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19 The burden of Egypt. Lo! the Lord shall ascend on a light cloud, and he shall enter into Egypt; and the simulacra of Egypt shall be moved from his face, and the heart of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof. (The burden of Egypt. Lo! the Lord shall ride upon a swift moving cloud, and he shall enter into Egypt; and the idols of Egypt shall tremble before him, and the heart, or the courage, of Egypt shall fail in its midst.)

And I shall make (some) Egyptians to run together against (other) Egyptians, and a man shall fight against his brother, and a man against his friend, a city against a city, and a realm against a realm (and a kingdom against a kingdom).

And the spirit of Egypt shall be broken in the entrails thereof, and I shall cast down the counsel thereof; and they shall ask their simulacra (and they shall ask their idols), and their false diviners, and their men that have unclean spirits speaking in the womb, and their diviners by sacrifices made on altars to fiends.

And I shall betake Egypt into the hand of cruel lords, and a strong king shall be lord of them, saith the Lord God of hosts. (And I shall deliver Egypt into the hands of cruel lords, or cruel masters, and a strong king shall be lord over them, saith the Lord God of hosts.)

And [the] water of the sea shall wax dry, and the flood shall be desolate, and shall be dried. (And the water of the River shall grow dry, yea the River shall become desolate, and dried up.)

And the floods shall fail, and the strands of the fields shall be made thin, and shall be dried; a reed and spire shall fade (away). (And the rivers shall fail, and the streams of the fields shall be made shallow, and shall be dried up; the reed and the bulrush shall fade away.)

The bottom of water shall be made naked, and streams from their well(s); and the moist place of all seed shall be dried, it shall wax dry, and it shall not be. (The bottom of the waters shall be uncovered, yea, of all the streams from the wells; and all the seeds on the river banks shall dry up, yea, they shall grow dry, and they shall be no more.)

And [the] fishers shall mourn, and all that cast hook into the flood shall wail; and they that spread abroad a net on the face of waters shall fade (away). (And the fishermen shall mourn, and all who cast a hook into the River shall wail; and they who spread abroad a net upon the face of the waters shall fade away.)

They shall be shamed, that wrought flax (who work the flax), folding and ordaining subtle things.

10 And the water places thereof shall be dry (And the places of water there shall dry up); (and) all that made ponds to take fishes, shall be shamed.

11 The fond princes of Tanis (The foolish leaders of Zoan), the wise counsellors of Pharaoh, gave unwise counsel; how shall ye say to Pharaoh, I am the son of wise men, the son of eld kings?

12 Where be now thy wise men? Tell they to thee, and show they, what the Lord of hosts thought on Egypt. (Where be thy wise men now? Tell they to thee, and show they, what the Lord of hosts thought about Egypt.)

13 The princes of Tanis be made fools; the princes of Memphis faded; they deceived Egypt, a corner(stone) of the peoples thereof. (The leaders of Zoan be made fools; the leaders of Noph faded away; they deceived Egypt, yea, the chieftains of the peoples there.)

14 The Lord meddled a spirit of error in the midst thereof; and they made Egypt for to err in all his work, as a drunken man and spewing erreth. (The Lord mixed in a spirit of error in its midst; and so the leaders made Egypt to err in all its ways and works, like a drunken man who wandereth about in his own spewing, or his own vomit.)

15 And work shall not be to Egypt, that it make an head and tail bowing and refraining. (And there shall not be work in Egypt, not for head nor tail, nor for the palm tree or the bulrush.)

16 In that day Egypt shall be as (weak as) women, and they shall be astonied, and shall dread of the face of the moving of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which he moved on it. (On that day the Egyptians shall become as weak as women, and they shall be astonished, and they shall fear the moving of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which he shall move against them.)

17 And the land of Judah shall be to Egypt into dread; each that shall think on it, shall dread of the face of the counsel of the Lord of hosts, which he thought on it. (And the land of Judah shall be feared by the Egyptians; and everyone who shall think about it, shall fear the counsel of the Lord of hosts, which he hath thought against them.)

18 In that day five cities shall be in the land of Egypt, and shall speak with the tongue of Canaan, and shall swear by the Lord of hosts; the city of the sun shall be called one. (On that day five cities shall be in the land of Egypt, and they shall speak with the tongue of Canaan, and shall swear by the Lord of hosts; one shall be called The city of the sun, or Heliopolis.)

19 In that day the altar of the Lord shall be in the midst of the land of Egypt, and the title of the Lord shall be beside the end thereof; (On that day the altar of the Lord shall be in the midst of the land of Egypt, and the pillar of the Lord shall be there at the border;)

20 and it shall be into a sign and witnessing to the Lord of hosts, in the land of Egypt. For they shall cry to the Lord from the face of the troubler, and he shall send a saviour to them, and a for-fighter, that shall deliver them. (and it shall be a sign and a witness to the Lord of hosts, in the land of Egypt. And when they shall cry to the Lord in the face of the troubler, he shall send a saviour to them, a fighter for them, who shall save them.)

