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 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 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.

“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 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;

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 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.

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

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

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

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

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 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 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;

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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;

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

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

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 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 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.

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 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 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 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 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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

Thus Jehovah will smite Egypt; he will smite and heal her; They shall return to Jehovah; Therefore will he hear and 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 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 In that day, shall, Israel, be, a third, with Egypt and with Assyria, —A blessing in the midst 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 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.

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