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 rides on a swift cloud, and comes to Egypt. The idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence; and the heart of Egypt will melt within it.

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 stir up the Egyptians against the Egyptians, and they will fight everyone against his brother, and everyone against his 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 the Egyptians will fail within them. I will destroy their counsel. They will seek the idols, the charmers, those who have familiar spirits, 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.

I will give over the Egyptians into the hand of a cruel lord. A fierce king will rule over them,” says the Lord, GOD of Hosts.

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

The waters will fail from the sea, and the river will be wasted and become dry.

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

The rivers will become foul. The streams of Egypt will be diminished and dried up. The reeds and flags 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 meadows by the Nile, by the brink of the Nile, and all the sown fields of the Nile, will become dry, be driven away, 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;

The fishermen will lament, and all those who fish in the Nile will mourn, and those who spread nets on the waters will languish.

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

Moreover those who work in combed flax, and those who weave white cloth, will be confounded.

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

The pillars will be broken in pieces. All those who work for hire will be grieved in soul.

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 princes of Zoan are utterly foolish. The counsel of the wisest counselors of Pharaoh has become stupid. How do you 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 then are your wise men? Let them tell you now; and let them know what the LORD of Hosts has purposed 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 have become fools. The princes of Memphis are deceived. They have caused Egypt to go astray, those who are the cornerstone of her tribes.

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 perverseness in the middle of her; and they have caused Egypt to go astray in all of its works, like a drunken man staggers in his vomit.

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

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

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 the Egyptians will be like women. They will tremble and fear because of the shaking of the LORD of Hosts’s hand, which he shakes 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.

The land of Judah will become a terror to Egypt. Everyone to whom mention is made of it will be afraid, because of the plans of the LORD of Hosts, which he determines against it.

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 that speak the language of Canaan, and swear to the LORD of Hosts. One will be called “The city of destruction.”

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 to the LORD in the middle of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the LORD at its border.

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.

It will be for a sign and for a witness to the LORD of Hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the LORD because of oppressors, and he will send them a savior and a defender, and he will deliver 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.

The LORD will be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know the LORD in that day. Yes, they will worship with sacrifice and offering, and will vow a vow to the LORD, and will perform it.

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.

The LORD will strike Egypt, striking and healing. They will return to the LORD, and he will be entreated by them, and 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 highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria; and the Egyptians will 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, Israel will be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, a blessing within 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.

because the LORD of Hosts has blessed them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.”