Isaiah 19:15-17

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Isaiah 19:15 tn Heb “And there will not be for Egypt a deed, which head and tail, shoot and stalk, can do.” In 9:14-15 the phrase “head or tail” refers to leaders and prophets, respectively. This interpretation makes good sense in this context, where both leaders and advisers (probably including prophets and diviners) are mentioned (vv. 11-14). Here, as in 9:14, “shoots or stalk” picture a reed, which symbolizes the leadership of the nation in its entirety.
2. Isaiah 19:16 tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV); likewise at the beginning of vv. 18 and 19.
3. Isaiah 19:16 tn Heb “Egypt,” which stands by metonymy for the country’s inhabitants.
4. Isaiah 19:16 sn As the rest of the verse indicates, the point of the simile is that the Egyptians will be relatively weak physically and will wilt in fear before the Lord’s onslaught.
5. Isaiah 19:16 tn Heb “and he will tremble and be afraid because of the brandishing of the hand of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies [traditionally, “the Lord of hosts”], which he brandishes against him.” Since according to the imagery here the Lord’s “hand” is raised as a weapon against the Egyptians, the term “fist” has been used in the translation.
6. Isaiah 19:17 tn Heb “and the land of Judah will become [a source of] shame to Egypt. Everyone to whom one mentions it [i.e., the land of Judah] will fear because of the plan of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies [traditionally, “the Lord of hosts”] which he is planning against him.”