Isaiah 19

1 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;

The burden of Egypt. Behold, the Lord will ascend upon a lofty cloud, and he will enter into Egypt, and the false images of Egypt will be moved before his face, and the heart of Egypt will waste away in its midst.

2 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.

And I will cause Egyptian to rush against Egyptian. And they will fight: a man against his brother, and a man against his friend, city against city, kingdom against kingdom.

3 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;

And the spirit of Egypt will be ruptured to its very core. And I will cast down their plan violently. And they will seek answers from their false images, and their diviners, and those led by demons, and their seers.

4 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.

And I will deliver Egypt into the hand of cruel masters, and a strong king will dominate them, says the Lord, the God of hosts.

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

And the waters of the sea will dry up, and the river will be desolate and dry.

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

And the rivers will fail. The streams of its banks will diminish and dry up. The reed and the bulrush will wither away.

7 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!

The channel of the river will be stripped down to its source, and everything irrigated by it will dry up and wither and be no more.

8 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;

And the fishermen will grieve. And all who cast a hook into the river will mourn. And those who cast a net upon the surface of its waters will languish.

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

Those who work with linen, combing and weaving fine textiles, will be confounded.

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

And its irrigated places will begin to fail, with all those who make pools to take fish.

11 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?

The leaders of Tanis are foolish. The wise counselors of Pharaoh have given foolish counsel. How can you say to Pharaoh: “I am the son of wise men, the son of the kings of antiquity?”

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

Where are your wise men now? Let them announce it to you, and let them reveal what the Lord of hosts intends for Egypt.

13 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.

The leaders of Tanis have become foolish. The leaders of Memphis have decayed. They have deceived Egypt, the corner of its people.

14 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;

The Lord has mixed a spirit of giddiness into its midst. And they have caused Egypt to err in all its works, like a drunken man who staggers and vomits.

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

And there will be no work for Egypt that would produce a head or a tail, one who bows down or one who refrains from bowing down.

16 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.

In that day, Egypt will be like women, and they will be stupefied and fearful before the presence of the shaking hand of the Lord of hosts, the hand which he will move over them.

17 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.

And the land of Judah will be a dread to Egypt. Everyone who thinks about it will be terrified before the presence of the plan of the Lord of hosts, the plan which he has decided concerning them.

18 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!

In that day, there will be five cities in the land of Egypt which speak the language of Canaan, and which swear by the Lord of hosts. One will be called the City of the Sun.

19 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;

In that day, there will be an altar of the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt and a monument of the Lord beside its borders.

20 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.

This shall be a sign and a testimony to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt. For they will cry out to the Lord before the face of the tribulation, and he will send them a savior and a defender who will free them.

21 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.

And the Lord will be acknowledged by Egypt, and the Egyptians will recognize the Lord in that day, and they will worship him with sacrifices and gifts. And they will make vows to the Lord, and they will fulfill them.

22 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.

And the Lord will strike Egypt with a scourge, and he will heal them. And they will return to the Lord. And he will be placated toward them, and he will heal them.

23 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.

In that day, there will be a way from Egypt to the Assyrians, and the Assyrian will enter into Egypt, and the Egyptian will be with the Assyrians, and the Egyptians will serve Assur.

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

In that day, will Israel be the third to the Egyptian and the Assyrian, a blessing in the midst of the earth,

25 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.

which the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying: Blessed be my people of Egypt, and the work of my hands for the Assyrian, but Israel is my inheritance.