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Isaiah 19:1-15
American Standard Version
Isaiah 19:1-15
American Standard Version
19 The [a]burden of Egypt.
Behold, Jehovah rideth upon a swift cloud, and cometh unto Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall tremble at his presence; and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it. 2 And I will [b]stir up the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbor; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom. 3 And the spirit of Egypt shall [c]fail in the midst of it; and I will [d]destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek unto the idols, and to the [e]charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards. 4 And I will [f]give over the Egyptians into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts.
5 And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and become dry. 6 And the rivers shall become foul; the [g]streams of [h]Egypt shall be diminished and dried up; the reeds and flags shall wither away. 7 The meadows by the Nile, by the brink of the Nile, and all the sown fields of the Nile, shall become dry, be driven away, and be no more. 8 And the fishers shall lament, and all they that cast angle into the Nile shall mourn, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish. 9 Moreover they that work in combed flax, and they that weave [i]white cloth, shall be confounded. 10 And [j]the [k]pillars of Egypt shall be broken in pieces; all they [l]that work for hire shall be grieved in soul.
11 The princes of Zoan are utterly foolish; the counsel of the wisest counsellors of Pharaoh is become brutish: how say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings? 12 Where then are thy wise men? and let them tell thee now; and let them know what Jehovah of hosts hath purposed concerning Egypt. 13 The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Memphis are deceived; they have caused Egypt to go astray, that are the corner-stone of her tribes. 14 Jehovah hath mingled a spirit of perverseness in the midst of her; and they have caused Egypt to go astray in every work thereof, as a drunken man [m]staggereth in his vomit. 15 Neither shall there be for Egypt any work, which head or tail, palm-branch or rush, may do.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Isaiah 19:1 Or, oracle concerning
- Isaiah 19:2 Or, join together. Or, arm
- Isaiah 19:3 Hebrew be emptied.
- Isaiah 19:3 Hebrew swallow up.
- Isaiah 19:3 Or, whisperers
- Isaiah 19:4 Or, shut up
- Isaiah 19:6 Or, canals
- Isaiah 19:6 Hebrew Mazor.
- Isaiah 19:9 Or, cotton
- Isaiah 19:10 Hebrew her pillars.
- Isaiah 19:10 Or, foundations
- Isaiah 19:10 Or, that make dams
- Isaiah 19:14 Or, goeth astray
Isaiah 19:1-15
Lexham English Bible
Isaiah 19:1-15
Lexham English Bible
Oracle of Judgment on Egypt
19 An oracle of Egypt:
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.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 19:2 Literally “Egypt”
- Isaiah 19:2 Literally “Egypt”
- Isaiah 19:3 Literally “Egypt”
- Isaiah 19:3 Literally “engulf”
- Isaiah 19:3 Hebrew “plan”
- Isaiah 19:4 Literally “Egypt”
- Isaiah 19:4 Literally “declaration of”
- Isaiah 19:7 Literally “there is none of it”
- Isaiah 19:8 Hebrew “fishhook”
- Isaiah 19:8 Hebrew “net”
- Isaiah 19:8 Literally “face”
- Isaiah 19:10 Literally “workers of wage”
- Isaiah 19:11 Literally “son”
- Isaiah 19:14 Literally “the staggering of a drunkard”
- Isaiah 19:15 Literally “not it will be for Egypt a deed which he can do”
Isaiah 19:1-15
New International Version
Isaiah 19:1-15
New International Version
A Prophecy Against Egypt
19 A prophecy(A) against Egypt:(B)
See, the Lord rides on a swift cloud(C)
and is coming to Egypt.
The idols of Egypt tremble before him,
and the hearts of the Egyptians melt(D) with fear.
2 “I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian—
brother will fight against brother,(E)
neighbor against neighbor,
city against city,
kingdom against kingdom.(F)
3 The Egyptians will lose heart,(G)
and I will bring their plans(H) to nothing;(I)
they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead,
the mediums and the spiritists.(J)
4 I will hand the Egyptians over
to the power of a cruel master,
and a fierce king(K) will rule over them,”
declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.
5 The waters of the river will dry up,(L)
and the riverbed will be parched and dry.(M)
6 The canals will stink;(N)
the streams of Egypt will dwindle and dry up.(O)
The reeds(P) and rushes will wither,(Q)
7 also the plants(R) along the Nile,
at the mouth of the river.
Every sown field(S) along the Nile
will become parched, will blow away and be no more.(T)
8 The fishermen(U) will groan and lament,
all who cast hooks(V) into the Nile;
those who throw nets on the water
will pine away.
9 Those who work with combed flax(W) will despair,
the weavers of fine linen(X) will lose hope.
10 The workers in cloth will be dejected,
and all the wage earners will be sick at heart.
11 The officials of Zoan(Y) are nothing but fools;
the wise counselors(Z) of Pharaoh give senseless advice.(AA)
How can you say to Pharaoh,
“I am one of the wise men,(AB)
a disciple of the ancient kings”?
12 Where are your wise men(AC) now?
Let them show you and make known
what the Lord Almighty
has planned(AD) against Egypt.
13 The officials of Zoan(AE) have become fools,
the leaders of Memphis(AF) are deceived;
the cornerstones(AG) of her peoples
have led Egypt astray.
14 The Lord has poured into them
a spirit of dizziness;(AH)
they make Egypt stagger in all that she does,
as a drunkard staggers(AI) around in his vomit.
15 There is nothing Egypt can do—
head or tail, palm branch or reed.(AJ)
American Standard Version (ASV)
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Lexham English Bible (LEB)
2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.