Isaiah 19

1 The burden of Egypt. Beholde, the Lord rideth vpon a swift cloude, and shall come into Egypt, and the idoles of Egypt shall be moued at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the middes of her.

[I received] this message [from Yahweh] about Egypt: “Listen to this! I, Yahweh, am coming to Egypt, riding on a fast-moving cloud. The idols in Egypt will tremble when [I appear], and the people of Egypt will be extremely afraid [IDM].

2 And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: so euery one shall fight against his brother, and euery one against his neighbour, citie against citie, and kingdome against kingdome.

I will cause the people of Egypt to fight against each other: men will fight against their brothers, neighbors will fight against each other, people of one city will fight against the people of another city, people of one province will fight against the people of another province.

3 And the spirite of Egypt shall faile in the middes of her, and I will destroy their counsell, and they shall seeke at the idoles, and at the sorcerers, and at them that haue spirits of diuination, and at the southsayers.

The people of Egypt will become very discouraged, and I will cause their plans not to be successful. They will plead with idols and sorcerers and those who talk with spirits of dead people to tell them what they should do.

4 And I will deliuer the Egyptians into the hand of the cruell Lordes, and a mightie King shall rule ouer them, sayth the Lord God of hostes.

Then I will enable someone who will treat them very cruelly to become their king [DOU].” That is what I, the Commander of the armies of angels, say.

5 Then the waters of the sea shall faile, and the riuers shall be dryed vp, and wasted.

[Some day] the water in the [Nile] River will dry up, and the riverbed will become very dry [DOU].

6 And the riuers shall goe farre away: the riuers of defence shalbe emptied and dryed vp: the reedes and flagges shall be cut downe.

The branches of the river will all dry up [DOU] The canals along the river will stink because of the rotting reeds and (bulrushes/tall grass).

7 The grasse in the riuer, and at the head of the riuers, and all that groweth by the riuer, shall wither, and be driuen away, and be no more.

All the plants along the river and all the crops will dry up; then they will blow away and disappear.

8 The fishers also shall mourne, and all they that cast angle into the riuer, shall lament, and they that spread their nette vpon the waters, shall be weakened.

The fishermen will throw into the river lines with hooks on them and nets, and then they will groan and be very discouraged; they will be sad [because there will be no fish in the river].

9 Moreouer, they that worke in flaxe of diuers sortes, shall be confounded, and they that weaue nettes.

Those who weave cloth from flax will not know what to do, because there will be no thread for them to weave.

10 For their nettes shalbe broken, and all they, that make pondes, shalbe heauie in heart.

They will all despair and be very discouraged.

11 Surely the princes of Zoan are fooles: the counsell of the wise counselers of Pharaoh is become foolish: how say ye vnto Pharaoh, I am the sonne of the wise? I am the sonne of the ancient Kings?

The officials in Zoan [city in northern Egypt] are foolish. The advice that they gave to the king was worthless. Why do they continue to tell the king that they are wise, that they are descendants of wise kings who lived long ago [RHQ]?

12 Where are nowe thy wise men, that they may tell thee, or may knowe what the Lord of hostes hath determined against Egypt?

King, (where are your wise counselors now?/You have no wise counselors now!) [RHQ] If you had any wise counselors, they could tell you what the Commander of the armies of angels has planned to do to Egypt [SAR]!

13 The princes of Zoan are become fooles: the princes of Noph are deceiued, they haue deceiued Egypt, euen the corners of the tribes thereof.

[Yes], the officials of Zoan have become foolish, and the leaders in Memphis [city in northern Egypt] have deceived themselves. [All] leaders of the people have (caused their people to do wrong things/led their people astray).

14 The Lord hath mingled among them the spirite of errours: and they haue caused Egypt to erre in euery worke thereof, as a drunken man erreth in his vomite.

Yahweh has caused them to be very foolish, with the result that in everything that they do, [it is as though the people of] Egypt stagger like [SIM] a drunken person staggers [and slips] in his own vomit.

15 Neither shall there be any worke in Egypt, which the head may doe, nor the tayle, ye branch nor the rush.

There is no one in Egypt, rich or poor, important or unimportant, [who will be able to help them].

16 In that day shall Egypt be like vnto women: for it shall be afraide and feare because of the moouing of the hand of the Lord of hostes, which he shaketh ouer it.

At that time, the people of Egypt will be [as helpless] as [SIM] women. They will tremble, being terrified [because they know that] the Commander of the armies of angels has raised his fist, [ready to strike/punish them].

17 And the land of Iudah shall be a feare vnto Egypt: euery one that maketh mention of it, shalbe afraid thereat, because of ye counsell of the Lord of hostes, which he hath determined vpon it.

The people of Egypt will be afraid of the people of Judah, and anyone who mentions Judah to them will cause them to be terrified, because [that will remind them] of what Yahweh, the Commander of the armies of angels, is planning to do to them.

18 In that day shall fiue cities in the lande of Egypt speake the language of Canaan, and shall sweare by the Lord of hostes. one shall be called the citie of destruction.

At that time, [people in] five cities in Egypt will solemnly declare that they will serve Yahweh. They will [learn to] speak the Hebrew language. One of those cities will be called ‘City of the Sun’.

19 In that day shall the altar of the Lord be in the middes of the land of Egypt, and a pillar by the border thereof vnto the Lord.

At that time, there will be an altar for worshiping Yahweh in the center of Egypt, and there will be a (pillar/large rock) to honor Yahweh at the border [between Egypt and Israel].

20 And it shall be for a signe and for a witnes vnto the Lord of hostes in the land of Egypt: for they shall crie vnto the Lord, because of the oppressers, and he shall send them a Sauiour and a great man, and shall deliuer them.

That will be a sign to indicate that the Commander of the armies of angels is worshiped in the land of Egypt. And when the people cry out to Yahweh to help them because others are (oppressing them/causing them to suffer), he will send to them someone who will defend and rescue them.

21 And the Lord shall be knowen of the Egyptians, and the Egyptians shall knowe the Lord in that day, and doe sacrifice and oblation, and shall vowe vowes vnto the Lord, and performe them.

Yahweh will enable the people of Egypt to know who he is, and at that time they will have a close relationship with Yahweh and worship him and bring to him offerings of grain and other sacrifices. They will solemnly promise to do things for Yahweh, and they will do what they promise.

22 So ye Lord shall smite Egypt, he shall smite and heale it: for he shall returne vnto ye Lord, and he shall be intreated of them and shall heale them.

After Yahweh has punished Egypt, he will cause their troubles to end. The people of Egypt will turn to Yahweh, and he will listen when they plead to him [for help], and he will cause their troubles to cease.

23 In that day shall there be a path from Egypt to Asshur, and Asshur shall come into Egypt, and Egypt into Asshur: so the Egyptians shall worship with Asshur.

At that time, there will be a highway between Egypt and Assyria. [As a result], the people of Egypt will [be able to] travel [easily] to Assyria, and the people of Assyria [will be able to travel easily] to Egypt. And the people of both countries will worship [Yahweh].

24 In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and Asshur, euen a blessing in the middes of the land.

And Israel will be their ally. All three nations will be [friendly to] each other, and the people of Israel will be a blessing to the people of the entire world.

25 For the Lord of hostes shall blesse it, saying, Blessed be my people Egypt and Asshur, the worke of mine hands, and Israel mine inheritance.

The Commander of the armies of angels will bless them, saying, “[You people of] Egypt are now my people. You people of Assyria, I have established your country. You people of Israel are the people whom I have chosen to belong to me.”