Isaiah 19 (New American Standard Bible)

Isaiah 19

Message to Egypt

 ¹The ^(A)oracle 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 ^(F)each fight 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 confound their strategy,
         So that ^(G)they will resort to idols and ghosts of the dead
         And to mediums and spiritists.
    ⁴"Moreover, I will deliver the Egyptians into the hand of a ^(H)cruel master,
         And a mighty king will rule over them," declares the Lord GOD of hosts.
    ^5(I)The waters from the sea will dry up,
         And the river will be parched and dry.
    ⁶The ^(J)canals will emit a stench,
         The ^(K)streams of Egypt will thin out and dry up;
         ^(L)The reeds and rushes will rot away.
    ⁷The bulrushes by the ^(M)Nile, by the edge of the Nile
         And all the sown fields by the Nile
         Will become dry, be driven away, and be no more.
    ⁸And the ^(N)fishermen will lament,
         And all those who cast a line into the Nile will mourn,
         And those who spread nets on the waters will pine away.
    ⁹Moreover, the manufacturers of linen made from combed flax
         And the weavers of white ^(O)cloth will be utterly dejected.
    ¹⁰And the ^(P)pillars of Egypt will be crushed;
         All the hired laborers will be grieved in soul.
    ¹¹The princes of ^(Q)Zoan are mere fools;
         The advice of Pharaoh's wisest advisers has become stupid
         How can you men say to Pharaoh,
         "I am a son of the ^(R)wise, a son of ancient kings"?
    ¹²Well then, where are your wise men?
         Please let them tell you,
         And let them understand what the LORD of hosts
         Has ^(S)purposed against Egypt.
    ¹³The princes of Zoan have acted foolishly,
         The princes of ^(T)Memphis are deluded;
         Those who are the ^(U)cornerstone of her tribes
         Have led Egypt astray.
    ¹⁴The LORD has mixed within her a spirit of ^(V)distortion;
         ^(W)They have led Egypt astray in all that it does,
         As a ^(X)drunken man staggers in his vomit.
    ¹⁵There will be no work for Egypt
         ^(Y)Which its head or tail, its palm branch or bulrush, may do.

 ¹⁶In that day the Egyptians will become like women, and they will tremble and be in ^(Z)dread because of the ^(AA)waving of the hand of the LORD of hosts, which He is going to wave over them.

 ¹⁷The land of Judah will become a terror to Egypt; everyone to whom it is mentioned will be in dread of it, because of the ^(AB)purpose of the LORD of hosts which He is purposing against them.

 ¹⁸In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will be speaking the language of Canaan and ^(AC)swearing allegiance to the LORD of hosts; one will be called the City of ^[a]Destruction.

 ¹⁹In that day there will be an ^(AD)altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a ^(AE)pillar to the LORD near its border.

 ²⁰It will become a sign and a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the LORD because of oppressors, and He will send them a ^(AF)Savior and a ^(AG)Champion, and He will deliver them.

 ²¹Thus the LORD will make Himself known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know the LORD in that day. They will even worship with ^(AH)sacrifice and offering, and will make a vow to the LORD and perform it.

 ²²The LORD will strike Egypt, striking but ^(AI)healing; so they will ^(AJ)return to the LORD, and He will respond to them and will heal them.

 ²³In that day there will be a ^(AK)highway 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.

 ²⁴In that day Israel will be the third party with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth,

 ²⁵whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, saying, "Blessed is ^(AM)Egypt My people, and Assyria ^(AN)the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance."