That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt!

that set out to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to take refuge in the shadow of Egypt!

Who walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth, hoping for help in the strength of Pharao, and trusting in the shadow of Egypt.

who walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked of my mouth, to take refuge under the protection of Pharaoh, and trust in the shadow of Egypt!

That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shade of Egypt!

Who are walking to go down to Egypt, And My mouth have not asked, To be strong in the strength of Pharaoh, And to trust in the shadow of Egypt.

Who make a move to go down into Egypt, without authority from me; who are looking to the strength of Pharaoh for help, and whose hope is in the shade of Egypt.

That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at My mouth; to take refuge in the stronghold of Pharaoh, and to take shelter in the shadow of Egypt!

You are walking so as to descend into Egypt, and you have not sought answers from my mouth, instead hoping for assistance from the strength of Pharaoh and placing trust in the shadow of Egypt.

Proficiscuntur ut descendant in Ægyptum, et os meum non interrogaverunt, roborantes se robore Pharaonis, et sperantes in umbra Ægypti.

They walk that they may go down into Egypt. The reason why the Prophet condemns this "going down" has been already explained; [1] but as their guilt was aggravated by open and heinous obstinacy, he again repeats that they did this without asking at the mouth of God, and even in the face of his prohibition. Strengthening themselves with the strength of Pharaoh. He again draws their attention to the source of the evil, when he says that it was done for the purpose of acquiring strength, because they placed confidence in the forces of the Egyptians. Hence arose that lawless desire of entering into a league. In this way they shewed that they cared little about the power of God, and did not greatly trust in him; and they openly displayed their unbelief. It might be objected, that men are the servants of God, and that it is lawful for any one to make use of their services, whenever they are needed. I reply, that while we make use of the labors and services of men, it ought to be in such a manner as to depend on God alone. But there was another reason peculiar to the Jews, for they knew that God had forbidden them to call the Egyptians to their assistance, and, by doing so, they withheld from God all that they ascribed to Pharaoh and to his forces. Thus it is not without good reason that Isaiah contrasts Pharaoh with God; for the creatures are opposed to God, and enter, as it were, into contest with him when they rise up against God, or whenever men abuse them, or place their hearts and confidence in them, or desire them more than is lawful.

Footnotes

1 - See [38]page 345

That walk to go down to Egypt - Hebrew, 'Going in the descent to Egypt.' That is, they do it by their ambassadors Isaiah 30:4. The journey to Egypt from Palestine is always represented as going down Genesis 12:10; Genesis 42:3; Genesis 43:15; Numbers 20:15; Deuteronomy 10:22.
To strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh - To form an alliance with Pharaoh, that thus they might be able to repel the threatened invasion. Pharaoh was the general name of the kings of Egypt, in the same manner as Caesar was the common name of the emperors of Rome.
To trust in the shadow of Egypt - A 'shadow' (צל tsêl) is an emblem of protection and defense, as a shade is a protection from the burning rays of the sun (see the note at Isaiah 4:6).

That walk to go down into Egypt,.... That walk out of their own land to go thither; who sent messengers thither to form an alliance, and get help and assistance, or went in person, to secure themselves from present danger. Jarchi refers this to the times of Hoshea, the son of Elah, king of Israel, who sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, 2-Kings 17:4. Jerom to the times of Jeremiah, to the history in his prophecy, Jeremiah 41:17 and others to Zedekiah. Kimchi thinks it respects the time of Ahaz, though there is no account, either in the books of Kings or Chronicles, of sending then to Egypt for help; or else to the times of Hezekiah himself; which latter is right, as appears from the insults of Rabshakeh, when Sennacherib's army was before Jerusalem, Isaiah 36:6,
and have not asked at my mouth: or as the Targum,
"the words of my prophets they have not asked;''
they did not inquire of the prophets of the Lord, whether they should go down or not:
to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh; by making an alliance with him, and receiving men and horses from him, to assist them against the Assyrians; this Pharaoh was he whom the Scriptures call So, 2-Kings 17:4 and by other writers, Sevechus and Sethon:
and to trust in the shadow of Egypt; the protection that would afford them, in which they placed their confidence, and thought themselves safe from their other enemy, by having so powerful an ally; but this was but a shadow, as are whatsoever men trust in short of the Lord himself, be they riches or righteousness, or any creature or creature enjoyment.

walk--are now setting out, namely, their ambassadors (Isaiah 30:4).
Egypt--See on Isaiah 19:1; Isaiah 20:1.
Pharaoh--the generic name of the kings of Egypt, as CÃ&brvbr;sar was at Rome. The word in Egyptian means "king" [JOSEPHUS, Antiquities, 8.6,2]. Phra, "the sun," was the hieroglyphic symbol and title of the king.
shadow--image from shelter against heat: protection (Psalm 121:5-6).

Asked - Either by the priests or prophets.