Isaiah 30:17 (ASV)

Passage

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.

Nearby Context

Isaiah 30:15 For thus said the Lord Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength. And ye would not:

Isaiah 30:16 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.

Isaiah 30:17 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.

Isaiah 30:18 And therefore will Jehovah wait, that he may be gracious unto you; and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for Jehovah is a God of justice; blessed are all they that wait for him.

Isaiah 30:19 For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem; thou shalt weep no more; he will surely be gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear, he will answer thee.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thousand", "shall", "flee", "threat", and "five". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "thousand" and "shall", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "but ye said No for we will..." into verse 18's "And therefore will Jehovah wait that he...", so "thousand" and "shall" belong inside that flow. In Isaiah context, the local focus is the Holy One of Israel, judgment and restoration, the servant of the LORD, and Zion's hope.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "thousand" and "shall" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.