Isaiah 19
19
An Oracle concerning Egypt
1An 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.
2I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians,
and they will fight, one against the other,
neighbor against neighbor,
city against city, kingdom against kingdom;
3the 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;
4I 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.
5The waters of the Nile will be dried up,
and the river will be parched and dry;
6its canals will become foul,
and the branches of Egypt's Nile will diminish and dry up,
reeds and rushes will rot away.
7There will be bare places by the Nile,
on the brink of the Nile;
and all that is sown by the Nile will dry up,
be driven away, and be no more.
8Those who fish will mourn;
all who cast hooks in the Nile will lament,
and those who spread nets on the water will languish.
9The workers in flax will be in despair,
and the carders and those at the loom will grow pale.
10Its weavers will be dismayed,
and all who work for wages will be grieved.
11The princes of Zoan are utterly 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”?
12Where now are your sages?
Let them tell you and make known
what the Lord of hosts has planned against Egypt.
13The 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.
14The Lord has poured into them#19.14 Gk Compare Tg: Heb it
a spirit of confusion;
and they have made Egypt stagger in all its doings
as a drunkard staggers around in vomit.
15Neither head nor tail, palm branch or reed,
will be able to do anything for Egypt.
16On that day the Egyptians will be like women, and tremble with fear before the hand that the Lord of hosts raises against them. 17And the land of Judah will become a terror to the Egyptians; everyone to whom it is mentioned will fear because of the plan that the Lord of hosts is planning against them.
Egypt, Assyria, and Israel Blessed
18On that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord of hosts. One of these will be called the City of the Sun.
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 at its border. 20It will be a sign and a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt; when they cry to the Lord because of oppressors, he will send them a savior, and will defend and deliver them. 21The Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians; and the Egyptians will know the Lord on that day, and will worship with sacrifice and burnt offering, and they will make vows to the Lord and perform them. 22The Lord will strike Egypt, striking and healing; they will return to the Lord, and he will listen to their supplications and heal them.
23On that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians.
24On that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, 25whom the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my heritage.”
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Isaiah 19: NRSV
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New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 19
19
Egypt Will Be Punished
1 #
Jr 46.2-26; Ez 29.1—32.32. This is a message about Egypt:
The Lord comes to Egypt,
riding swiftly on a cloud.
The people are weak from fear.
Their idols tremble
as he approaches and says,
2“I will punish Egypt
with civil war—
neighbors, cities, and kingdoms
will fight each other.
3“Egypt will be discouraged
when I confuse their plans.
They will try to get advice
from their idols,
from the spirits of the dead,
and from fortunetellers.
4I will put the Egyptians
under the power of a cruel,
heartless king.
I, the Lord All-Powerful,
have promised this.”
Trouble along the Nile
5The Nile River will dry up
and become parched land.
6Its streams will stink,
Egypt will have no water,
and the reeds and tall grass
will dry up.
7Fields along the Nile
will be completely barren;
every plant will disappear.
8Those who fish in the Nile
will be discouraged
and mourn.
9None of the cloth makers#19.9 cloth makers: Cloth was made from several kinds of plants that grew in the fields along the Nile.
will know what to do,
and they will turn pale.#19.9 turn pale: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
10Weavers will be confused;
paid workers will cry and mourn.
Egypt's Helpless Leaders
11The king's officials in Zoan#19.11 Zoan: The city of Tanis in the Nile delta.
are foolish themselves
and give stupid advice.
How can they say to him,
“We are very wise,
and our families go back
to kings of long ago?”
12Where are those wise men now?
If they can, let them say
what the Lord All-Powerful
intends for Egypt.
13The royal officials in Zoan
and in Memphis
are foolish and deceived.
The leaders in every state
have given bad advice
to the nation.
14The Lord has confused Egypt;
its leaders have made it stagger
and vomit like a drunkard.
15No one in Egypt can do a thing,
no matter who they are.
16When the Lord All-Powerful punishes Egypt with his mighty arm, the Egyptians will become terribly weak and will tremble with fear. 17They will be so terrified of Judah that they will be frightened by the very mention of its name. This will happen because of what the Lord All-Powerful is planning against Egypt.
The Lord Will Bless Egypt, Assyria, and Israel
18The time is coming when Hebrew will be spoken in five Egyptian cities, and their people will become followers of the Lord. One of these cities will be called City of the Sun.#19.18 City of the Sun: Some manuscripts of the Standard Hebrew Text, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and one ancient translation; most manuscripts of the Standard Hebrew Text have “City of Destruction.” This probably refers to Heliopolis which means “City of the Sun” (see Jeremiah 43.13).
19In the heart of Egypt an altar will be set up for the Lord; at its border a shrine will be built to honor him. 20These will remind the Egyptians that the Lord All-Powerful is with them. And when they are in trouble and ask for help, he will send someone to rescue them from their enemies. 21The Lord will show the Egyptians who he is, and they will know and worship the Lord. They will bring him sacrifices and offerings, and they will keep their promises to him. 22After the Lord has punished Egypt, the people will turn to him. Then he will answer their prayers, and the Egyptians will be healed.
23At that time a good road will run from Egypt to Assyria. The Egyptians and the Assyrians will travel back and forth from Egypt to Assyria, and they will worship together. 24Israel will join with these two countries. They will be a blessing to everyone on earth, 25then the Lord All-Powerful will bless them by saying,
“The Egyptians are my people.
I created the Assyrians
and chose the Israelites.”
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.