Isaiah 30:5 (WEB)

Passage

They shall all be ashamed because of a people that can’t profit them, that are not a help nor profit, but a shame, and also a reproach.”

Nearby Context

Isaiah 30:3 Therefore the strength of Pharaoh will be your shame, and the refuge in the shadow of Egypt your confusion.

Isaiah 30:4 For their princes are at Zoan, and their ambassadors have come to Hanes.

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

Isaiah 30:6 The burden of the animals of the South. Through the land of trouble and anguish, of the lioness and the lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they carry their riches on the shoulders of young donkeys, and their treasures on the humps of camels, to an unprofitable people.

Isaiah 30:7 For Egypt helps in vain, and to no purpose; therefore I have called her Rahab who sits still.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shall", "ashamed", "people", "profit", "help", and "reproach". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shall" and "ashamed", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "For their princes are at Zoan and..." into verse 6's "The burden of the animals of the...", so "shall" and "ashamed" 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 "shall" and "ashamed" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.