Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.

ISAIAH 30:11KJV
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Isaiah 30:11 (KJV)

What does Isaiah 30:11 mean?

Isaiah 30:11 portrays people demanding that God’s messengers stop bringing them a message they do not want to hear. Their words show a desire to remove the Holy One of Israel from their attention.

The people speak to those who bring them messages from God. After asking for pleasant words in verse 10, they use the picture of a road and a path to demand a different direction. “The Holy One of Israel” names the God whose presence and message they want out of their sight.

The Hebrew behind Isaiah 30:11

  • “way” — דֶּרֶךְ (derekh): This word can mean a road or a course of action. Here, the road image gives shape to the people’s demand that the messengers change direction.
  • “cease” — שָׁבַת (shavat): This word carries the sense of stopping or bringing something to an end. In this verse, the people demand an end to the Holy One being put before them.

Why Isaiah 30:11 matters

  • The demand reaches beyond a dislike of harsh words. The phrase “cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us” identifies the person behind the message as the focus of their objection.
  • The title “Holy One of Israel” makes the rejection pointed. The people want distance from the very God identified with Israel, the people to whom they belong.
  • The passage presents these words as a picture of the people’s attitude. Isaiah 30:9–10 describes them as unwilling to hear God’s instruction and as asking the messengers for pleasant words instead.

Where else these words appear

“path” Hebrew H734 · used in 58 verses

  • Genesis 18:11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.
  • Psalms 25:10 All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.
  • Proverbs 5:6 Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.

“cease” Hebrew H7673 · used in 67 verses

  • Genesis 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
  • 2 Chronicles 36:21 To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years.
  • Jeremiah 48:35 Moreover I will cause to cease in Moab, saith the LORD, him that offereth in the high places, and him that burneth incense to his gods.

“One” Hebrew H6918 · used in 106 verses

  • Exodus 19:6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
  • 2 Kings 19:22 Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel.
  • Isaiah 17:7 At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel.