Message to Egypt
19 The (A)pronouncement concerning (B)Egypt:
Behold, the Lord is (C)riding on a swift cloud and is about to come to Egypt;
The (D)idols of Egypt will tremble at His presence,
And the (E)heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.
2 “So I will incite Egyptians against Egyptians;
And they will fight, (F)each against his brother and each against his neighbor,
City against city and kingdom against kingdom.
3 Then the spirit of the Egyptians will be demoralized within them;
And I will confuse their strategy,
So that (G)they will resort to idols and ghosts of the dead,
And to [a]mediums and spiritists.
4 Furthermore, I will hand the Egyptians over to a (H)cruel master,
And a [b]mighty king will rule over them,” declares the Lord [c]God of armies.
5 (I)The waters from the sea will dry up,
And the river will be parched and dry.
6 The [d](J)canals will emit a stench,
The [e](K)streams of Egypt will thin out and dry up;
(L)The reeds and rushes will rot away.
7 The bulrushes by the (M)Nile, by the [f]edge of the Nile
And all the sown fields by the Nile
Will become dry, be driven away, and be no more.
8 And the (N)fishermen will grieve,
And all those who cast a [g]line into the Nile will mourn,
And those who spread nets on the waters will dwindle away.
9 Moreover, the manufacturers of linen made from combed flax
And the weavers of white (O)cloth will be [h]utterly dejected.
10 And [i]the (P)pillars of Egypt will be crushed;
All the hired laborers will be grieved in soul.
11 The officials of [j](Q)Zoan are mere fools;
The advice of Pharaoh’s wisest advisers has become [k]stupid.
How can you say to Pharaoh,
“I am a son of the (R)wise, a son of ancient kings”?
12 Well then, where are your wise men?
Please let them tell you,
And let them [l]understand what the Lord of armies
Has (S)planned against Egypt.
13 The officials of [m]Zoan have turned out to be fools,
The officials of (T)Memphis are deluded;
Those who are the (U)cornerstone of her tribes
Have [n]led Egypt astray.
14 The Lord has mixed within her a spirit of (V)distortion;
(W)They have led Egypt astray in all [o]that it does,
As a (X)drunken person [p]staggers in his vomit.
15 There will be no work for Egypt
(Y)Which its head or tail, its palm branch or bulrush, may do.
16 On that day the Egyptians will become like women, and they will tremble and be in great (Z)fear because of the (AA)waving of the hand of the Lord of armies, which He is going to wave over them. 17 The land of Judah will become a cause of shame to Egypt; everyone to whom it is mentioned will be in great fear because of the (AB)plan of the Lord of armies which He is making against them.
18 On that day five cities in the land of Egypt will be speaking the language of Canaan and (AC)swearing allegiance to the Lord of armies; one will be called the City of [q]Destruction.
19 On that day there will be an (AD)altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a (AE)memorial stone to the Lord beside its border. 20 And it will become a sign and a witness to the Lord of armies in the land of Egypt; for they will cry out to the Lord because of oppressors, and He will send them a (AF)Savior and a (AG)Champion, and He will save them. 21 So the Lord will make Himself known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know the Lord on that day. They will even worship with (AH)sacrifice and offering, and will make a vow to the Lord and perform it. 22 And the Lord will strike Egypt, striking but (AI)healing; so they will (AJ)return to the Lord, and He will respond to their pleas and heal them.
23 On that day there will be a (AK)road from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrians will come into Egypt and the Egyptians into Assyria; and the Egyptians will (AL)worship with the Assyrians.
24 On that day Israel will be the third party to Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, 25 whom the Lord of armies has blessed, saying, “Blessed is (AM)Egypt My people, and Assyria (AN)the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 19:3 Or ghosts and spirits
- Isaiah 19:4 Or fierce
- Isaiah 19:4 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- Isaiah 19:6 Lit rivers
- Isaiah 19:6 Or Nile branches; i.e., the delta
- Isaiah 19:7 Or mouth
- Isaiah 19:8 Lit hook
- Isaiah 19:9 Lit ashamed
- Isaiah 19:10 Lit her pillars; or her weavers
- Isaiah 19:11 Or Tanis
- Isaiah 19:11 Or brutish
- Isaiah 19:12 Or know
- Isaiah 19:13 Or Tanis
- Isaiah 19:13 Or have caused Egypt to stagger
- Isaiah 19:14 Lit its work
- Isaiah 19:14 Or goes astray
- Isaiah 19:18 Some mss and ancient versions the Sun
Cross references
- Isaiah 19:1 : Is 13:1
- Isaiah 19:1 : Joel 3:19
- Isaiah 19:1 : Ps 18:9, 10; 104:3; Matt 26:64; Rev 1:7
- Isaiah 19:1 : Ex 12:12; Jer 43:12; 44:8
- Isaiah 19:1 : Josh 2:11; Is 13:7
- Isaiah 19:2 : Judg 7:22; 1 Sam 14:20; 2 Chr 20:23; Matt 10:21, 36
- Isaiah 19:3 : 1 Chr 10:13; Is 8:19; Dan 2:2
- Isaiah 19:4 : Is 20:4; Jer 46:26; Ezek 29:19
- Isaiah 19:5 : Is 50:2; Jer 51:36; Ezek 30:12
- Isaiah 19:6 : Ex 7:18
- Isaiah 19:6 : Is 37:25
- Isaiah 19:6 : Ex 2:3; Job 8:11; Is 15:6
- Isaiah 19:7 : Is 23:3, 10
- Isaiah 19:8 : Ezek 47:10; Hab 1:15
- Isaiah 19:9 : Prov 7:16; Ezek 27:7
- Isaiah 19:10 : Ps 11:3
- Isaiah 19:11 : Num 13:22; Ps 78:12, 43; Is 30:4
- Isaiah 19:11 : Gen 41:38, 39; 1 Kin 4:30; Acts 7:22
- Isaiah 19:12 : Is 14:24; Rom 9:17
- Isaiah 19:13 : Jer 2:16; 46:14, 19; Ezek 30:13
- Isaiah 19:13 : Zech 10:4
- Isaiah 19:14 : Prov 12:8; Matt 17:17
- Isaiah 19:14 : Is 3:12; 9:16
- Isaiah 19:14 : Is 28:7
- Isaiah 19:15 : Is 9:14, 15
- Isaiah 19:16 : 2 Cor 5:11; Heb 10:31
- Isaiah 19:16 : Is 11:15
- Isaiah 19:17 : Is 14:24; Dan 4:35
- Isaiah 19:18 : Is 45:23; 65:16
- Isaiah 19:19 : Is 56:7; 60:7
- Isaiah 19:19 : Gen 28:18; Ex 24:4; Josh 22:10, 26, 27
- Isaiah 19:20 : Is 43:3, 11; 45:15, 21; 49:26; 60:16; 63:8
- Isaiah 19:20 : Is 49:25
- Isaiah 19:21 : Is 56:7; 60:7; Zech 14:16-18
- Isaiah 19:22 : Deut 32:39; Is 30:26; 57:18; Heb 12:11
- Isaiah 19:22 : Is 27:13; 45:14; Hos 14:1
- Isaiah 19:23 : Is 11:16; 35:8; 49:11; 62:10
- Isaiah 19:23 : Is 27:13
- Isaiah 19:25 : Is 45:14
- Isaiah 19:25 : Ps 100:3; Is 29:23; 45:11; 60:21; 64:8; Eph 2:10