Isaiah 19:1-15

Lexham English Bible

Look! Yahweh is riding on a swift cloud
    and is coming to Egypt.
And the idols of Egypt will tremble in front of him,
    and the heart of Egypt melts in his inner parts.
² “And I will stir up Egyptians^[a] against Egyptians,^[b]
    and each one will fight against his brother
and each one against his neighbor,
    city against city, kingdom against kingdom.
³ And the spirit of the Egyptians^[c] will be disturbed in his midst,
    and I will confuse^[d] his plans,^[e]
and they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead,
    and the ghosts and the spiritists.
⁴ And I will hand over the Egyptians^[f] into the hand of a hard master,
    and a powerful king will rule over them,”
declares^[g] the Lord Yahweh of hosts.
⁵ And the waters will be dried up from the sea,
    and the river will be parched and dry.
⁶ And the rivers will become foul-smelling;
    the branches of the Nile of Egypt will become little and dry up;
    reed and rush will wither.
⁷ Bare places by the Nile will be dried up,
    by the edge of the Nile and all the sown land of the Nile;
    it will be driven about, and it will be no more.^[h]
8 And the fishers will mourn,
    and all of those who cast fishhooks^[i] in the Nile will lament,
    and those who spread out fishing nets^[j] on the surface^[k] of the water will languish.
⁹ And the workers of combed flax will be ashamed,
    and those who weave white linen.
¹⁰ And her weavers will be crushed;
    all the hired workers^[l] will be grieved of heart.
¹¹ Surely the princes of Zoan are foolish;
    the wise of the counselors of Pharaoh give senseless counsel.
How can you say to Pharaoh,
    “I myself am a son of sages,
    a descendant^[m] of ancient kings”?
¹² Where are your sages then?
    Now, let them tell you,
    and let them know what Yahweh of hosts has planned against Egypt.
¹³ The princes of Zoan have become foolish;
    the princes of Memphis are deceived;
    the leaders of her tribes have led Egypt astray.
¹⁴ Yahweh has mixed a spirit of confusion into her midst,
    and they have caused Egypt to stagger in all of its doings,
        as when a drunkard staggers^[n] in his vomit.
¹⁵ And there will be nothing for Egypt to do,^[o]
    head or tail, palm branch or reed.