Isaiah 19
19
Egypt will be punished
1This is a message about Egypt:#Jr 46.2-26; Ez 29.1—32.32.
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—
neighbours, 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 fortune-tellers.
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 River Nile 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 honour 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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Isaiah 19: CEVUK
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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012
Isaiah 19
19
Message to Egypt
1The [mournful, inspired] oracle (#I.e. an urgent message the prophet is under compulsion to proclaim.a burden to be carried) concerning Egypt:
Listen carefully, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud and is about to come to Egypt;
The idols of Egypt will tremble at His presence,
And the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.
2“So I will provoke Egyptians against Egyptians;
And they will fight, each one against his brother and each one against his neighbor,
City against city, kingdom against kingdom.
3Then the spirit of the Egyptians will become exhausted within them and emptied out;
And I will confuse their strategy,
So that they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead,
And mediums and soothsayers.
4And I will hand over the Egyptians to a hard and cruel master,
And a mighty king will rule over them,” declares the Lord God of hosts.
5The waters from the sea will dry up,
And the river will be parched and dry.
6The canals will become foul-smelling,
The streams of Egypt will thin out and dry up,
The reeds and the rushes will rot away.
7The meadows by the Nile, by the edge of the Nile,
And all the sown fields of the Nile
Will become dry, be blown away, and be no more.
8The fishermen will lament (cry out in grief),
And all those who cast a hook into the Nile will mourn,
And those who spread nets upon the waters will languish.
9Moreover, those who make linen from combed flax
And those who weave white cloth will be ashamed.
10[Those who are] the pillars and foundations of Egypt will be crushed;
And all those who work for wages will be grieved in soul.
11The princes of #Or Tanis, an ancient capital of the Pharaohs.Zoan are complete fools;
The counsel of the Pharaoh’s wisest advisors has become stupid.
How can you say to Pharaoh,
“I am a son of the wise, a son of ancient kings?”
12Where then are your wise men?
Please let them tell you,
And let them understand what the Lord of hosts
Has purposed against Egypt [if they can].
13The princes of Zoan have acted like fools,
The princes of Memphis are deluded [and entertain false hope];
Those who are the cornerstone of her tribes
Have led Egypt astray.
14The Lord has mixed a spirit of distortion within her;
Her leaders have caused Egypt to stagger in all that she does,
As a drunken man staggers in his vomit.
15There will be no work for Egypt
Which head or tail, [high] palm branch or [low] bulrush, may do.
16In that day the Egyptians will become like [helpless] women, and they will tremble and be frightened because of the waving of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which He is going to wave over them. 17The land of Judah [Assyria’s ally] will become a terror to the Egyptians; everyone to whom Judah is mentioned will be in dread of it, because of the purpose of the Lord of hosts which He is planning against Egypt.
18In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of [the Hebrews of] Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord of hosts. One [of them] will be called the City of #A number of manuscripts read sun, so that the name is taken to be Heliopolis.Destruction.
19In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a memorial stone to the Lord near its border. 20It will become a sign and a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the Lord because of oppressors, and He will send them a Savior, a [Great] Defender, and He will rescue them. 21And so the Lord will make Himself known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know [heed, honor, and cherish] the Lord in that day. They will even worship with sacrifices [of animals] and offerings [of produce]; they will make a vow to the Lord and fulfill it. 22The Lord will strike Egypt, striking but healing it; so they will return to the Lord, and He will respond to them and heal them.
23In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrians will come into Egypt and the Egyptians into Assyria; and the Egyptians will worship and serve [the Lord] with the Assyrians.
24In that day Israel will be the third party with Egypt and with Assyria [in a Messianic league], a blessing in the midst of the earth, 25whom the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My heritage.”
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