Isaiah 19
19
A Prophecy Against Egypt
1Here is a prophecy against Egypt that the Lord gave me.
The Lord is coming to Egypt.
He’s riding on a cloud that moves very fast.
The statues of the gods in Egypt tremble with fear because of him.
The hearts of the people there melt with fear.
2The Lord says, “I will stir up one Egyptian against another.
Relatives will fight against relatives.
Neighbors will fight against one another.
Cities will fight against cities.
Kingdoms will fight against one another.
3The people of Egypt will lose hope.
I will keep them from doing what they plan to do.
They will ask their gods for advice.
They will turn to the spirits of dead people for help.
They will go to people who get messages from those who have died.
They will ask for advice from people who talk to the spirits of the dead.
4I will hand the Egyptians over
to a mean and unkind master.
A powerful king will rule over them,” announces the Lord.
He is the Lord who rules over all.
5The waters of the Nile River will dry up.
The bottom of it will be cracked and dry.
6Its canals will stink.
And the streams of Egypt will get smaller and smaller
until they dry up.
The tall grass that grows along the river will dry up.
7So will the plants along the banks of the Nile.
Even the planted fields along the Nile will dry up.
Everything that grows there will blow away and disappear.
8The fishermen will moan.
All those who drop hooks into the Nile will weep.
Those who throw their nets on the water
will become very sad.
9Those who make clothes out of flax will lose hope.
So will those who weave fine linen.
10Those who work with cloth will be unhappy.
And all those who work for money will be sick at heart.
11The officials of the city of Zoan are very foolish.
Pharaoh’s wise men give advice that doesn’t make any sense.
How can they dare to say to Pharaoh,
“We’re among the wise men”?
How can they say to him,
“We’re like the advisers to the kings of long ago”?
12Pharaoh, where are your wise men now?
Let them tell you
what the Lord who rules over all
has planned against Egypt.
13The officials of Zoan have become foolish.
The leaders of Memphis have been lied to.
The most important leaders in Egypt
have led its people astray.
14The Lord has given them
a spirit that makes them feel dizzy.
They make Egypt unsteady in everything it does.
Egypt is like a person who drinks too much.
He throws up and then walks around in the mess he’s made.
15No one in Egypt can do anything to help them.
Its elders and important leaders can’t help them.
Its prophets and priests can’t do anything.
Those who rule over others can’t help.
And those who bow down to them can’t help either.
16In days to come, the people of Egypt will become weak. The Lord who rules over all will raise his hand against them. Then they will tremble with fear. 17The people of Judah will bring terror to the Egyptians. Everyone in Egypt who hears the name of Judah will be terrified. That’s because of what the Lord who rules over all is planning to do to them.
18At that time the people of five cities in Egypt will worship the Lord. He is the Lord who rules over all. They will use the Hebrew language when they worship him. They will promise to be faithful to him. One of those cities will be called the City of the Sun.
19At that time there will be an altar to the Lord in the middle of Egypt. There will be a monument to him at its border. 20They will remind people that the Lord who rules over all is worshiped in Egypt. The people there will cry out to the Lord. They will cry out because of those who treat them badly. He will send someone to stand up for them and save them. And he will set them free. 21So the Lord will make himself known to the people of Egypt. At that time they will recognize that he is the Lord. They will worship him by bringing sacrifices and grain offerings to him. They will make promises to the Lord. And they will keep them. 22The Lord will strike Egypt with a plague. But then he will heal them. They will turn to the Lord. And he will answer their prayers and heal them.
23At that time there will be a wide road from Egypt to Assyria. The people of Assyria will go to Egypt. And the people of Egypt will go to Assyria. The people of Egypt and Assyria will worship the Lord together. 24At that time Egypt, Assyria and Israel will be a blessing to the whole earth. 25The Lord who rules over all will bless those three nations. He will say, “Let the Egyptians be blessed. They are my people. Let the Assyrians be blessed. My hands created them. And let the Israelites be blessed. They are my very own people.”
Currently Selected:
Isaiah 19: NIrV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Isaiah 19
19
A Pronouncement against Egypt
1A pronouncement#Is 13:1 concerning Egypt:#Jr 46:13–26; Ezk 29:1–31:2; 31:18–32:32; Jl 3:19
Look, the Lord rides on a swift cloud#Ps 18:9–10; 104:3; Mt 26:64; Rv 1:7
and is coming to Egypt.
