Verse Lens · Context pointer
Isaiah 31:4 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 4. 4For thus hath the LORD spoken unto me, Like as the lion and the young lion roaring on his prey, when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him, he will not be afraid of their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them: so shall the LORD of hosts come down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill thereof.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Role in This Section
The historical narrative or dated oracle supplies a stated reason through “For thus hath the LORD spoken unto me, Like as the lion and the young lion roaring on…” at Isaiah 31:4 in “Egypt's Horses Are Flesh, Not Spirit.”
Read It With
- Isaiah 31:1–5
Read Isaiah 31:4 with 31:1–5. By itself, “For thus hath the LORD spoken unto me, Like as the lion and the young lion roaring on…” can be detached from the speaker, addressee, historical horizon, poetic movement, or outcome that gives it force. The complete unit establishes: The woe contrasts military dependence on numerous horses and strong riders with the LORD's wisdom and lion-and-bird protection of Jerusalem.
Why It Needs Context
Isaiah 31:1–5 gives Isaiah 31:4 its literary owner and outcome. The historical narrative or dated oracle supplies a stated reason through “For thus hath the LORD spoken unto me, Like as the lion and the young lion roaring on…” at Isaiah 31:4 in “Egypt's Horses Are Flesh, Not Spirit.” Application waits until that movement is understood.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Isaiah 31:1–5 — Egypt's Horses Are Flesh, Not SpiritSources used for this context pointer
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Isaiah 31:1–5, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Isaiah
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology at the exact unit, without treating morphology as apparatus, lexicon, composition history, or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Isa.xml, OSIS 31:1–5 with Hebrew/KJV versification difference checked
Open the fixed Hebrew Isaiah file ↗