Esias 19

1 THE VISION OF EGYPT. Behold, the Lord sits on a swift cloud, and shall come to Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and their heart shall faint within them.

A message about Egypt. Look, the Lord is riding on a fast-moving cloud on his way to Egypt. The idols of Egypt will tremble before Him, and the Egyptians will become weak with fear.

2 And the Egyptians shall be stirred up against the Egyptians: and a man shall fight against his brother, and a man against his neighbour, city against city, and law against law.

I will encourage Egyptians to attack other Egyptians. They will fight each other, neighbor versus neighbor, town versus town, and kingdom versus kingdom.

3 And the spirit of the Egyptians shall be troubled within them; and I will frustrate their counsel: and they shall enquire of their gods and their images, and them that speak out of the earth, and them that have in them a divining spirit.

I will destroy the confidence of the Egyptians. I will have their plans become all mixed up. They will ask their idols and the spirits of the dead what to do through mediums and spiritists.

4 And I will deliver Egypt into the hands of men, of cruel lords; and cruel kings shall rule over them: thus says the Lord of hosts.

I will hand the Egyptians over to a harsh dictator. A cruel king will rule over them, declares the Lord.

5 And the Egyptians shall drink the water that is by the sea, but the river shall fail, and be dried up.

The waters of the Nile will fail, and its riverbed will be sunbaked and dry.

6 And the streams shall fail, and the canals of the river; and every reservoir of water shall be dried up, in every marsh also of reed and papyrus.

The channels will start to stink; the branches of the Nile in Egypt will dry to a trickle and dry up; the reeds and rushes will wither away.

7 And all the green herbage round about the river, and everything sown by the side of the river, shall be blasted with the wind and dried up.

The vegetation along the banks of the Nile, and all the plants in the cultivated land along the Nile, will dry up and be blown away. Everything will be gone.

8 And the fishermen shall groan, and all that cast a hook into the river shall groan; they also that cast nets, and the anglers shall mourn.

Fishermen will mourn: all of them all who use hooks to fish in the Nile will weep and wail, along with those who fish by throwing nets into the water.

9 And shame shall come upon them that work fine flax, and them that make fine linen.

The workers who prepare the flax for linen and the weavers of white fabric will be in despair.

10 And they that work at them shall be in pain, and all that make beer shall be grieved, and be pained in their souls.

The cloth workers will be depressed, and everyone who earns a wage will feel sick inside.

11 And the princes of Tanis shall be fools: [as for] the king's wise counsellors, their counsel shall be turned into folly: how will you say to the king, we are sons of wise men, sons of ancient kings?

The leaders of Zoan are stupid. Pharaoh's wise counselors give advice that doesn't make sense. How can you tell Pharaoh, “I myself am a wise man, descended from ancient kings”?

12 Where are now your wise men? and let them declare to you, and say, What has the Lord of hosts purposed upon Egypt?

So where are your wise counselors? Let them tell you so you can understand what the Lord Almighty has planned to do to Egypt.

13 The princes of Tanis have failed, and the princes of Memphis are lifted up [with pride], and they shall cause Egypt to wander by tribes.

The leaders of Zoan have become stupid; the leaders of Memphis have been fooled; the important leaders of Egypt have misled their people.

14 For the Lord has prepared for them a spirit of error, and they have caused Egypt to err in all their works, as one staggers who is drunken and vomits also.

The Lord has mixed up a spirit of confusion for them to drink, making the Egyptians stagger around in everything they do, like a drunk slipping up on his own vomit.

15 And there shall be no work to the Egyptians, which shall make head or tail, or beginning or end.

Nobody in Egypt can do anything, whoever they are—head or tail, palm tree or reed.

16 But in that day the Egyptians shall be as women, in fear and in trembling because of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which he shall bring upon them.

At that time the Egyptians will become like women. They will shake with fear when the Lord Almighty raises his arm against them.

17 And the land of the Jews shall be for a terror to the Egyptians: whoever shall name it to them, they shall fear, because of the counsel which the Lord of hosts has purposed concerning it.

The land of Judah will be a source of terror to Egypt for whenever Judah is mentioned, all Egyptians will tremble over what the Lord Almighty has planned to do to them.

18 In that day there shall be five cities in Egypt speaking the language of Chanaan, and swearing by the name of the Lord of hosts; one city shall be called the city of Asedec.

At that time there will be five cities in Egypt that speak the language of Canaan and who have sworn to worship the Lord Almighty. One of them will be called the City of the Sun.

19 In that day there shall be an altar to the Lord in the land of the Egyptians, and a pillar to the Lord by its border.

At that time there will be an altar to the Lord right in the middle of Egypt, and a stone monument to the Lord on its border.

20 And it shall be for a sign to the Lord for ever in the land of Egypt: for they shall presently cry to the Lord by reason of them that afflict them, and he shall send them a man who shall save them; he shall judge and save them.

This will be a sign and a witness to the presence of the Lord Almighty in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the Lord for help because they are being oppressed, he will send them a savior to fight for them and to rescue them.

21 And the Lord shall be known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day; and they shall offer sacrifices, and shall vow vows to the Lord, and pay [them].

The Lord will make himself known to Egypt, and at that time Egypt will come to know the Lord. They will worship him with sacrifices and offerings; they will make promises to the Lord and keep them.

22 And the Lord shall strike the Egyptians with a stroke, and shall completely heal them: and they shall return to the Lord, and he shall hear them, and thoroughly heal them.

The Lord will inflict a plague on Egypt. He will do this, but he will heal them. They will come back to the Lord. He will respond to their prayers and heal them.

23 In that day there shall be a way from Egypt to the Assyrians, and the Assyrians shall enter into Egypt, and the Egyptians shall go to the Assyrians, and the Egyptians shall serve the Assyrians.

At that time there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt, and the Egyptians will go to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together.

24 In that day shall Israel be third with the Egyptians and the Assyrians, blessed in the land which the Lord of hosts has blessed,

At that time Israel will be the third part of this alliance, joining with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing to the whole of the earth.

25 saying, Blessed be my people that is in Egypt, and that is amongst the Assyrians, and Israel mine inheritance.

The Lord Almighty will bless them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt, my people, Assyria, the creation of my hands, and Israel, my special possession.”