A thousand shall flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you shall flee, till you are left like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain, like a signal on a hill.
17. A thousand, as one, shall flee at the rebuke of one. Because the Jews, on account of their vast numbers, relied on their forces, as men are wont to do when they possess any power, therefore the Prophet threatens that all the protection which they have at home will be of no more avail to them than foreign aid, because the Lord will break...
Write this down and engrave it, that it may stand as a witness forever. These words must outlast the present generation who reject them, shaming those who would not hear, justifying God's judgment upon them, and warning all ages that follow: here is the record of how wickedly they provoked Him before He brought the full weight of His severity upon them.
AI summary
Commenting on Isaiah 30:8-17
One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one,.... A troop of horse, consisting of a thousand men, shall flee upon the attack and onset of a single person, so dispirited should they be, and so possessed of the fear of the enemy; what was promised to them with respect to their enemies is here turned against them, Lev 26:7, at the rebuke of five...