Isaiah 19:1-12

Complete Jewish Bible

19 This is a prophecy about Egypt:

Look! Adonai is riding a swift cloud,
on his way to Egypt.
Before him Egypt’s idols tremble,
Egypt’s courage melts within them.

² “I will incite Egypt against Egypt,
brother will fight against brother,
friend against friend, city against city,
kingdom against kingdom.
³ The courage of Egypt will ebb away within it,
I will reduce its counsel to confusion.
They will consult idols and mediums,
ghosts and spirits.
⁴ I will hand over the Egyptians to a cruel master.
A harsh king will rule them,”

says the Lord, Adonai-Tzva’ot.

⁵ The water will ebb from the sea,
the river will be drained dry.
⁶ The rivers will become foul,
the canals of Egypt’s Nile will dwindle and dry up,
the reeds and rushes will wither.
⁷ The river-plants on the banks of the Nile
and everything sown near the Nile
will dry up, blow away and be no more.
⁸ Fishermen too will lament,
all who cast hooks in the Nile will mourn,
those who spread nets on the water lose heart.
⁹ The linen-workers will be in despair,
along with the weavers of white cotton;
¹⁰ the spinners will be crushed,
the hired workers dejected.

¹¹ The princes of Tzo‘an are utter fools,
Pharaoh’s wisest counselors give stupid advice.
How can you say to Pharaoh,
“I’m a sage, descended from kings of old.”
¹² Where are they, then, those sages of yours?
Let them tell you, so all can know
what Adonai-Tzva’ot has planned against Egypt!