Isaiah 19
19
1A message about Egypt. Look, the Lord is riding on a fast-moving cloud on his way to Egypt. The idols of Egypt will tremble before Him, and the Egyptians will become weak with fear. 2I will encourage Egyptians to attack other Egyptians. They will fight each other, neighbor versus neighbor, town versus town, and kingdom versus kingdom. 3I will destroy the confidence of the Egyptians. I will have their plans become all mixed up. They will ask their idols and the spirits of the dead what to do through mediums and spiritists. 4I will hand the Egyptians over to a harsh dictator. A cruel king will rule over them, declares the Lord.
5The waters of the Nile#19:5. Literally, “the waters of the sea.” will fail, and its riverbed will be sunbaked and dry. 6The channels will start to stink; the branches of the Nile in Egypt will dry to a trickle and dry up; the reeds and rushes will wither away. 7The vegetation along the banks of the Nile, and all the plants in the cultivated land along the Nile, will dry up and be blown away. Everything will be gone. 8Fishermen will mourn: all of them all who use hooks to fish in the Nile will weep and wail, along with those who fish by throwing nets into the water. 9The workers who prepare the flax for linen and the weavers of white fabric#19:9. Probably referring to cotton. will be in despair. 10The cloth workers will be depressed, and everyone who earns a wage will feel sick inside.
11The leaders of Zoan are stupid. Pharaoh's wise counselors give advice that doesn't make sense. How can you#19:11. Referring to the “wise counselors.” tell Pharaoh, “I myself am a wise man, descended from ancient kings”? 12So where are your wise counselors? Let them tell you so you can understand what the Lord Almighty has planned to do to Egypt. 13The leaders of Zoan have become stupid; the leaders of Memphis#19:13. Literally, “Noph.” have been fooled; the important leaders of Egypt have misled their people. 14The Lord has mixed up a spirit of confusion for them to drink, making the Egyptians stagger around in everything they do, like a drunk slipping up on his own vomit. 15Nobody in Egypt can do anything, whoever they are—head or tail, palm tree or reed.#19:15. See 9:14. The palm tree was valued, reeds not so much.
16At that time the Egyptians will become like women. They will shake with fear when the Lord Almighty raises his arm against them. 17The land of Judah will be a source of terror to Egypt for whenever Judah is mentioned, all Egyptians will tremble over what the Lord Almighty has planned to do to them.
18At that time there will be five cities in Egypt that speak the language of Canaan#19:18. In other words, Hebrew. and who have sworn to worship the Lord Almighty. One of them will be called the City of the Sun.#19:18. “City of the Sun”: or as it is called today, using the Greek equivalent, “Heliopolis.” This reading is found in the Dead Sea Scrolls and in one version of the Septuagint etc. The current Hebrew text reads “City of Destruction” which may be related to the destruction of sun worship in the city.
19At that time there will be an altar to the Lord right in the middle of Egypt, and a stone monument to the Lord on its border. 20This will be a sign and a witness to the presence of the Lord Almighty in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the Lord for help because they are being oppressed, he will send them a savior to fight for them and to rescue them. 21The Lord will make himself known to Egypt, and at that time Egypt will come to know the Lord. They will worship him with sacrifices and offerings; they will make promises to the Lord and keep them.
22The Lord will inflict a plague on Egypt. He will do this, but he will heal them. They will come back to the Lord. He will respond to their prayers and heal them.
23At that time there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt, and the Egyptians will go to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together.
24At that time Israel will be the third part of this alliance, joining with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing to the whole of the earth. 25The Lord Almighty will bless them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt, my people, Assyria, the creation of my hands, and Israel, my special possession.”
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
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.”
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