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, YHWH is riding on a swift thick cloud, And He has entered Egypt, And the idols of Egypt have been moved at His presence, And the heart of Egypt melts 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 armed Egyptians against Egyptians, And they fought, each against his brother, And each against his neighbor, 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 has been emptied out in its midst. And I swallow up its counsel, And they have sought to the idols, And to the charmers, And to those having familiar spirits, And to the wizards.

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

And I have delivered the Egyptians Into the hand of a hard lord, And a strong king rules over them, A declaration of the Lord, YHWH of Hosts.

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

And waters have failed from the sea, And a river is desolated and dried up.

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

And they have turned away the flowings, Brooks of the bulwark have been weak and dried up, Reed and flag have withered.

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.

Exposed things by the brook, by the edge of the brook, And every sown thing of the brook, has withered, It has been driven away, and is not.

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 fishers have lamented, And all casting a hook into the brook have mourned, And those spreading dragnets on the face of the waters have languished.

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

And makers of fine flax have been ashamed, And weavers of networks.

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

And its foundations have been struck, All making wages [are] afflicted in soul.

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”?

Only, the princes of Zoan [are] fools, The counsel of the wise ones of the counselors of Pharaoh has become brutish. How do you say to Pharaoh, “I am a son of the wise, a son of 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] they now, your wise ones? Indeed, let them now tell [it] to you, And they know what YHWH of Hosts has counseled against Egypt!

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

Princes of Zoan have been foolish, Princes of Noph have been lifted up, And they have caused Egypt to err, The chief of her tribes.

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.

YHWH has mingled in her midst A spirit of perverseness, And they have caused Egypt to err in all its work, As a drunkard errs in his vomit.

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

And there is no work to Egypt, That head or tail, branch or reed, may do.

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 is like women, And it has mourned, and been afraid, Because of the waving of the hand of YHWH of Hosts, That He is waving over it.

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 has been to Egypt for a cause of staggering, Everyone who mentions it, fears for himself, Because of the counsel of YHWH of Hosts, That He is counseling against it.

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 are five cities in the land of Egypt, Speaking the lip of Canaan, And swearing to YHWH of Hosts, “The city of destruction,” is said of one.

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 is an altar to YHWH In the midst of the land of Egypt, And a standing pillar to YHWH near its border,

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.

And it has been for a sign and for a testimony, To YHWH of Hosts in the land of Egypt, For they cry to YHWH from the face of oppressors, And He sends a Savior to them, Even a great one, and has delivered 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 YHWH has been known to Egypt, And the Egyptians have known YHWH in that day, And done sacrifice and present, And vowed a vow to YHWH, and completed [it].

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 YHWH has struck Egypt, striking and healing, And they have turned back to YHWH, And He has accepted their plea, And has healed 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 a highway is out of Egypt to Asshur, And the Assyrians have come into Egypt, And the Egyptians into Asshur, And the Egyptians have served with the Assyrians.

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

In that day Israel is third, With Egypt, and with Asshur, A blessing in the heart of the earth.

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

In that YHWH of Hosts blessed it, saying, “Blessed [is] My people—Egypt, And the work of My hands—Asshur, And My inheritance—Israel!”