Isaiah 19:1-15
Lexham English Bible
Oracle of Judgment on Egypt
19 An oracle of Egypt:
Look! Yahweh is riding on a swift cloud
and is coming to Egypt.
And the idols of Egypt will tremble in front of him,
and the heart of Egypt melts in his inner parts.
2 “And I will stir up Egyptians[a] against Egyptians,[b]
and each one will fight against his brother
and each one against his neighbor,
city against city, kingdom against kingdom.
3 And the spirit of the Egyptians[c] will be disturbed in his midst,
and I will confuse[d] his plans,[e]
and they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead,
and the ghosts and the spiritists.
4 And I will hand over the Egyptians[f] into the hand of a hard master,
and a powerful king will rule over them,”
declares[g] the Lord Yahweh of hosts.
5 And the waters will be dried up from the sea,
and the river will be parched and dry.
6 And the rivers will become foul-smelling;
the branches of the Nile of Egypt will become little and dry up;
reed and rush will wither.
7 Bare places by the Nile will be dried up,
by the edge of the Nile and all the sown land of the Nile;
it will be driven about, and it will be no more.[h]
8 And the fishers will mourn,
and all of those who cast fishhooks[i] in the Nile will lament,
and those who spread out fishing nets[j] on the surface[k] of the water will languish.
9 And the workers of combed flax will be ashamed,
and those who weave white linen.
10 And her weavers will be crushed;
all the hired workers[l] will be grieved of heart.
11 Surely the princes of Zoan are foolish;
the wise of the counselors of Pharaoh give senseless counsel.
How can you say to Pharaoh,
“I myself am a son of sages,
a descendant[m] of ancient kings”?
12 Where are your sages then?
Now, let them tell you,
and let them know what Yahweh of hosts has planned against Egypt.
13 The princes of Zoan have become foolish;
the princes of Memphis are deceived;
the leaders of her tribes have led Egypt astray.
14 Yahweh has mixed a spirit of confusion into her midst,
and they have caused Egypt to stagger in all of its doings,
as when a drunkard staggers[n] in his vomit.
15 And there will be nothing for Egypt to do,[o]
head or tail, palm branch or reed.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 19:2 Literally “Egypt”
- Isaiah 19:2 Literally “Egypt”
- Isaiah 19:3 Literally “Egypt”
- Isaiah 19:3 Literally “engulf”
- Isaiah 19:3 Hebrew “plan”
- Isaiah 19:4 Literally “Egypt”
- Isaiah 19:4 Literally “declaration of”
- Isaiah 19:7 Literally “there is none of it”
- Isaiah 19:8 Hebrew “fishhook”
- Isaiah 19:8 Hebrew “net”
- Isaiah 19:8 Literally “face”
- Isaiah 19:10 Literally “workers of wage”
- Isaiah 19:11 Literally “son”
- Isaiah 19:14 Literally “the staggering of a drunkard”
- Isaiah 19:15 Literally “not it will be for Egypt a deed which he can do”
Isaiah 19:1-15
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.
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