Isaiah 19

Isaiah 18 Isaiah 20

Isaiah 19 Expanded Bible (EXB)

God’s Message to Egypt

19 This is a ·message [prophecy; oracle; burden] about Egypt:

Look, the Lord is coming on a ·fast [swift] cloud
to enter Egypt.
The idols of Egypt will tremble before him,
and Egypt’s ·courage [heart] will melt away.

²The Lord says, “I will ·cause the Egyptians to fight against themselves [^Lprovoke Egypt against Egypt].
    People will fight with their ·relatives [brothers];
    neighbors will fight neighbors;
    cities will fight cities;
    kingdoms will fight kingdoms.
³The Egyptians will ·be afraid [lose heart],
    and I will ·ruin their plans [confuse their counsel].
They will ·ask advice from [consult] their idols and spirits of the dead,
    from their mediums and ·fortune-tellers [magicians; necromancers].”
⁴The Lord God ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; ^Tof hosts] says,
“I will hand Egypt ·over to [^Linto the hand of] a hard master,
and a ·powerful [fierce] king will rule over them.”

⁵The ·sea [or river; ^Lwaters] will become dry,
    and the ·water will disappear from the Nile River [^Lriver will be parched and dry].
⁶The canals will stink;
    the streams of Egypt will decrease and dry up.
All the ·water plants [^Lreeds and bulrushes] will rot;
⁷    all the plants along the banks of the Nile will die.
Even the ·planted [cultivated] fields by the Nile
    will dry up, blow away, and disappear [^Ccatastrophic, since the Nile was essential to Egypt’s existence].
⁸The fishermen, all those who ·catch fish from [^Lcast hooks into] the Nile,
    will groan and ·cry [lament];
those who ·fish in the Nile [^Lspread nets on the water] will ·be sad [grieve; lose heart].
⁹All the people who make cloth from flax will ·be sad [despair; or be ashamed],
    and those who weave linen will ·lose hope [turn pale].
¹⁰Those who ·weave cloth [or are its foundations] will be broken.
    All those who work for ·money [wages] will be ·sad [^Lgrieved in their soul].

¹¹The officers of the city of Zoan [^Cprobably Tanis, the Egyptian city nearest Israel] are fools;
    the wise ·men who advise the king of Egypt [counselors/advisors of Pharaoh] give ·wrong [senseless; stupid] advice.
How can you say to him, ‘I am ·wise [^La son of the wise]’?
    How can you say, ‘I am ·from the old family of the kings [a son of ancient kings; ^C“son of” may mean “an expert in the ways of”]’?
¹²Egypt, where are your wise men?
    Let them show you
what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; ^Tof hosts] has planned for Egypt.
¹³The officers of Zoan [v. 11] have ·been fooled [become fools];
    the ·leaders [princes] of Memphis [^Cprominent city in northern Egypt] ·have believed false things [are deceived/deluded].
So the ·leaders of Egypt [^Lcornerstones of her tribes]
    lead that nation ·the wrong way [astray].
¹⁴The Lord has ·made the leaders confused [^Lmixed into them a spirit of distortion].
    They have led Egypt to ·wander in the wrong ways [or err in all it does],
    like drunk people stumbling in their own vomit.
¹⁵There is nothing Egypt can do;
    ·no one there can help [^Lhead or tail, palm branch or reed; ^Cno one, high or low, could help Egypt].

¹⁶In that day the Egyptians will be like women [^Cphysically weak and vulnerable]. They will ·be afraid of [tremble with fear at] the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; ^Tof hosts], because he will raise his hand to strike them down. ¹⁷The land of Judah will ·bring fear [be a terror] to Egypt. Anyone there who hears the name Judah will be afraid, because the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; ^Tof hosts] has planned terrible things for them. ¹⁸·At that time [^LIn that day] five cities in Egypt will speak the language of Canaan [^CHebrew or Aramaic, evidence of Israel’s dominance over Egypt], and they will ·promise to be loyal [swear allegiance] to the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; ^Tof hosts]. One of these cities will be named the City of Destruction.^[a] ¹⁹·At that time [^LIn that day] there will be an altar for the Lord in the middle of Egypt and a ·monument [or sacred pillar] to the Lord at the border of Egypt. ²⁰This will be a sign and a witness to the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; ^Tof hosts] in the land of Egypt. When the people cry to the Lord for help, he will send a savior and defender, who will rescue them.

²¹So the Lord will ·show himself [make himself known] to the Egyptians, and ·then [^Lin that day] they will ·know he is [acknowledge; know] the Lord. They will ·worship [serve] God ·and offer many sacrifices [with sacrifices and offerings]. They will make ·promises [vows] to the Lord and will keep them. ²²The Lord will ·punish [^Lstrike] the Egyptians, but then he will heal them. They will ·come back [return] to the Lord, and he will listen to their ·prayers [pleas] and heal them.

²³·At that time [^LIn that day] there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrians will go to Egypt, and the Egyptians will go to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship God together. ²⁴·At that time [^LIn that day] ·Israel, Assyria, and Egypt will join together [^LIsrael will be the third, with Egypt and Assyria; ^Ca great power like them], which will be a blessing for the earth. ²⁵The Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; ^Tof hosts] will bless them, saying, “Egypt, you are my people. Assyria, ·I made you [^Lthe work of my hands]. Israel, ·I own you [my inheritance]. You are all blessed!”

Footnotes:

Isaiah 19:18 City of Destruction Most Hebrew copies read “City of Destruction.” The Dead Sea Scrolls, some Hebrew copies and other translations read “City of the Sun.”

Expanded Bible (EXB)