Isaiah 30:1

“Woe to the rebellious children,” declares the LORD, “to those who carry out a plan that is not Mine, who form an alliance, but against My will, heaping up sin upon sin.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Yahweh addresses Israel as "rebellious children" in the moment they are about to pursue an alliance with Egypt (v. 2), a plan formed independently of His direction.

The words — סֹרְרִים (so.Rim), "rebellious," from a root meaning to stray or depart, marks a deliberate departure rather than a stumble; עֵצָה ('e.Tzah), "plan," frames the act as a calculated scheme, not an impulsive error.

The thread — The same "rebellious children" motif runs through Isaiah 1:2 and 65:2, where Yahweh describes a people who walk in their own way despite His outstretched hand, and Isaiah 63:10 names the consequence: they grieved His Spirit and He became their enemy.

Why it lands — The verse demands that a reader distinguish between a neutral decision and one made "against My will," and to recognize that "heaping up sin upon sin" is not a single lapse but a pattern of compounding deliberate choices.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

ה֣וֹיHowoe to!בָּנִ֤יםba.Nimchildren סֽוֹרְרִים֙so.Rim[who are] rebellious נְאֻם־ne.'um-[the] utterance of יְהוָ֔הYah.wehYahweh לַעֲשׂ֤וֹתla./'a.Sotby/ making עֵצָה֙'e.Tzaha plan וְלֹ֣אve./Lo'and/ not מִנִּ֔יmi./Nifrom/ me וְלִנְסֹ֥ךְve./li/n.Sokhand/ by/ pouring out מַסֵּכָ֖הma.se.Khaha libation וְלֹ֣אve./Lo'and/ not רוּחִ֑יru.Ch/ispirit/ my לְמַ֛עַןle.Ma.'anso as סְפ֥וֹתse.Fotto add חַטָּ֖אתcha.Tatsin עַל־'al-to חַטָּֽאת׃cha.Tatsin

King James Version

Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin:

Cross-references

Isaiah 65:2 All day long I have held out My hands to an obstinate people who walk in the wrong path, who follow their own imaginations,
Isaiah 1:2 Listen, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the LORD has spoken: “I have raised children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against Me.
Isaiah 63:10 But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit. So He turned and became their enemy, and He Himself fought against them.
Hosea 7:13 Woe to them, for they have strayed from Me! Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against Me! Though I would redeem them, they speak lies against Me.
Isaiah 29:15 Woe to those who dig deep to hide their plans from the LORD. In darkness they do their works and say, “Who sees us, and who will know?”
Hosea 4:10 They will eat but not be satisfied; they will be promiscuous but not multiply. For they have abandoned the LORD to give themselves
Romans 2:5 But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
Acts 7:51 You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did.
2 Timothy 3:13 while evil men and imposters go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
Psalms 61:4 Let me dwell in Your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of Your wings. Selah