Isaiah 10:30 (KJV)

What does Isaiah 10:30 mean?

Isaiah 10:30 portrays communities near Jerusalem reacting to an approaching Assyrian army. Isaiah calls on Gallim to cry out so that Laish can hear, and he addresses Anathoth with sympathy as a place facing danger.

The phrase “daughter of Gallim” addresses the town as though it were a person. After the movement described in verse 29, these named places give the threat a local and human scale: people in particular communities are imagined hearing and raising an alarm.

The Hebrew behind Isaiah 10:30

• “daughter” — בַּת (bat): This word can mean a female child, but it is also used when addressing a town and its people. Here, “daughter of Gallim” gives the community a personal voice in the scene.
• “poor” — עֲנִיָּה (ʿaniyyah): The word can describe someone afflicted or suffering. In “poor Anathoth,” the KJV wording expresses pity for the town rather than necessarily describing its wealth.

Why Isaiah 10:30 matters

• The named places make the warning concrete. “Gallim,” “Laish,” and “Anathoth” are presented as communities caught up in the army’s approach, not merely as names on a map.
• The verse places attention on the people in the army’s path. The command “Lift up thy voice” and the address “O poor Anathoth” let the reader hear fear and distress alongside the movement of troops.
• Anathoth is also associated with the prophet Jeremiah, who is introduced as being from that town in Jeremiah 1:1. In Isaiah 10:30, however, the focus is on Anathoth as a threatened community.