Isaiah 19

An Oracle Concerning Egypt

1 An a oracle concerning b Egypt.

Behold, the  Lord c is riding on a swift cloud
and comes to Egypt;
and d the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence,
and the heart of the Egyptians will e melt within them.
 2 And I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians,
f and they will fight, each against another
and each against his neighbor,
city against city, kingdom against kingdom;
 3 and the spirit of the Egyptians within them will be emptied out,
and I will confound ▼
▼ Or  I will swallow up
 their h counsel;
and they will inquire of the idols and the sorcerers,
and i the mediums and the necromancers;
 4 and I will give over the Egyptians
into the hand of j a hard master,
and a fierce king will rule over them,
declares the Lord  God of hosts.
 5  And the waters of the sea will be dried up,
and the river will be dry and parched,
 6 and its canals will become foul,
and the branches of Egypt’s Nile will diminish and dry up,
reeds and rushes will rot away.
 7 There will be bare places by the Nile,
on the brink of the Nile,
and all that is sown by the Nile will be parched,
will be driven away, and will be no more.
 8 The k fishermen will mourn and lament,
all who cast a hook in the Nile;
and they will languish
who spread nets on the water.
 9 The workers in l combed flax will be in despair,
and the weavers of white cotton.
 10 Those who are the m pillars of the land will be crushed,
and all who n work for pay will be grieved.
 11  The princes of o Zoan are utterly foolish;
the wisest counselors of Pharaoh give stupid counsel.
How can you say to Pharaoh,
“I am a son of the wise,
a son of ancient kings”?
 12 Where then are your p wise men?
Let them tell you
that they might know what the  Lord of hosts has purposed against Egypt.
 13 The princes of q Zoan have become fools,
and the princes of r Memphis are deluded;
those who are the s cornerstones of her tribes
have made Egypt stagger.
 14 The  Lord has mingled within her t a spirit of confusion,
and they will make Egypt stagger in all its deeds,
u as a drunken man staggers in his vomit.
 15 And there will be nothing for Egypt
that v head or tail, palm branch or reed, may do.

Egypt, Assyria, Israel Blessed

16 In that day the Egyptians will be w like women, and x tremble with fear before the hand that the  Lord of hosts shakes over them. 17 And the land of Judah will become a terror to the Egyptians. Everyone to whom it is mentioned will fear because of the purpose that the  Lord of hosts has purposed against them.

18  y In that day there will be z five cities in the land of Egypt that aa speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the  Lord of hosts. One of these will be called the City of Destruction. ▼
▼ Dead Sea Scroll and some other manuscripts  City of the Sun

19 In that day there will be an ac altar to the  Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a ad pillar to the  Lord at its border. 20  ae It will be a sign and a witness to the  Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry to the  Lord because of oppressors af he will send them a savior and defender, and deliver them. 21  ag And the  Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians will know the  Lord in that day ah and worship with sacrifice and offering, and they will make vows to the  Lord and perform them. 22  ai And the  Lord will strike Egypt, striking and healing, and they will return to the  Lord, and he will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them.

23  aj In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria ak and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians.

24 In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, al a blessing in the midst of the earth, 25 whom the  Lord of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed be Egypt am my people, and Assyria an the work of my hands, and ao Israel my inheritance.”

Copyright information for ESV