The Meaning of Isaiah 5:30 Explained

Isaiah 5:30

KJV: And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea: and if one look unto the land, behold darkness and sorrow, and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof.

YLT: And it howleth against it in that day as the howling of a sea, And it hath looked attentively to the land, And lo, darkness -- distress, And light hath been darkened by its abundance!

Darby: and they shall roar against them in that day like the roaring of the sea. And if one look upon the earth, behold darkness and distress, and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof.

ASV: And they shall roar against them in that day like the roaring of the sea: and if one look unto the land, behold, darkness and distress; and the light is darkened in the clouds thereof.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And in that day  they shall roar  against them like the roaring  of the sea:  and if [one] look  unto the land,  behold darkness  [and] sorrow,  and the light  is darkened  in the heavens  thereof. 

What does Isaiah 5:30 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The enemy"s attack would be as irresistible as the pounding of waves on a shore. This may be one of many prophetic comparisons between the Gentile nations and the waters of the sea. Israel would find no hope by looking to the land for help because the clouds of God"s wrath would darken it and make it foreboding. Israel would find no help anywhere, not from the sea or from the land.
". . . when the predicted darkness had settled upon the land of Judah, this would not be the end; but there would still follow an alternation of anxiety and glimmerings of hope, until at last it had become altogether dark in the cloudy sky over all the land of Judah ..." [1]
This prophecy looks at a judgment coming on Judah and Jerusalem that was not far away in time. Perhaps the Assyrian invasion of the land that took place at the end of the eighth century (in701 B.C.) fulfilled it. Judah receded to a lower level from which she did not recover after this invasion. Perhaps it is also significant that the founding of Rome occurred about this time, since it was another power that God raised up to humble His people.
"Thus Isaiah ends his preface. The message of the first two sections ( Isaiah 1:2-31; Isaiah 2:1 to Isaiah 4:6) is that human sin cannot ultimately frustrate God"s purposes and that, in God, mercy triumphs over wrath. But the third section ( Isaiah 5:1-30) poses a shattering question: When the Lord has done all ( Isaiah 5:4), must the darkness of divine wrath close in and the light flicker and fade? This was the day of crisis in which Isaiah ministered: a crisis for humankind, for the day of wrath has come and a crisis for God: can mercy be exhausted and defeated?" [2]

Context Summary

Isaiah 5:18-30 - Warning Against Pride, Intemperance, And Corruption
The wild grapes of Judah are here continued: blind atheism, Isaiah 5:18-20; proud self-conceit, Isaiah 5:21; drunkenness, Isaiah 5:22; injustice in the courts, Isaiah 5:23-24. What a terrible description is that given in Isaiah 5:18 of the inevitable progress of sin! The bacchanalian procession which is seen, in Isaiah 5:14, descending with music and flowers into the open gates of Hades is described in Isaiah 5:18 as being drawn down by a cable. Men begin with a thread, but the thread of habit becomes a rope, and the rope grows to a cable, which ultimately lands a man in the pit. From Isaiah 5:25 onward we have the description of impending judgment. Earthquakes, armed raids, civil strife, and famine fever, the devastating inroads of hostile invasion, a desolate land and a hungry sea such would be the forces of destruction which Judah's sin would unloose. Recent events have revealed the terror of such a visitation. Remember that the wrath of love is as severe as a consuming fire. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 5

1  Under the parable of a vineyard, God excuses his severe judgment
8  His judgments upon covetousness
11  Upon lasciviousness
13  Upon impiety
20  And upon injustice
26  The executioners of God's judgments

What do the individual words in Isaiah 5:30 mean?

And they will roar against them in day that Like the roaring of the sea And if [one] looks to the land and behold darkness [and] sorrow and the light is darkened by the clouds -
וְיִנְהֹ֥ם עָלָ֛יו בַּיּ֥וֹם הַה֖וּא כְּנַהֲמַת־ יָ֑ם וְנִבַּ֤ט לָאָ֙רֶץ֙ וְהִנֵּה־ חֹ֔שֶׁךְ צַ֣ר וָא֔וֹר חָשַׁ֖ךְ בַּעֲרִיפֶֽיהָ פ

וְיִנְהֹ֥ם  And  they  will  roar 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: נָהַם  
Sense: to growl, groan.
עָלָ֛יו  against  them 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
בַּיּ֥וֹם  in  day 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
הַה֖וּא  that 
Parse: Article, Pronoun, third person masculine singular
Root: הוּא 
Sense: he, she, it.
כְּנַהֲמַת־  Like  the  roaring 
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: נְהָמָה  
Sense: growling, groaning.
יָ֑ם  of  the  sea 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: יָם  
Sense: sea.
וְנִבַּ֤ט  And  if  [one]  looks 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: נָבַט  
Sense: to look, regard.
לָאָ֙רֶץ֙  to  the  land 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
וְהִנֵּה־  and  behold 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Interjection
Root: הִנֵּה  
Sense: behold, lo, see, if.
חֹ֔שֶׁךְ  darkness 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֹשֶׁךְ  
Sense: darkness, obscurity.
צַ֣ר  [and]  sorrow 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: צַר 
Sense: narrow, tight.
וָא֔וֹר  and  the  light 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, common singular
Root: אֹור  
Sense: light.
חָשַׁ֖ךְ  is  darkened 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: חָשַׁךְ 
Sense: to be or become dark, grow dim, be darkened, be black, be hidden.
בַּעֲרִיפֶֽיהָ  by  the  clouds 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine plural construct, third person feminine singular
Root: עֲרִיפִים  
Sense: cloud, mist.
פ  - 
Parse: Punctuation