21 And the Lord shall be known of Egypt, and Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day; and they shall worship him in sacrifices and gifts, and they shall make vows to the Lord, and they shall pay. (And the Lord shall make himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians shall acknowledge the Lord on that day; and they shall worship him with sacrifices and gifts, and they shall make vows to the Lord, and they shall pay them.)

22 And the Lord shall smite Egypt with a wound, and (then) shall make it whole; and [the] Egyptians shall turn again to the Lord, and he shall be pleased in them, and he shall make them whole. (And the Lord shall strike Egypt with a wound, and then shall make it whole; and the Egyptians shall return to the Lord, and he shall be pleased with them, and he shall make them whole.)

23 In that day a way shall be from Egypt into Assyrians, and Egyptians shall serve Assur; and Assur shall enter into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyrians. (On that day there shall be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrians shall go to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall go to Assyria, and the Egyptians shall worship with the Assyrians.)

24 In that day Israel shall be the third to Egypt and to Assur, the blessing in the middle of [the] earth; (On that day Israel shall be the third with Egypt and Assyria, and shall be a blessing in the middle of the world;)

25 whom the Lord of hosts blessed, saying, Blessed be my people of Egypt, and the work of mine hands be to Assyrians; but mine heritage be to Israel. (whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be my peoples of Egypt, and of Assyria, the work of my hands; and my inheritance Israel, yea, my possession.)

A Prophecy Against Egypt

19 A prophecy(A) against Egypt:(B)

See, the Lord rides on a swift cloud(C)
    and is coming to Egypt.
The idols of Egypt tremble before him,
    and the hearts of the Egyptians melt(D) with fear.

“I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian—
    brother will fight against brother,(E)
    neighbor against neighbor,
    city against city,
    kingdom against kingdom.(F)
The Egyptians will lose heart,(G)
    and I will bring their plans(H) to nothing;(I)
they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead,
    the mediums and the spiritists.(J)
I will hand the Egyptians over
    to the power of a cruel master,
and a fierce king(K) will rule over them,”
    declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.

The waters of the river will dry up,(L)
    and the riverbed will be parched and dry.(M)
The canals will stink;(N)
    the streams of Egypt will dwindle and dry up.(O)
The reeds(P) and rushes will wither,(Q)
    also the plants(R) along the Nile,
    at the mouth of the river.
Every sown field(S) along the Nile
    will become parched, will blow away and be no more.(T)
The fishermen(U) will groan and lament,
    all who cast hooks(V) into the Nile;
those who throw nets on the water
    will pine away.
Those who work with combed flax(W) will despair,
    the weavers of fine linen(X) will lose hope.
10 The workers in cloth will be dejected,
    and all the wage earners will be sick at heart.

11 The officials of Zoan(Y) are nothing but fools;
    the wise counselors(Z) of Pharaoh give senseless advice.(AA)
How can you say to Pharaoh,
    “I am one of the wise men,(AB)
    a disciple of the ancient kings”?

12 Where are your wise men(AC) now?
    Let them show you and make known
what the Lord Almighty
    has planned(AD) against Egypt.
13 The officials of Zoan(AE) have become fools,
    the leaders of Memphis(AF) are deceived;
the cornerstones(AG) of her peoples
    have led Egypt astray.
14 The Lord has poured into them
    a spirit of dizziness;(AH)
they make Egypt stagger in all that she does,
    as a drunkard staggers(AI) around in his vomit.
15 There is nothing Egypt can do—
    head or tail, palm branch or reed.(AJ)

16 In that day(AK) the Egyptians will become weaklings.(AL) They will shudder with fear(AM) at the uplifted hand(AN) that the Lord Almighty raises against them. 17 And the land of Judah will bring terror to the Egyptians; everyone to whom Judah is mentioned will be terrified,(AO) because of what the Lord Almighty is planning(AP) against them.

18 In that day(AQ) five cities(AR) in Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance(AS) to the Lord Almighty. One of them will be called the City of the Sun.[a](AT)

19 In that day(AU) there will be an altar(AV) to the Lord in the heart of Egypt,(AW) and a monument(AX) to the Lord at its border. 20 It will be a sign and witness(AY) to the Lord Almighty in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior(AZ) and defender, and he will rescue(BA) them. 21 So the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and in that day they will acknowledge(BB) the Lord. They will worship(BC) with sacrifices and grain offerings; they will make vows to the Lord and keep them.(BD) 22 The Lord will strike(BE) Egypt with a plague;(BF) he will strike them and heal them. They will turn(BG) to the Lord, and he will respond to their pleas and heal(BH) them.

23 In that day(BI) there will be a highway(BJ) from Egypt to Assyria.(BK) The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship(BL) together. 24 In that day(BM) Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria,(BN) a blessing[b](BO) on the earth. 25 The Lord Almighty will bless(BP) them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people,(BQ) Assyria my handiwork,(BR) and Israel my inheritance.(BS)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 19:18 Some manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, Dead Sea Scrolls, Symmachus and Vulgate; most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text City of Destruction
  2. Isaiah 19:24 Or Assyria, whose names will be used in blessings (see Gen. 48:20); or Assyria, who will be seen by others as blessed