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God’s Message to Egypt

19 This is a message about Egypt:

Look, the Lord is coming on a fast cloud
    to enter Egypt.
The idols of Egypt will tremble before him,
    and Egypt’s courage will melt away.

The Lord says, “I will cause the Egyptians to fight against themselves.
    People will fight with their relatives;
    neighbors will fight neighbors;
    cities will fight cities;
    kingdoms will fight kingdoms.
The Egyptians will be afraid,
    and I will ruin their plans.
They will ask advice from their idols and spirits of the dead,
    from their mediums and fortune-tellers.”
The Lord God All-Powerful says,
“I will hand Egypt over to a hard master,
    and a powerful king will rule over them.”

The sea will become dry,
    and the water will disappear from the Nile River.
The canals will stink;
    the streams of Egypt will decrease and dry up.
All the water plants will rot;
all the plants along the banks of the Nile will die.
Even the planted fields by the Nile
    will dry up, blow away, and disappear.
The fishermen, all those who catch fish from the Nile,
    will groan and cry;
those who fish in the Nile will be sad.
All the people who make cloth from flax will be sad,
    and those who weave linen will lose hope.
10 Those who weave cloth will be broken.
    All those who work for money will be sad.

11 The officers of the city of Zoan are fools;
    the wise men who advise the king of Egypt give wrong advice.
How can you say to him, ‘I am wise’?
    How can you say, ‘I am from the old family of the kings’?
12 Egypt, where are your wise men?
    Let them show you
what the Lord All-Powerful has planned for Egypt.
13 The officers of Zoan have been fooled;
    the leaders of Memphis have believed false things.
So the leaders of Egypt
    lead that nation the wrong way.
14 The Lord has made the leaders confused.
    They have led Egypt to wander in the wrong ways,
    like drunk people stumbling in their own vomit.
15 There is nothing Egypt can do;
    no one there can help.

16 In that day the Egyptians will be like women. They will be afraid of the Lord All-Powerful, because he will raise his hand to strike them down. 17 The land of Judah will bring fear to Egypt. Anyone there who hears the name Judah will be afraid, because the Lord All-Powerful has planned terrible things for them. 18 At that time five cities in Egypt will speak Hebrew, the language of Canaan, and they will promise to be loyal to the Lord All-Powerful. One of these cities will be named the City of Destruction. 19 At that time there will be an altar for the Lord in the middle of Egypt and a monument to the Lord at the border of Egypt. 20 This will be a sign and a witness to the Lord All-Powerful in the land of Egypt. When the people cry to the Lord for help, he will send someone to save and defend them. He will rescue them from those who hurt them.

21 So the Lord will show himself to the Egyptians, and then they will know he is the Lord. They will worship God and offer many sacrifices. They will make promises to the Lord and will keep them. 22 The Lord will punish the Egyptians, but then he will heal them. They will come back to the Lord, and he will listen to their prayers and heal them.

23 At that time there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrians will go to Egypt, and the Egyptians will go to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship God together. 24 At that time Israel, Assyria, and Egypt will join together, which will be a blessing for the earth. 25 The Lord All-Powerful will bless them, saying, “Egypt, you are my people. Assyria, I made you. Israel, I own you. You are all blessed!”

A Prophecy Against Egypt

19 A prophecy(A) against Egypt:(B)

See, the Lord rides on a swift cloud(C)
    and is coming to Egypt.
The idols of Egypt tremble before him,
    and the hearts of the Egyptians melt(D) with fear.

“I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian—
    brother will fight against brother,(E)
    neighbor against neighbor,
    city against city,
    kingdom against kingdom.(F)
The Egyptians will lose heart,(G)
    and I will bring their plans(H) to nothing;(I)
they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead,
    the mediums and the spiritists.(J)
I will hand the Egyptians over
    to the power of a cruel master,
and a fierce king(K) will rule over them,”
    declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.

The waters of the river will dry up,(L)
    and the riverbed will be parched and dry.(M)
The canals will stink;(N)
    the streams of Egypt will dwindle and dry up.(O)
The reeds(P) and rushes will wither,(Q)
    also the plants(R) along the Nile,
    at the mouth of the river.
Every sown field(S) along the Nile
    will become parched, will blow away and be no more.(T)
The fishermen(U) will groan and lament,
    all who cast hooks(V) into the Nile;
those who throw nets on the water
    will pine away.
Those who work with combed flax(W) will despair,
    the weavers of fine linen(X) will lose hope.
10 The workers in cloth will be dejected,
    and all the wage earners will be sick at heart.

11 The officials of Zoan(Y) are nothing but fools;
    the wise counselors(Z) of Pharaoh give senseless advice.(AA)
How can you say to Pharaoh,
    “I am one of the wise men,(AB)
    a disciple of the ancient kings”?

12 Where are your wise men(AC) now?
    Let them show you and make known
what the Lord Almighty
    has planned(AD) against Egypt.
13 The officials of Zoan(AE) have become fools,
    the leaders of Memphis(AF) are deceived;
the cornerstones(AG) of her peoples
    have led Egypt astray.
14 The Lord has poured into them
    a spirit of dizziness;(AH)
they make Egypt stagger in all that she does,
    as a drunkard staggers(AI) around in his vomit.
15 There is nothing Egypt can do—
    head or tail, palm branch or reed.(AJ)

16 In that day(AK) the Egyptians will become weaklings.(AL) They will shudder with fear(AM) at the uplifted hand(AN) that the Lord Almighty raises against them. 17 And the land of Judah will bring terror to the Egyptians; everyone to whom Judah is mentioned will be terrified,(AO) because of what the Lord Almighty is planning(AP) against them.

18 In that day(AQ) five cities(AR) in Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance(AS) to the Lord Almighty. One of them will be called the City of the Sun.[a](AT)

19 In that day(AU) there will be an altar(AV) to the Lord in the heart of Egypt,(AW) and a monument(AX) to the Lord at its border. 20 It will be a sign and witness(AY) to the Lord Almighty in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior(AZ) and defender, and he will rescue(BA) them. 21 So the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and in that day they will acknowledge(BB) the Lord. They will worship(BC) with sacrifices and grain offerings; they will make vows to the Lord and keep them.(BD) 22 The Lord will strike(BE) Egypt with a plague;(BF) he will strike them and heal them. They will turn(BG) to the Lord, and he will respond to their pleas and heal(BH) them.

23 In that day(BI) there will be a highway(BJ) from Egypt to Assyria.(BK) The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship(BL) together. 24 In that day(BM) Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria,(BN) a blessing[b](BO) on the earth. 25 The Lord Almighty will bless(BP) them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people,(BQ) Assyria my handiwork,(BR) and Israel my inheritance.(BS)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 19:18 Some manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, Dead Sea Scrolls, Symmachus and Vulgate; most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text City of Destruction
  2. Isaiah 19:24 Or Assyria, whose names will be used in blessings (see Gen. 48:20); or Assyria, who will be seen by others as blessed