Isaiah 18-19
New International Version
A Prophecy Against Cush
18 Woe(A) to the land of whirring wings[a]
along the rivers of Cush,[b](B)
2 which sends envoys(C) by sea
in papyrus(D) boats over the water.
Go, swift messengers,
to a people tall and smooth-skinned,(E)
to a people feared far and wide,
an aggressive(F) nation of strange speech,
whose land is divided by rivers.(G)
3 All you people of the world,(H)
you who live on the earth,
when a banner(I) is raised on the mountains,
you will see it,
and when a trumpet(J) sounds,
you will hear it.
4 This is what the Lord says to me:
“I will remain quiet(K) and will look on from my dwelling place,(L)
like shimmering heat in the sunshine,(M)
like a cloud of dew(N) in the heat of harvest.”
5 For, before the harvest, when the blossom is gone
and the flower becomes a ripening grape,
he will cut off(O) the shoots with pruning knives,
and cut down and take away the spreading branches.(P)
6 They will all be left to the mountain birds of prey(Q)
and to the wild animals;(R)
the birds will feed on them all summer,
the wild animals all winter.
7 At that time gifts(S) will be brought to the Lord Almighty
from a people tall and smooth-skinned,(T)
from a people feared(U) far and wide,
an aggressive nation of strange speech,
whose land is divided by rivers(V)—
the gifts will be brought to Mount Zion, the place of the Name of the Lord Almighty.(W)
A Prophecy Against Egypt
19 A prophecy(X) against Egypt:(Y)
See, the Lord rides on a swift cloud(Z)
and is coming to Egypt.
The idols of Egypt tremble before him,
and the hearts of the Egyptians melt(AA) with fear.
2 “I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian—
brother will fight against brother,(AB)
neighbor against neighbor,
city against city,
kingdom against kingdom.(AC)
3 The Egyptians will lose heart,(AD)
and I will bring their plans(AE) to nothing;(AF)
they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead,
the mediums and the spiritists.(AG)
4 I will hand the Egyptians over
to the power of a cruel master,
and a fierce king(AH) will rule over them,”
declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.
5 The waters of the river will dry up,(AI)
and the riverbed will be parched and dry.(AJ)
6 The canals will stink;(AK)
the streams of Egypt will dwindle and dry up.(AL)
The reeds(AM) and rushes will wither,(AN)
7 also the plants(AO) along the Nile,
at the mouth of the river.
Every sown field(AP) along the Nile
will become parched, will blow away and be no more.(AQ)
8 The fishermen(AR) will groan and lament,
all who cast hooks(AS) into the Nile;
those who throw nets on the water
will pine away.
9 Those who work with combed flax(AT) will despair,
the weavers of fine linen(AU) 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(AV) are nothing but fools;
the wise counselors(AW) of Pharaoh give senseless advice.(AX)
How can you say to Pharaoh,
“I am one of the wise men,(AY)
a disciple of the ancient kings”?
12 Where are your wise men(AZ) now?
Let them show you and make known
what the Lord Almighty
has planned(BA) against Egypt.
13 The officials of Zoan(BB) have become fools,
the leaders of Memphis(BC) are deceived;
the cornerstones(BD) of her peoples
have led Egypt astray.
14 The Lord has poured into them
a spirit of dizziness;(BE)
they make Egypt stagger in all that she does,
as a drunkard staggers(BF) around in his vomit.
15 There is nothing Egypt can do—
head or tail, palm branch or reed.(BG)
16 In that day(BH) the Egyptians will become weaklings.(BI) They will shudder with fear(BJ) at the uplifted hand(BK) 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,(BL) because of what the Lord Almighty is planning(BM) against them.
18 In that day(BN) five cities(BO) in Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance(BP) to the Lord Almighty. One of them will be called the City of the Sun.[c](BQ)
19 In that day(BR) there will be an altar(BS) to the Lord in the heart of Egypt,(BT) and a monument(BU) to the Lord at its border. 20 It will be a sign and witness(BV) to the Lord Almighty in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior(BW) and defender, and he will rescue(BX) them. 21 So the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and in that day they will acknowledge(BY) the Lord. They will worship(BZ) with sacrifices and grain offerings; they will make vows to the Lord and keep them.(CA) 22 The Lord will strike(CB) Egypt with a plague;(CC) he will strike them and heal them. They will turn(CD) to the Lord, and he will respond to their pleas and heal(CE) them.
23 In that day(CF) there will be a highway(CG) from Egypt to Assyria.(CH) The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship(CI) together. 24 In that day(CJ) Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria,(CK) a blessing[d](CL) on the earth. 25 The Lord Almighty will bless(CM) them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people,(CN) Assyria my handiwork,(CO) and Israel my inheritance.(CP)”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 18:1 Or of locusts
- Isaiah 18:1 That is, the upper Nile region
- Isaiah 19:18 Some manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, Dead Sea Scrolls, Symmachus and Vulgate; most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text City of Destruction
- Isaiah 19:24 Or Assyria, whose names will be used in blessings (see Gen. 48:20); or Assyria, who will be seen by others as blessed
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