Egypt’s worthless idols will tremble before him,#Ex 12:12; Jr 43:12; 44:8
and Egypt will lose heart.#Jos 2:11; Is 13:7
2I will provoke Egyptians against Egyptians;
each will fight against his brother#Mk 13:12
and each against his friend,
city against city, kingdom against kingdom.#Jdg 7:22; 1Sm 14:20; 2Ch 20:23; Mt 10:21,36; Mk 13:8; Lk 21:10
3Egypt’s spirit will be disturbed within it,
and I will frustrate its plans.
Then they will inquire of worthless idols, ghosts,
mediums, and spiritists.#1Ch 10:13; Is 8:19; Dn 2:2
4I will hand over Egypt to harsh masters,#Is 20:4; Jr 46:26; Ezk 29:19
and a strong king will rule it.
This is the declaration of the Lord God of Armies.
5The water of the sea will dry up,
and the river will be parched and dry.
6The channels will stink;
they will dwindle, and Egypt’s canals will be parched.
Reed and rush will wilt.
7The reeds by the Nile, by the mouth of the river,
and all the cultivated areas of the Nile
will wither, blow away, and vanish.
8Then the fishermen will mourn.
All those who cast hooks into the Nile will lament,
and those who spread nets on the water will give up.
9Those who work with flax will be dismayed;#Pr 7:16; Ezk 27:7
those combing it and weaving linen will turn pale.#19:9 DSS, Tg; MT reads weavers of white cloth
10Egypt’s weavers#19:10 Or foundations will be dejected;
all her wage earners will be demoralized.
11The princes of Zoan are complete fools;#Nm 13:22; Ps 78:12,43; Is 30:4
Pharaoh’s wisest advisers give stupid advice!
How can you say to Pharaoh,
“I am one#19:11 Lit a son of the wise,
a student of eastern#19:11 Lit a son of ancient kings”?
12Where then are your wise men?
Let them tell you and reveal
what the Lord of Armies has planned against Egypt.
13The princes of Zoan have been fools;
the princes of Memphis are deceived.#Jr 2:16; 46:14,19; Ezk 30:13
Her tribal chieftains have led Egypt astray.
14The Lord has mixed within her a spirit of confusion.
The leaders have made Egypt stagger in all she does,
as a drunkard staggers in his vomit.
15No head or tail, palm or reed,#Is 9:14–16
will be able to do anything for Egypt.
Egypt Will Know the Lord
16On that day Egypt will be like women and will tremble with fear because of the threatening hand of the Lord of Armies when he raises it against them. 17The land of Judah will terrify Egypt; whenever Judah is mentioned, Egypt will tremble because of what the Lord of Armies has planned#Is 5:19 against it.
18On that day five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear loyalty to the Lord of Armies. One of the cities will be called the City of the Sun.#19:18 Some Hb mss, DSS, Sym, Tg, Vg, Arabic; other Hb mss read of Destruction; LXX reads of Righteousness#19:18 = the ancient Egyptian city Heliopolis
19On that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the center of the land of Egypt and a pillar to the Lord near her border.#Gn 28:18; Ex 24:4; Jos 22:10,26–27 20It will be a sign and witness to the Lord of Armies in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior and leader, and he will rescue them.#Jdg 3:9,15; 6:7; 10:10 21The Lord will make himself known to Egypt, and Egypt will know the Lord on that day. They will offer sacrifices and offerings;#Is 56:7; 60:7; Zch 14:16–18 they will make vows to the Lord and fulfill them. 22The Lord will strike Egypt, striking and healing. Then they will turn to the Lord, and he will be receptive to their prayers and heal them.
23On that day there will be a highway#Is 11:16; 35:8; 49:11; 62:10 from Egypt to Assyria. Assyria will go to Egypt, Egypt to Assyria, and Egypt will worship with Assyria.
24On that day Israel will form a triple alliance with Egypt and Assyria — a blessing within the land. 25The Lord of Armies will bless them, saying, “Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork,#Ps 100:3; Is 29:23; 45:11; 60:21; 64:8; Eph 2:10 and Israel my inheritance are blessed.”#Dt 9:26,29; 32:9; Ps 28:9; Is 47:6; 63:17
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers