Isaiah 30:7 (GNV)

Passage

For the Egyptians are vanitie, and they shall helpe in vaine. Therefore haue I cried vnto her, Their strength is to sit still.

Nearby Context

Isaiah 30:5 They shalbe all ashamed of the people that cannot profite them, nor helpe nor doe them good, but shalbe a shame and also a reproche.

Isaiah 30:6 The burden of the beasts of the South, in a land of trouble and anguish, from whence shall come the yong and olde lyon, the viper and fierie flying serpent against them that shall beare their riches vpon the shoulders of the coltes, and their treasures vpon the bounches of the camels, to a people that cannot profite.

Isaiah 30:7 For the Egyptians are vanitie, and they shall helpe in vaine. Therefore haue I cried vnto her, Their strength is to sit still.

Isaiah 30:8 Now go, and write it before them in a table, and note it in a booke that it may be for the last day for euer and euer:

Isaiah 30:9 That it is a rebellious people, lying children, and children that would not heare the law of the Lord.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "egyptians", "vanitie", "shall", "helpe", "vaine", "therefore", "haue", and "cried". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "egyptians" and "vanitie", 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 and write it before them...", so "egyptians" and "vanitie" 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 "egyptians" and "vanitie" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.