Isaiah 30:1

XXX.

(1) Woe to the rebellious children... — The interjection perhaps expresses sorrow rather than indignation, Alas, for ...! as in Isaiah 1:4. The prophet hears that the intrigues of the palace have at last issued in favour of an alliance with Egypt, and that an embassy has been already sent.

That cover with a covering. — Better, that weave a web. The word was fitly chosen then, as now, to describe the subtle intricacies of a double-dealing diplomacy. Some, however, render “form a molten image,” not as referring to actual idolatry, but to the trust in human plans which the prophet condemns.