Isaiah 19

1 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.

The prophecy concerning Egypt. Behold, Jehovah rideth upon a swift cloud, And cometh to Egypt; The gods of Egypt tremble at his presence, And the heart of Egypt melteth within her.

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

“I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians; Brother shall fight against brother, And neighbor against neighbor; City against city, And kingdom against kingdom.

3 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.

The spirit of Egypt shall fail within her, And her devices I will bring to naught. Then shall they consult the idols, and the sorcerers, And the necromancers, and the wizards.

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

But I will give up the Egyptians to the hands of a cruel lord, And a fierce king shall rule over them,” Saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts.

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

Then shall the waters fail from the river, Yea, the river shall be wasted and dried up.

6 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.

The streams shall become putrid; The canals of Egypt shall be emptied and dried up; The reed and the rush shall wither.

7 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.

The meadows by the river, by the borders of the river, And all that groweth by the river, Shall wither, be blasted, and be no more.

8 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.

Then shall the fishermen mourn; All they that cast the hook into the river shall lament, And they that spread nets upon the face of the waters shall languish.

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

They, also, that work in flax, And they that weave white linen, shall be confounded.

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

Her pillars are broken down, And all who labor for hire are grieved in heart.

11 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”?

Surely the princes of Zoan are fools; The wise counsellors of Pharaoh have been stupid in their counsels. How, then, can ye say to Pharaoh, “I am the son of the wise, The son of ancient kings”?

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

Where are they now, thy wise men? Let them tell thee now, so that men may know it, What Jehovah of hosts hath determined concerning Egypt!

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

The princes of Zoan are become fools; The princes of Noph are deceived, Even the chiefs of her tribes have caused Egypt to err.

14 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.

Jehovah hath mingled within her a spirit of perverseness, And they have caused Egypt to err in all her works, As a drunkard staggereth in his vomit.

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

There shall be nothing which can be done by Egypt, By the head, or the tail, the palm-branch, or the rush.

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

In that day shall the Egyptians be like women; They shall tremble and fear On account of the shaking of the hand of Jehovah of hosts, Which he shall shake against them.

17 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.

The land of Judah shall be a terror to Egypt; Every one to whom it is mentioned shall tremble On account of the purpose of Jehovah of hosts, Which he hath determined against them.

18 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.

In that day there shall be five cities in the land of Egypt Speaking the language of Canaan, And swearing by Jehovah of hosts; One of them shall be called the City of the Sun.

19 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.

In that day there shall be an altar to Jehovah in the midst of the land of Egypt, And in the border of it a pillar to Jehovah,

20 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.

Which shall be a sign and a witness For Jehovah of hosts in the land of Egypt, That they cried to Jehovah on account of their oppressors, And he sent them a saviour, and a defender, who delivered them.

21 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.

Thus shall Jehovah be made known to Egypt, And the Egyptians shall know Jehovah in that day, And shall offer him sacrifices and oblations; They shall make vows to Jehovah, and perform them.

22 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.

Thus Jehovah will smite Egypt; he will smite and heal her; They shall return to Jehovah; Therefore will he hear and heal them.

23 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.

In that day shall there he a highway from Egypt to Assyria, And the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, And the Egyptian into Assyria, And the Egyptians shall worship with the Assyrians.

24 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.

In that day shall Israel be the third In connection with Egypt and Assyria, A blessing in the midst of the earth.

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

Jehovah of hosts shall bless them, and say, Blessed be Egypt, my people, And Assyria, the work of my hands, And Israel, my inheritance!