Isaiah 19
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
An Oracle concerning Egypt
19 An oracle concerning Egypt.
See, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud
and comes to Egypt;
the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence,
and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.(A)
2 I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians,
and they will fight, one against the other,
neighbor against neighbor,
city against city, kingdom against kingdom;(B)
3 the spirit of the Egyptians within them will be emptied out,
and I will confound their plans;
they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead
and the ghosts and the familiar spirits;(C)
4 I will deliver the Egyptians
into the hand of a hard master;
a fierce king will rule over them,
says the Sovereign, the Lord of hosts.(D)
5 The waters of the Nile will be dried up,
and the river will be parched and dry;(E)
6 its canals will become foul,
and the branches of Egypt’s Nile will diminish and dry up.
Reeds and rushes will rot away,(F)
7 the reeds beside the Nile;[a]
all that is sown by the Nile will dry up,
be driven away, and be no more.
8 Those who fish will mourn;
all who cast hooks in the Nile will lament,
and those who spread nets on the water will languish.
9 The workers in flax will be in despair,
and the carders and those at the loom will grow pale.
10 Its weavers will be dismayed,
and all who work for wages will be grieved.(G)
11 Clearly the princes of Zoan are foolish;
the wise counselors of Pharaoh give stupid counsel.
How can you say to Pharaoh,
“I am one of the sages,
a descendant of ancient kings”?(H)
12 Where now are your sages?
Let them tell you and make known
what the Lord of hosts has planned against Egypt.(I)
13 The princes of Zoan have become fools,
and the princes of Memphis are deluded;
those who are the cornerstones of its tribes
have led Egypt astray.(J)
14 The Lord has poured into them[b]
a spirit of confusion;
and they have made Egypt stagger in all its doings
as a drunkard staggers around in his vomit.(K)
15 Neither head nor tail, palm branch or reed,
will be able to do anything for Egypt.
16 On that day the Egyptians will be like women and tremble with fear before the hand that the Lord of hosts raises against them.(L) 17 And the land of Judah will become a terror[c] to the Egyptians; everyone to whom it is mentioned will fear because of the plan that the Lord of hosts is planning against them.(M)
Egypt, Assyria, and Israel Blessed
18 On that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord of hosts. One of these will be called the City of the Sun.[d](N)
19 On that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt and a pillar to the Lord at its border.(O) 20 It will be a sign and a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt; when they cry to the Lord because of oppressors, he will send them a savior and will defend and deliver them.(P) 21 The Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians will know the Lord on that day and will serve with sacrifice and offerings, and they will make vows to the Lord and perform them.(Q) 22 The Lord will strike Egypt, striking but healing, so that they will return to the Lord, and he will listen to their supplications and heal them.(R)
23 On that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will serve with the Assyrians.(S)
24 On that day Israel will be the third party with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, 25 whom the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people and Assyria the work of my hands and Israel my heritage.”(T)
Isaiah 19
International Standard Version
A Rebuke to Egypt
19 A message[a] about Egypt:
“Watch out! The Lord rides on a swift cloud,
and is coming to Egypt.
The idols of Egypt tremble before him,
and the hearts of the Egyptians melt within them.
2 I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians,
and everyone will fight against his brother,
everyone against his neighbor,
city[b] against city,
kingdom against kingdom.
3 The spirits of the Egyptians within them will be drained of courage,[c]
and I will bring their plans to nothing.
They will consult idols[d] and spirits of the dead,
and mediums and spiritists.
4 I will hand the Egyptians over
to the power of a cruel master,
and a fierce king will rule over them,”
declares the Lord God of the Heavenly Armies.
A Rebuke to Egypt’s Ecology and Industry
5 “The water sources[e] of the Nile[f] will be dried up,
and the river[g] will become dry and parched.
6 The canals will stink,
and[h] the tributaries of Egypt will dwindle and dry up.
Reeds and rushes will wither away.[i]
7 And the bulrushes along the Nile,[j]
along the mouth of the Nile,[k] will wither away.
All the sown fields of the Nile will become parched,
and[l] they will be blown away;
there will be nothing left.[m]
8 The fishermen will groan,
and all who cast hooks into the Nile will lament;
those who spread nets upon the water
will become weaker and weaker.
9 The workers[n] in combed flax
and the weavers of white linen
will be in despair.
10 Egypt’s[o] workers in cloth[p] will be crushed,
and all who work for wages will be sick at heart.”
A Rebuke to Egypt’s Leaders
11 Zoan’s princes are nothing but fools;
the wisest advisors of Pharaoh give stupid advice.
How can you say to Pharaoh,
“I’m a descendant of wise men,
a descendant of ancient kings”?
12 Where are your wise men now?
Let them tell you,
let them make known
what the Lord[q] has planned against Egypt.
