An Oracle Concerning Egypt

19 An (A)oracle concerning (B)Egypt.

Behold, the Lord (C)is riding on a swift cloud
    and comes to Egypt;
and (D)the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence,
    and the heart of the Egyptians will (E)melt within them.
And I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians,
    (F)and they will fight, each against another
    and each against his neighbor,
    city against city, kingdom against kingdom;
and the spirit of the Egyptians within them will be emptied out,
    and I will confound[a] their (G)counsel;
and they will inquire of the idols and the sorcerers,
    and (H)the mediums and the necromancers;
and I will give over the Egyptians
    into the hand of (I)a hard master,
and a fierce king will rule over them,
    declares the Lord God of hosts.

And the waters of the sea will be dried up,
    and the river will be dry and parched,
and its canals will become foul,
    and the branches of Egypt's Nile will diminish and dry up,
    reeds and rushes will rot away.
There will be bare places by the Nile,
    on the brink of the Nile,
and all that is sown by the Nile will be parched,
    will be driven away, and will be no more.
The (J)fishermen will mourn and lament,
    all who cast a hook in the Nile;
and they will languish
    who spread nets on the water.
The workers in (K)combed flax will be in despair,
    and the weavers of white cotton.
10 Those who are the (L)pillars of the land will be crushed,
    and all who (M)work for pay will be grieved.

11 The princes of (N)Zoan are utterly foolish;
    the wisest counselors of Pharaoh give stupid counsel.
How can you say to Pharaoh,
    “I am a son of the wise,
    a son of ancient kings”?
12 Where then are your (O)wise men?
    Let them tell you
    that they might know what the Lord of hosts has purposed against Egypt.
13 The princes of (P)Zoan have become fools,
    and the princes of (Q)Memphis are deluded;
those who are the (R)cornerstones of her tribes
    have made Egypt stagger.
14 The Lord has mingled within her (S)a spirit of confusion,
and they will make Egypt stagger in all its deeds,
    (T)as a drunken man staggers in his vomit.
15 And there will be nothing for Egypt
    that (U)head or tail, palm branch or reed, may do.

Egypt, Assyria, Israel Blessed

16 In that day the Egyptians will be (V)like women, and (W)tremble with fear before the hand that the Lord of hosts shakes over them. 17 And the land of Judah will become a terror to the Egyptians. Everyone to whom it is mentioned will fear because of the purpose that the Lord of hosts has purposed against them.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 19:3 Or I will swallow up

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.

“I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian—
    brother will fight against brother,(E)
    neighbor against neighbor,
    city against city,
    kingdom against kingdom.(F)
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)
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.

The waters of the river will dry up,(L)
    and the riverbed will be parched and dry.(M)
The canals will stink;(N)
    the streams of Egypt will dwindle and dry up.(O)
The reeds(P) and rushes will wither,(Q)
    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)
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.
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)

16 In that day(AK) the Egyptians will become weaklings.(AL) They will shudder with fear(AM) at the uplifted hand(AN) that the Lord Almighty raises against them. 17 And the land of Judah will bring terror to the Egyptians; everyone to whom Judah is mentioned will be terrified,(AO) because of what the Lord Almighty is planning(AP) against them.

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