition-m | Noun - common plural construct
Strong's 6440: The face

the threat
גַּעֲרַ֥ת (ga·‘ă·raṯ)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 1606: A chiding

of five
חֲמִשָּׁ֖ה (ḥă·miš·šāh)
Number - masculine singular
Strong's 2568: Five

you will flee,
תָּנֻ֑סוּ (tā·nu·sū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine plural
Strong's 5127: To flit, vanish away

until
עַ֣ד (‘aḏ)
Preposition
Strong's 5704: As far as, even to, up to, until, while

you are left alone
נוֹתַרְתֶּ֗ם (nō·w·ṯar·tem)
Verb - Nifal - Perfect - second person masculine plural
Strong's 3498: To jut over, exceed, to excel, to remain, be left, to leave, cause to abound, preserve

like a lone pole
כַּתֹּ֙רֶן֙ (kat·tō·ren)
Preposition-k, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 8650: A pole

on
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

a mountaintop,
רֹ֣אשׁ (rōš)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 7218: The head

like a banner
וְכַנֵּ֖ס (wə·ḵan·nês)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-k, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5251: A flag, a sail, a flagstaff, a signal, a token

on
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

a hill.
הַגִּבְעָֽה׃ (hag·giḇ·‘āh)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 1389: A hillock


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OT Prophets: Isaiah 30:17 One thousand will flee at the threat (Isa Isi Is)
Isaiah 30:16
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