Isaiah 19
Holman Christian Standard Bible
An Oracle against Egypt
19 An oracle(A) against Egypt:(B)
Look, the Lord rides on a swift cloud(C)
and is coming to Egypt.
Egypt’s idols will tremble before Him,(D)
and Egypt’s heart will melt within it.(E)
2 I will provoke Egypt against Egypt;
each will fight against his brother(F)
and each against his friend,
city against city, kingdom against kingdom.(G)
3 Egypt’s spirit will be disturbed within it,
and I will frustrate its plans.
Then they will seek idols, ghosts,
spirits of the dead, and spiritists.(H)
4 I will deliver Egypt into the hands of harsh masters,(I)
and a strong king will rule it.
This is the declaration of the Lord God of Hosts.
5 The waters of the sea will dry up,
and the river will be parched and dry.
6 The channels will stink;
they will dwindle, and Egypt’s canals will be parched.
Reed and rush will die.[a]
7 The reeds by the Nile, by the mouth of the river,
and all the cultivated areas of the Nile
will wither, blow away, and vanish.
8 Then the fishermen will mourn.
All those who cast hooks into the Nile will lament,
and those who spread nets on the water will shrivel up.
9 Those who work with flax will be dismayed;(J)
the combers and weavers will turn pale.[b]
10 Egypt’s weavers[c] will be dejected;
all her wage earners will be demoralized.
11 The princes of Zoan are complete fools;(K)
Pharaoh’s wisest advisers give stupid advice!
How can you say to Pharaoh,
“I am one[d] of the wise,
a student of eastern[e] kings”?
12 Where then are your wise men?
Let them tell you and reveal
what the Lord of Hosts has planned against Egypt.
13 The princes of Zoan have been fools;
the princes of Memphis are deceived.(L)
Her tribal chieftains have led Egypt astray.
14 The Lord has mixed within her a spirit of confusion.
The leaders have made Egypt stagger in all she does,
as a drunkard staggers in his vomit.
15 No head or tail, palm or reed,(M)
will be able to do anything for Egypt.
Egypt Will Know the Lord
16 On that day Egypt will be like women. She will tremble with fear because of the threatening hand of the Lord of Hosts when He raises it against her. 17 The land of Judah will terrify Egypt; whenever Judah is mentioned, Egypt will tremble because of what the Lord of Hosts has planned(N) against it.
18 On that day five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear loyalty to the Lord of Hosts. One of the cities will be called the City of the Sun.[f][g]
19 On that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the center of the land of Egypt and a pillar to the Lord near her border.(O) 20 It will be a sign and witness to the Lord of Hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors, He will send them a savior and leader, and he will rescue them.(P) 21 The Lord will make Himself known to Egypt, and Egypt will know the Lord on that day. They will offer sacrifices and offerings;(Q) they will make vows to the Lord and fulfill them. 22 The Lord will strike Egypt, striking and healing. Then they will return to the Lord and He will hear their prayers and heal them.
23 On that day there will be a highway(R) from Egypt to Assyria. Assyria will go to Egypt, Egypt to Assyria, and Egypt will worship with Assyria.
24 On that day Israel will form a triple alliance with Egypt and Assyria—a blessing within the land. 25 The Lord of Hosts will bless them, saying, “Egypt My people, Assyria My handiwork,(S) and Israel My inheritance are blessed.”(T)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 19:6 Or wilt, or become black
- Isaiah 19:9 DSS, Tg; MT reads weavers of white cloth
- Isaiah 19:10 Or foundations
- Isaiah 19:11 Lit a son
- Isaiah 19:11 Lit a son of ancient
- Isaiah 19:18 Some Hb mss, DSS, Sym, Tg, Vg, Arabic; other Hb mss read of Destruction; LXX reads of Righteousness
- Isaiah 19:18 = the ancient Egyptian city Heliopolis
Isaiah 19
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.
The Future Blessing of Egypt, Assyria, and Egypt
16 On that day, Egypt will be like women, and will tremble and be afraid before the waving hand of Yahweh of hosts that he is waving against it. 17 And the land of Judah will become a terror to Egypt, everyone to whom one mentions it will be afraid in himself because of the plan of Yahweh of hosts that he is planning against him.
18 On that day, there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language[p] of Canaan and swear an oath to Yahweh of hosts. One will be called “City of the Sun.”
19 On that day, there will be an altar for Yahweh in in the middle of the land of Egypt, and a stone pillar for Yahweh at her border. 20 And it will be a sign and a witness to Yahweh of hosts in the land of Egypt; when they cry out to Yahweh because of oppressors, he will send them a savior and a defender,[q] and he will deliver them. 21 And Yahweh will make himself known to Egypt, and Egypt will know Yahweh on that day, and they will worship with sacrifice and offering, and they will make vows[r] to Yahweh, and they will fulfill them. 22 And Yahweh will strike Egypt, striking and healing; and they will return to Yahweh, and he will respond to their prayer, and he will heal them.
23 On that day, there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria, and Egypt will worship together with Assyria.
24 On that day, Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, 25 whom Yahweh of hosts blessed, saying, “May Egypt my people be blessed, and Assyria, the work of my hands, and my inheritance, Israel.”
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 19:18 Literally “lip”
- Isaiah 19:20 Literally “contender”
- Isaiah 19:21 Hebrew “vow”
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