An Oracle Concerning Egypt

19 An (A)oracle concerning (B)Egypt.

Behold, the Lord (C)is riding on a swift cloud
    and comes to Egypt;
and (D)the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence,
    and the heart of the Egyptians will (E)melt within them.
And I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians,
    (F)and they will fight, each against another
    and each against his neighbor,
    city against city, kingdom against kingdom;
and the spirit of the Egyptians within them will be emptied out,
    and I will confound[a] their (G)counsel;
and they will inquire of the idols and the sorcerers,
    and (H)the mediums and the necromancers;
and I will give over the Egyptians
    into the hand of (I)a hard master,
and a fierce king will rule over them,
    declares the Lord God of hosts.

And the waters of the sea will be dried up,
    and the river will be dry and parched,
and its canals will become foul,
    and the branches of Egypt's Nile will diminish and dry up,
    reeds and rushes will rot away.
There will be bare places by the Nile,
    on the brink of the Nile,
and all that is sown by the Nile will be parched,
    will be driven away, and will be no more.
The (J)fishermen will mourn and lament,
    all who cast a hook in the Nile;
and they will languish
    who spread nets on the water.
The workers in (K)combed flax will be in despair,
    and the weavers of white cotton.
10 Those who are the (L)pillars of the land will be crushed,
    and all who (M)work for pay will be grieved.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 19:3 Or I will swallow up

A Prophecy Against Egypt

19 A prophecy(A) against Egypt:(B)

See, the Lord rides on a swift cloud(C)
    and is coming to Egypt.
The idols of Egypt tremble before him,
    and the hearts of the Egyptians melt(D) with fear.

“I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian—
    brother will fight against brother,(E)
    neighbor against neighbor,
    city against city,
    kingdom against kingdom.(F)
The Egyptians will lose heart,(G)
    and I will bring their plans(H) to nothing;(I)
they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead,
    the mediums and the spiritists.(J)
I will hand the Egyptians over
    to the power of a cruel master,
and a fierce king(K) will rule over them,”
    declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.

The waters of the river will dry up,(L)
    and the riverbed will be parched and dry.(M)
The canals will stink;(N)
    the streams of Egypt will dwindle and dry up.(O)
The reeds(P) and rushes will wither,(Q)
    also the plants(R) along the Nile,
    at the mouth of the river.
Every sown field(S) along the Nile
    will become parched, will blow away and be no more.(T)
The fishermen(U) will groan and lament,
    all who cast hooks(V) into the Nile;
those who throw nets on the water
    will pine away.
Those who work with combed flax(W) will despair,
    the weavers of fine linen(X) will lose hope.
10 The workers in cloth will be dejected,
    and all the wage earners will be sick at heart.

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