Isaiah 19

1 THE burden of Egypt. Behold, the Lord rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.

The oracle on Egypt: Lo! Yahweh, riding upon a swift cloud, and he will enter Egypt, And the idols of Egypt shall shake at his presence, And, the heart of Egypt, shall melt within him;

2 And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.

And I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians, And they shall fight—Every one against his brother and Every one against his neighbour, —City against city, and Kingdom against kingdom.

3 And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards.

And the spirit of Egypt, shall vanish, within them, Yea the sagacity thereof, will I swallow up, —And they will seek Unto the idols and Unto them that mutter, and Unto them that have familiar spirits, and Unto the wizards;

4 And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts.

And I will deliver the Egyptians into the hand of a cruel lord, —And a fierce king shall rule over them, Declareth the Lord, Yahweh of hosts.

5 And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up.

And the waters shall be dried up from the great stream, —And the River, shall waste and be dry;

6 And they shall turn the rivers far away; and the brooks of defence shall be emptied and dried up: the reeds and flags shall wither.

And rivers, shall stink, The canals of Egypt be shallow and waste, Reed and rush, be withered;

7 The paper reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and every thing sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and be no more.

The meadows by the Nile, by the mouth of the Nile. And all that is sown in the Nile, Shall be dry, driven away, and not be!

8 The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brooks shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish.

Then shall the fishers, lament, And all shall mourn who cast in the Nile a hook, —And they who spread nets on the face of the waters shall languish;

9 Moreover they that work in fine flax, and they that weave networks, shall be confounded.

Then shall turn pale The workers in combed flax, —and The weavers of white linen;

10 And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof, all that make sluices and ponds for fish.

Then shall her pillars be crushed, —All who make wages, be bowed down in soul.

11 Surely the princes of Zoan are fools, the counsel of the wise counsellers of Pharaoh is become brutish: how say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings?

Surely, foolish, are the princes of Zoan, the wisest counsellors of Pharaoh, in counsel are brutish, —How can ye say unto Pharaoh, Son of the wise, am I Son of the kings of olden time?

12 Where are they? where are thy wise men? and let them tell thee now, and let them know what the Lord of hosts hath purposed upon Egypt.

Where then are thy wise men? Pray let them tell thee! And let them know what Yahweh of hosts hath purposed on Egypt!

13 The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Noph are deceived; they have also seduced Egypt, even they that are the stay of the tribes thereof.

Doting are the princes of Zoan, Deceived are the princes of Noph: They who are the corner-stone of her tribes, have led Egypt astray.

14 The Lord hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof: and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit.

Yahweh, hath infused in her midst, a spirit of perverseness, —And they have led Egypt astray into all his own doings, As a drunken man staggereth into his own vomit;

15 Neither shall there be any work for Egypt, which the head or tail, branch or rush, may do.

And Egypt shall have nothing which can be done, Which head or tail, palm-top or rush, can do!

16 In that day shall Egypt be like unto women: and it shall be afraid and fear because of the shaking of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which he shaketh over it.

In that day, shall Egypt be like unto women, —And shall start and tremble because of the brandishing of the hand of Yahweh of hosts, which he is about to brandish over it.

17 And the land of Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt, every one that maketh mention thereof shall be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of the Lord of hosts, which he hath determined against it.

Then shall the soil of Judah become, to Egypt, a terror; Every one to whom it is mentioned, will tremble, —Because of the purpose of Yahweh of hosts, which he is purposing against it.

18 In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan, and swear to the Lord of hosts; one shall be called, The city of destruction.

In that day, shall there be five cities in the land of Egypt Speaking the language of Canaan, And swearing unto Yahweh of hosts, —The city of destruction, shall be the name of one!

19 In that day shall there be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the Lord.

In that day, shall there be An altar unto Yahweh, in the midst of the land of Egypt, —And a pillar near the boundary thereof unto Yahweh;

20 And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt: for they shall cry unto the Lord because of the oppressors, and he shall send them a saviour, and a great one, and he shall deliver them.

And it shall become a sign and a witness unto Yahweh of hosts in the land of Egypt, —For they will make outcry unto Yahweh, because of oppressors, That he would send them a saviour—and a great one Then will he deliver them.

21 And the Lord shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day, and shall do sacrifice and oblation; yea, they shall vow a vow unto the Lord, and perform it.

Then will, Yahweh, make himself known, to the Egyptians, So shall the Egyptians know, Yahweh, in that day, —And they will offer a sacrifice and a present And will vow a vow unto Yahweh and will perform.

22 And the Lord shall smite Egypt: he shall smite and heal it: and they shall return even to the Lord, and he shall be intreated of them, and shall heal them.

And Yahweh, will plague Egypt, plague and heal, —And they will turn unto Yahweh And he will be entreated of them and will heal them.

23 In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians.

In that day, shall there be a highway. from Egypt to Assyria, And, the Assyrians, shall come into Egypt, And, the Egyptians, into Assyria; And, the Egyptians shall serve, with the Assyrians.

24 In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land:

In that day, shall, Israel, be, a third, with Egypt and with Assyria, —A blessing in the midst of the earth:

25 Whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance.

Whom Yahweh of hosts hath blessed saying, —Blessed, be My people—the Egyptians, And the work of my hands—the Assyrians, And mine own inheritance—Israel.