Isaiah 19

An Oracle against Egypt

1 An oracle against Egypt:

Look, the Lord rides on a swift cloud
and is coming to Egypt.
Egypt's idols will tremble before Him,
and Egypt's heart will melt within it.
2 I will provoke Egypt against Egypt;
each will fight against his brother
and each against his friend,
city against city, kingdom against kingdom.
3 Egypt's spirit will be disturbed within it,
and I will frustrate its plans.
Then they will seek idols, ghosts,
spirits of the dead, and spiritists.

4 I will deliver Egypt into the hands of harsh masters,
and a strong king will rule it.
[This is] the declaration of the Lord God of Hosts.

5 The waters of the sea will dry up,
and the river will be parched and dry.
6 The channels will stink;
they will dwindle, and Egypt's canals will be parched.
Reed and rush will die.
7 The reeds by the Nile, by the mouth of the river,
and all the cultivated areas of the Nile
will wither, blow away, and vanish.
8 Then the fishermen will mourn.
All those who cast hooks into the Nile will lament,
and those who spread nets on the water will shrivel up.
9 Those who work with flax will be dismayed;
the combers and weavers will turn pale.

10 [Egypt's] weavers will be dejected;
all her wage earners will be demoralized.

11 The princes of Zoan are complete fools;
Pharaoh's wisest advisers give stupid advice!
How can you say to Pharaoh,
"I am one of the wise,
a student of eastern kings"?
12 Where then are your wise men?
Let them tell you and reveal
what the Lord of Hosts has planned against Egypt.
13 The princes of Zoan have been fools;
the princes of Memphis are deceived.
Her tribal chieftains have led Egypt astray.
14 The Lord has mixed within her a spirit of confusion.
[The leaders] have made Egypt stagger in all she does,
as a drunkard staggers in his vomit.

15 No head or tail, palm or reed,
will be able to do anything for Egypt.

Egypt Will Know the Lord

16 On that day Egypt will be like women. She will tremble with fear because of the threatening hand of the Lord of Hosts when He raises it against her.

17 The land of Judah will terrify Egypt; whenever Judah is mentioned, Egypt will tremble because of what the Lord of Hosts has planned against it.

18 On that day five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear loyalty to the Lord of Hosts. One of the cities will be called the City of the Sun.
19 On that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the center of the land of Egypt and a pillar to the Lord near her border. 20 It will be a sign and witness to the Lord of Hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors, He will send them a savior and leader, and he will rescue them. 21 The Lord will make Himself known to Egypt, and Egypt will know the Lord on that day. They will offer sacrifices and offerings; they will make vows to the Lord and fulfill them.

22 The Lord will strike Egypt, striking and healing. Then they will return to the Lord and He will hear their prayers and heal them.

23 On that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. Assyria will go to Egypt, Egypt to Assyria, and Egypt will worship with Assyria.
24 On that day Israel will form a triple [alliance] with Egypt and Assyria-a blessing within the land.

25 The Lord of Hosts will bless them, saying, "Egypt My people, Assyria My handiwork, and Israel My inheritance are blessed."

Isaiah 19

The Lord Will Judge Egypt

1 Here is a message about Egypt:
Look, the Lord rides on a swift-moving cloud
and approaches Egypt.
The idols of Egypt tremble before him;
the Egyptians lose their courage.t

2 “I will provoke civil strife in Egypt,t
brothers will fight with each other,
as will neighbors,
cities, and kingdoms.t

3 The Egyptians will panic,t
and I will confuse their strategy.t
They will seek guidance from the idols and from the spirits of the dead,
from the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, and from the magicians.t

4 I will hand Egypt over to a harsh master;
a powerful king will rule over them,”
says the sovereign master,t the Lord who commands armies.

5 The water of the sea will be dried up,
and the river will dry up and be empty.t

6 The canalst will stink;t
the streams of Egypt will trickle and then dry up;
the bulrushes and reeds will decay,

7 along with the plants by the mouth of the river.t
All the cultivated land near the river
will turn to dust and be blown away.t

8 The fishermen will mourn and lament,
all those who cast a fishhook into the river,
and those who spread out a net on the water’s surface will grieve.t

9 Those who make clothes from combed flax will be embarrassed;
those who weave will turn pale.t

10 Those who make clotht will be demoralized;t
all the hired workers will be depressed.t

11 The officials of Zoan are nothing but fools;t
Pharaoh’s wise advisers give stupid advice.
How dare you say to Pharaoh,
“I am one of the sages,
one well-versed in the writings of the ancient kings?”t

12 But where, oh where, are your wise men?t
Let them tell you, let them find out
what the Lord who commands armies has planned for Egypt.

13 The officials of Zoan are fools,
the officials of Memphist are misled;
the rulerst of her tribes lead Egypt astray.

14 The Lord has made them undiscerning;t
they lead Egypt astray in all she does,
so that she is like a drunk sliding around in his own vomit.t

15 Egypt will not be able to do a thing,
head or tail, shoots and stalk.t
16 At that timet the Egyptianst will be like women.s They will tremble and fear because the Lord who commands armies brandishes his fist against them.t

17 The land of Judah will humiliate Egypt. Everyone who hears about Judah will be afraid because of what the Lord who commands armies is planning to do to them.t
18 At that time five citiess in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord who commands armies. One will be called the City of the Sun.s19 At that time there will be an altar for the Lord in the middle of the land of Egypt, as well as a sacred pillart dedicated to the Lord at its border.20 Itt will become a visual reminder in the land of Egypt oft the Lord who commands armies. When they cry out to the Lord because of oppressors, he will send them a deliverer and defendert who will rescue them.21 The Lord will reveal himself to the Egyptians, and theyt will acknowledge the Lord’s authorityt at that time.t They will present sacrifices and offerings; they will make vows to the Lord and fulfill them.

22 The Lord will strike Egypt, striking and then healing them. They will turn to the Lord and he will listen to their prayerst and heal them.
23 At that time there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will visit Egypt, and the Egyptians will visit Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together.t24 At that time Israel will be the third member of the group, along with Egypt and Assyria, and will be a recipient of blessingt in the earth.t

25 The Lord who commands armies will pronounce a blessing over the earth, saying,t “Blessed be my people, Egypt, and the work of my hands, Assyria, and my special possession,t Israel!”