Isaiah 19
19
God’s Message to Egypt
1A message#19:1 message Or “burden.” about Egypt: Look, the Lord is coming on a fast cloud. He will enter Egypt, and all the false gods of Egypt will shake with fear. Egypt’s courage will melt away like hot wax.
2The Lord says, “I will cause the Egyptians to fight against themselves. Men will fight their brothers. Neighbors will be against neighbors. Cities will be against cities. Kingdoms will be against kingdoms.#19:2 Kingdoms will be against kingdoms Or “States will be against states.” This means Egyptians will fight other Egyptians. 3The Egyptians will be afraid and confused. They will ask their false gods and wise men what they should do. They will ask their wizards and magicians, but I will ruin their plans.” 4The Lord GOD All-Powerful says, “I will give Egypt to a hard master. A powerful king will rule over the people.”
5The water in the Nile River will dry up and disappear. 6All the rivers will smell very bad.#19:6 smell very bad In Hebrew this is like a name for the Nile River. The canals in Egypt will be dry, and the water will be gone. All the water plants will rot. 7All the plants along the riverbanks will die and blow away. Even the plants at the widest part of the river will dry up, blow away, and disappear.
8The fishermen, all those who catch fish from the Nile River, will become sad and they will cry. They depend on the Nile River for their food, but it will be dry. 9Those who make cloth from flax, who weave it into linen, will all be sad. 10Those who weave cloth will be broken, and those who work for money will be depressed.
11The leaders of the city of Zoan#19:11 Zoan A city in Egypt. Also in verse 13. are fools. Pharaoh’s “wise advisors” give bad advice. They say they are wise. They say they are from the old family of the kings, but they are not as smart as they think. 12Egypt, where are your wise men? They should learn what the Lord All-Powerful has planned for Egypt. They should be the ones to tell you what will happen.
13The leaders of Zoan have been fooled. The leaders of Noph#19:13 Noph Or “Memphis,” a city in Egypt. have believed lies, so they lead Egypt the wrong way. 14The Lord confused them, so they wander around and lead Egypt the wrong way. Everything they do is wrong. They are like drunks rolling in their vomit. 15There is nothing the leaders can do. (They are “the heads and the tails.” They are “the tops and the stalks of plants.”#19:15 the heads and … stalks of plants See Isa. 9:14-15.)
16At that time the Egyptians will be like frightened women. They will be afraid of the Lord All-Powerful, because he will raise his arm to punish the people. 17The land of Judah brings fear to everyone in Egypt. Anyone in Egypt who hears the name Judah will be afraid. This will happen because the Lord All-Powerful has planned terrible things to happen to Egypt. 18At that time there will be five cities in Egypt where people speak Hebrew.#19:18 Hebrew Literally, “the language of Canaan.” One of these cities will be named “Destruction City.”#19:18 Destruction City This is a wordplay on the name meaning “Sun City,” which is also called On or Heliopolis. The people in these cities will promise to follow the Lord All-Powerful.
19At that time there will be an altar for the Lord in the middle of Egypt. At the border of Egypt there will be a monument to show honor to the Lord. 20This will be a sign to show that the Lord All-Powerful does amazing things. Any time the people cry for help from the Lord, he will send help. He will send someone to save and defend the people—to rescue the people from those who hurt them.
21At that time the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and they really will know the Lord. They will serve him and give him many sacrifices. They will make promises#19:21 promises A special kind of promise to God. See Lev. 22:18-24. to the Lord, and they will do what they promise. 22The Lord will punish the Egyptians, but then he will heal them, and they will come back to him. The Lord will listen to their prayers and heal them.
23At that time there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. Then the Assyrians will go to Egypt, and the Egyptians will go to Assyria. Egypt will work with Assyria.#19:23 Egypt will work with Assyria Or “Egypt will serve Assyria.” 24Then Israel, Assyria, and Egypt will join together and control the land. This will be a blessing for the land. 25The Lord All-Powerful will bless these countries. He will say, “Egypt, you are my people. Assyria, I made you. Israel, I own you. You are all blessed!”
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
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.