Isaiah 19:1-15
New American Standard Bible
Message to Egypt
19 The (A)pronouncement concerning (B)Egypt:
Behold, the Lord is (C)riding on a swift cloud and is about to come to Egypt;
The (D)idols of Egypt will tremble at His presence,
And the (E)heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.
2 “So I will incite Egyptians against Egyptians;
And they will fight, (F)each against his brother and each against his neighbor,
City against city and kingdom against kingdom.
3 Then the spirit of the Egyptians will be demoralized within them;
And I will confuse their strategy,
So that (G)they will resort to idols and ghosts of the dead,
And to [a]mediums and spiritists.
4 Furthermore, I will hand the Egyptians over to a (H)cruel master,
And a [b]mighty king will rule over them,” declares the Lord [c]God of armies.
5 (I)The waters from the sea will dry up,
And the river will be parched and dry.
6 The [d](J)canals will emit a stench,
The [e](K)streams of Egypt will thin out and dry up;
(L)The reeds and rushes will rot away.
7 The bulrushes by the (M)Nile, by the [f]edge of the Nile
And all the sown fields by the Nile
Will become dry, be driven away, and be no more.
8 And the (N)fishermen will grieve,
And all those who cast a [g]line into the Nile will mourn,
And those who spread nets on the waters will dwindle away.
9 Moreover, the manufacturers of linen made from combed flax
And the weavers of white (O)cloth will be [h]utterly dejected.
10 And [i]the (P)pillars of Egypt will be crushed;
All the hired laborers will be grieved in soul.
11 The officials of [j](Q)Zoan are mere fools;
The advice of Pharaoh’s wisest advisers has become [k]stupid.
How can you say to Pharaoh,
“I am a son of the (R)wise, a son of ancient kings”?
12 Well then, where are your wise men?
Please let them tell you,
And let them [l]understand what the Lord of armies
Has (S)planned against Egypt.
13 The officials of [m]Zoan have turned out to be fools,
The officials of (T)Memphis are deluded;
Those who are the (U)cornerstone of her tribes
Have [n]led Egypt astray.
14 The Lord has mixed within her a spirit of (V)distortion;
(W)They have led Egypt astray in all [o]that it does,
As a (X)drunken person [p]staggers in his vomit.
15 There will be no work for Egypt
(Y)Which its head or tail, its palm branch or bulrush, may do.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 19:3 Or ghosts and spirits
- Isaiah 19:4 Or fierce
- Isaiah 19:4 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- Isaiah 19:6 Lit rivers
- Isaiah 19:6 Or Nile branches; i.e., the delta
- Isaiah 19:7 Or mouth
- Isaiah 19:8 Lit hook
- Isaiah 19:9 Lit ashamed
- Isaiah 19:10 Lit her pillars; or her weavers
- Isaiah 19:11 Or Tanis
- Isaiah 19:11 Or brutish
- Isaiah 19:12 Or know
- Isaiah 19:13 Or Tanis
- Isaiah 19:13 Or have caused Egypt to stagger
- Isaiah 19:14 Lit its work
- Isaiah 19:14 Or goes astray
Isaiah 19:1-15
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]
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
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