Isaiah 19

1 This 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.

The burden of Egypt. Behold, the Lord will ascend upon a lofty cloud, and he will enter into Egypt, and the false images of Egypt will be moved before his face, and the heart of Egypt will waste away in its midst.

2 “So I will incite Egyptian against Egyptian; brother will fight against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.

And I will cause Egyptian to rush against Egyptian. And they will fight: a man against his brother, and a man against his friend, city against city, kingdom against kingdom.

3 Then 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.

And the spirit of Egypt will be ruptured to its very core. And I will cast down their plan violently. And they will seek answers from their false images, and their diviners, and those led by demons, and their seers.

4 I will deliver the Egyptians into the hands of harsh masters, and a fierce king will rule over them,”

And I will deliver Egypt into the hand of cruel masters, and a strong king will dominate them, says the Lord, the God of hosts.

5 The waters of the Nile will dry up, and the riverbed will be parched and empty.

And the waters of the sea will dry up, and the river will be desolate and dry.

6 The canals will stink; the streams of Egypt will trickle and dry up; the reeds and rushes will wither.

And the rivers will fail. The streams of its banks will diminish and dry up. The reed and the bulrush will wither away.

7 The 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.

The channel of the river will be stripped down to its source, and everything irrigated by it will dry up and wither and be no more.

8 Then 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.

And the fishermen will grieve. And all who cast a hook into the river will mourn. And those who cast a net upon the surface of its waters will languish.

9 The workers in flax will be dismayed, and the weavers of fine linen will turn pale.

Those who work with linen, combing and weaving fine textiles, will be confounded.

10 The workers in cloth will be dejected, and all the hired workers will be sick at heart.

And its irrigated places will begin to fail, with all those who make pools to take fish.

11 The 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”?

The leaders of Tanis are foolish. The wise counselors of Pharaoh have given foolish counsel. How can you say to Pharaoh: “I am the son of wise men, the son of the kings of antiquity?”

12 Where are your wise men now? Let them tell you and reveal what the LORD of Hosts has planned against Egypt.

Where are your wise men now? Let them announce it to you, and let them reveal what the Lord of hosts intends for Egypt.

13 The princes of Zoan have become fools; the princes of Memphis are deceived. The cornerstones of her tribes have led Egypt astray.

The leaders of Tanis have become foolish. The leaders of Memphis have decayed. They have deceived Egypt, the corner of its people.

14 The 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.

The Lord has mixed a spirit of giddiness into its midst. And they have caused Egypt to err in all its works, like a drunken man who staggers and vomits.

15 There is nothing Egypt can do— head or tail, palm or reed.

And there will be no work for Egypt that would produce a head or a tail, one who bows down or one who refrains from bowing down.

16 In 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.

In that day, Egypt will be like women, and they will be stupefied and fearful before the presence of the shaking hand of the Lord of hosts, the hand which he will move over them.

17 The 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.

And the land of Judah will be a dread to Egypt. Everyone who thinks about it will be terrified before the presence of the plan of the Lord of hosts, the plan which he has decided concerning them.

18 In 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.

In that day, there will be five cities in the land of Egypt which speak the language of Canaan, and which swear by the Lord of hosts. One will be called the City of the Sun.

19 In 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.

In that day, there will be an altar of the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt and a monument of the Lord beside its borders.

20 It 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.

This shall be a sign and a testimony to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt. For they will cry out to the Lord before the face of the tribulation, and he will send them a savior and a defender who will free them.

21 The 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.

And the Lord will be acknowledged by Egypt, and the Egyptians will recognize the Lord in that day, and they will worship him with sacrifices and gifts. And they will make vows to the Lord, and they will fulfill them.

22 And 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.

And the Lord will strike Egypt with a scourge, and he will heal them. And they will return to the Lord. And he will be placated toward them, and he will heal them.

23 In 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.

In that day, there will be a way from Egypt to the Assyrians, and the Assyrian will enter into Egypt, and the Egyptian will be with the Assyrians, and the Egyptians will serve Assur.

24 In that day Israel will join a three-party alliance with Egypt and Assyria—a blessing upon the earth.

In that day, will Israel be the third to the Egyptian and the Assyrian, a blessing in the midst of the earth,

25 The LORD of Hosts will bless them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt My people, Assyria My handiwork, and Israel My inheritance.”

which the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying: Blessed be my people of Egypt, and the work of my hands for the Assyrian, but Israel is my inheritance.