Isaiah 19

Against Egypt

The burden concerning

Egypt:

See, the LORD rides

on a swift cloud and

comes to Egypt;

and the idols of Egypt

will shake at his presence,

and the heart of Egypt

will melt within it.

2 “And I will set Egyptians

against Egyptians,

and each of them will fight

against his brother,

and each against his neighbour;

city will fight against city,

and kingdom against

kingdom.

3 And the spirit of Egypt

will fail within it.

And I will destroy its counsel,

and they will resort to idols,

and to enchanters,

and to mediums and spiritists.

4 And I will hand over

the Egyptians to a cruel ruler,

and a fierce king will rule

over them”,

says the Lord, the LORD of hosts.

5 And the waters will fail

from the sea,

and the river will become

parched and dry.

6 And the streams will

turn foul,

and the brooks of

defense will become empty

and dried up;

the reeds and rushes will wither.

7 The plants by the river,

by the mouth of the river,

and everything planted

by the river,

will wither,

be driven away,

and be no more.

8 The fishermen also

will mourn,

and all those who cast hooks

into the river will lament,

and those who spread nets

on the water will pine away.

9 Moreover,

those who work with fine flax,

and those who weave linen,

will be disappointed.

10 And its foundations will be

broken;

all the wage earners will be

troubled in heart.

11 Surely the princes of Zoan

are fools,

the counsel of Pharaoh’s wise

counsellors has become

stupid.

How can you say to Pharaoh,

“I am the son of the wise,

the descendant of ancient kings?”

12 Where are they?

Where are your wise men?

Let them tell you now,

and let them know what the LORD

of hosts has planned

against Egypt.

13 The princes of Zoan have

become fools,

the princes of Noph are deceived,

and those who are the mainstay

of its tribes have led

Egypt astray.

14 The LORD has mingled

a perverse spirit in its midst,

and they have caused Egypt

to err in all of its actions,

like a drunken man staggers

in his vomit.

15 Nor will there be any work

for Egypt,

which the head or tail,

branch or rush, can do.

16 In that day Egypt will be like women; and it will be afraid and in dread because of the moving of the hand of the LORD of hosts, which he moves over it. 17 And the land of Judah will be a terror to Egypt, everyone who makes mention of it will be afraid in himself, because of the purpose of the LORD of hosts, which he has determined to fulfil against it. 18 In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan, and swear to the LORD of hosts; one will be called, The City of Destruction. 19 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 will be as a sign and as a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry out to the LORD because of oppressors, and he shall send them a saviour, and a great one, and he will deliver them. 21 And the LORD will become known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know the LORD in that day, and will make sacrifice and offering; yes, they will make a vow to the LORD, and perform it. 22 And the LORD will strike Egypt; he will strike and heal it; and they will return to the LORD, and he will hear their plea and heal them.

23 In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt, and the Egyptian will travel to Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians. 24 In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, a blessing in the middle of the region, 25 whom the LORD of hosts will bless, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance”.