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 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
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