Isaiah 30:7 (ASV)

Passage

For Egypt helpeth in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I called her Rahab that sitteth still.

Nearby Context

Isaiah 30:5 They shall all be ashamed because of a people that cannot profit them, that are not a help nor profit, but a shame, and also a reproach.

Isaiah 30:6 The burden of the beasts of the South. Through the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the lioness and the lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the humps of camels, to a people that shall not profit [them].

Isaiah 30:7 For Egypt helpeth in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I called her Rahab that sitteth still.

Isaiah 30:8 Now go, write it before them on a tablet, and inscribe it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever.

Isaiah 30:9 For it is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of Jehovah;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "called", "purpose", "egypt", "helpeth", "vain", "therefore", "rahab", and "sitteth". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "called" and "purpose", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 6's "The burden of the beasts of the..." into verse 8's "Now go write it before them on...", so "called" and "purpose" 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 "called" and "purpose" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.