Isaiah 30:17
Translations
King James Version (KJV)
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.
American King James Version (AKJV)
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.
American Standard Version (ASV)
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.
Basic English Translation (BBE)
A thousand will go in fear before one; even before five you will go in flight: till you are like a pillar by itself on the top of a mountain, and like a flag on a hill.
Webster's Revision
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.
English Revised Version (ERV)
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.
Definitions for Isaiah 30:17
Clarke's Isaiah 30:17 Bible Commentary
At the rebuke of five shall ye flee "At the rebuke of five, ten thousand of you shall flee" - In the second line of this verse a word is manifestly omitted, which should answer to one thousand in the first: the Septuagint supply πολλοι, רבים rabbim. But the true word is רבבה rebabah, as I am persuaded any one will be convinced, who will compare the following passages with this place: -
"How should one chase a thousand;
And two put ten thousand (רבבה) to flight?"
Barnes's Isaiah 30:17 Bible Commentary
One thousand ... - The sense of this is, that you shall be easily alarmed and overcome by those who are inferior in numbers and strength. The number 'one thousand,' is put for a large indefinite number; probably meaning all.
At the rebuke of one - The number one here is put to denote a very small number; a number in the ordinary course of warfare entirely disproportionate to those who would be vanquished. There is probably a reference here to the prediction in Deuteronomy 32:30 :
How should one chase a thousand,
And two put ten thousand to flight,
Except their Rock had sold them
And Yahweh had shut them up?
At the rebuke of five - Of a very small number.
Till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain - The word rendered 'beacon' (תרן toren), (Greek ἱστὸς histos, "a mast"), denotes properly the mast of a ship Isaiah 33:23; Ezekiel 27:5; then anything resembling a mast, a flagstaff, or a beacon of any kind. It may refer to a staff or mast erected on a promontory to warn sailors, or to be a landmark - as it is not improbable that the masts of ships would be employed for that purpose; or it may refer to a flagstaff, erected on a conspicuous place, to which the nation could rally in time of war. On the sea coasts of America such beacons are often erected. Those which I have seen consist of a pole erected on an eminence or rising ground, with a cask or barrel painted white on the top. The idea seems to be, that of a long pole erected for any purpose, and which was standing alone, stripped of its leaves and branches, and without ornament. So would be the few, solitary, and scattered Jews when driven before their enemies.
And as an ensign on a hill - (see Isaiah 5:26, note; Isaiah 11:12, note). The idea is, that those who should escape would be few in number, and would stand alone, as a beacon in view of all the nations, to admonish them of the justice of God, and the truth of his threatening - like an ensign floating on a hill that can be seen from afar. What a striking description is this of the condition of the Jews in our times, and indeed in all ages since their dispersion! Their strength, and influence, and power as a people are gone. They stand as beacons to warn the nations of the evils of a want of confidence in God, and of his justice.
Wesley's Isaiah 30:17 Bible Commentary
30:17 'Till - 'Till you be destroyed, and but a few of you left.