13 The princes of Zoan have become fools,
and the princes of Memphis deluded;
the leaders[r] of its tribes
have led Egypt astray.
14 The Lord has mixed[s] within them[t] a spirit of confusion;
so they make Egypt stagger in all that it does,
like a drunkard staggers around in his vomit.
15 As a result, there will be nothing for Egypt
that head or tail, palm branch or reed, can do.[u]
Egypt and Syria Will Worship God
16 At that time,[v] the Egyptians will be like women—they[w] will shudder and be afraid before the uplifted hand of the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, when he brandishes his hand against her.[x] 17 And the land of Judah will become a terror to the Egyptians. Everyone to whom it is mentioned will be afraid, because of the uplifted hand[y] of the Lord of the Heavenly Armies that[z] is turning in their direction.
18 At that time,[aa] there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord of the Heavenly Armies. One of them will be called the City of the Sun.[ab]
19 At that time,[ac] there will be an altar to the Lord of the Heavenly Armies[ad] in the heart of the land of Egypt, and a monument to the Lord[ae] at its border. 20 It will be a sign and a witness to the Lord of the Heavenly Armies in the land of Egypt; when they cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior, and he will come down[af] and rescue them. 21 So the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians will acknowledge the Lord.
At that time,[ag] they will worship[ah] with sacrifices and offerings, and they will make vows to the Lord and carry them out. 22 The Lord will strike Egypt with a plague, striking but then healing. Then they will turn to the Lord, and he will respond to their pleas and heal them.
23 At that time,[ai] there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will come into Egypt, and the Egyptians into Assyria, and they[aj] will worship with the Assyrians.
24 At that time,[ak] Israel will be in a triple alliance[al] with Egypt and Assyria; they will be[am] a blessing in the midst of the earth. 25 The Lord of the Heavenly Armies has blessed them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 19:1 Lit. An oracle
- Isaiah 19:2 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX lack and
- Isaiah 19:3 1QIsaa MT lack of courage
- Isaiah 19:3 So 1QIsaa; MT reads consult the idols; LXX reads consult their idols
- Isaiah 19:5 1QIsaa MT lack sources
- Isaiah 19:5 Or the sea
- Isaiah 19:5 I.e. the Nile
- Isaiah 19:6 So 1QIsaa LXX; the Heb. lacks and
- Isaiah 19:6 So 4QIsab MT; 1QIsaa lacks this line
- Isaiah 19:7 So 1QIsaa MT; LXX lacks this line
- Isaiah 19:7 Lit. the River
- Isaiah 19:7 So 1QIsaa; the Heb. lacks and
- Isaiah 19:7 So 1QIsaa; 4QIsab MT read and will be no more; LXX lacks this line
- Isaiah 19:9 So 1QIsaa 4QIsab; MT LXX read And the workers
- Isaiah 19:10 Lit. Its
- Isaiah 19:10 Lit. Its weavers
- Isaiah 19:12 So 1QIsaa; 1QIsaa corrector MT LXX read Lord of the Heavenly Armies
- Isaiah 19:13 Or cornerstones
- Isaiah 19:14 So 1QIsaa MT LXX; 4QIsab reads has poured
- Isaiah 19:14 Lit. it
- Isaiah 19:15 So 1QIsaa MT LXX; 4QIsab reads do at that time
- Isaiah 19:16 Lit. On that day; so 1QIsaa MT LXX; 4QIsab lacks At that time
- Isaiah 19:16 So 1QIsaa; 4QIsab MT read he
- Isaiah 19:16 I.e. Egypt; so 1QIsaa; MT reads Armies, which he brandishes against it; LXX reads Armies, which he brandishes against them
- Isaiah 19:17 Lit. plotting; so 4QIsab; 1QIsaa MT LXX read plan
- Isaiah 19:17 So 4QIsab; 1QIsaa MT LXX read hand that the Lord of the Heavenly Armies
- Isaiah 19:18 Lit. On that day
- Isaiah 19:18 So 1QIsaa 4QIsab MTmss; MT reads Destruction; LXX reads Asedek City; i.e. City of Righteousness
- Isaiah 19:19 Lit. On that day
- Isaiah 19:19 So 4QIsab; 1QIsaa MT LXX lack of the Heavenly Armies
- Isaiah 19:19 So 1QIsaa MT LXX; 4QIsab reads Lord of hosts
- Isaiah 19:20 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read will defend
- Isaiah 19:21 Lit. On that day
- Isaiah 19:21 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read Lord on that day. And they will worship
- Isaiah 19:23 Lit. On that day
- Isaiah 19:23 So 1QIsaa; 4QIsab MT LXX read and the Egyptians
- Isaiah 19:24 Lit. On that day
- Isaiah 19:24 Lit. will be the third
- Isaiah 19:24 DSS MT lack they will be
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