Isaiah 19
19
The Burden against Egypt
1This is the burden against Egypt:
Behold, the Lord rides on a swift cloud;
He is coming to Egypt.
The idols of Egypt will tremble before Him,
and the hearts of the Egyptians will melt within them.
2“So I will incite Egyptian against Egyptian;
brother will fight against brother, neighbor against neighbor,
city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.
3Then the spirit of the Egyptians will be emptied out from among them,
and I will frustrate their plans,
so that they will resort to idols and spirits of the dead,
to mediums and spiritists.
4I will deliver the Egyptians into the hands of harsh masters,
and a fierce king will rule over them,”
declares the Lord GOD of Hosts.
5The waters of the Nile will dry up,
and the riverbed will be parched and empty.
6The canals will stink;
the streams of Egypt will trickle and dry up;
the reeds and rushes will wither.
7The bulrushes by the Nile,
by the mouth of the river,
and all the fields sown along the Nile,
will wither, blow away, and be no more.
8Then the fishermen will mourn,
all who cast a hook into the Nile will lament,
and those who spread nets on the waters will pine away.
9The workers in flax will be dismayed,
and the weavers of fine linen will turn pale.
10The workers in cloth #19:10 Or Its pillars will be dejected,
and all the hired workers will be sick at heart.
11The princes of Zoan are mere fools;
Pharaoh’s wise counselors give senseless advice.
How can you say to Pharaoh,
“I am one of the wise,
a son of eastern kings”?
12Where are your wise men now?
Let them tell you and reveal
what the Lord of Hosts has planned against Egypt.
13The princes of Zoan have become fools;
the princes of Memphis #19:13 LXX; Hebrew Noph are deceived.
The cornerstones of her tribes
have led Egypt astray.
14The Lord has poured into her
a spirit of confusion.
Egypt has been led astray in all she does,
as a drunkard staggers through his own vomit.
15There is nothing Egypt can do—
head or tail, palm or reed.
A Blessing upon the Earth
16In that day the Egyptians will be like women. They will tremble with fear beneath the uplifted hand of the Lord of Hosts, when He brandishes it against them. 17The land of Judah will bring terror to Egypt; whenever Judah is mentioned, Egypt will tremble over what the Lord of Hosts has planned against it.
18In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord of Hosts. One of them will be called the City of the Sun.#19:18 Some MT manuscripts, DSS, and Vulgate; most MT manuscripts City of Destruction
19In 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. 20It will be a sign and a witness to the Lord of Hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors, He will send them a savior and defender to rescue them. 21The Lord will make Himself known to Egypt, and on that day Egypt will acknowledge the Lord. They will worship with sacrifices and offerings; they will make vows to the Lord and fulfill them.
22And the Lord will strike Egypt with a plague; He will strike them but heal them. They will turn to the Lord, and He will hear their prayers and heal them.
23In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt, and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together.
24In that day Israel will join a three-party alliance with Egypt and Assyria—a blessing upon the earth. 25The Lord of Hosts will bless them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt My people, Assyria My handiwork, and Israel My inheritance.”
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Isaiah 19: BSB
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The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible, BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee. This text of God's Word has been dedicated to the public domain.
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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