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19 The [a]burden of Egypt.

Behold, Jehovah rideth upon a swift cloud, and cometh unto Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall tremble at his presence; and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it. And I will [b]stir up the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbor; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom. And the spirit of Egypt shall [c]fail in the midst of it; and I will [d]destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek unto the idols, and to the [e]charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards. And I will [f]give over the Egyptians into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts.

And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and become dry. And the rivers shall become foul; the [g]streams of [h]Egypt shall be diminished and dried up; the reeds and flags shall wither away. The meadows by the Nile, by the brink of the Nile, and all the sown fields of the Nile, shall become dry, be driven away, and be no more. And the fishers shall lament, and all they that cast angle into the Nile shall mourn, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish. Moreover they that work in combed flax, and they that weave [i]white cloth, shall be confounded. 10 And [j]the [k]pillars of Egypt shall be broken in pieces; all they [l]that work for hire shall be grieved in soul.

11 The princes of Zoan are utterly foolish; the counsel of the wisest counsellors of Pharaoh is become brutish: how say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings? 12 Where then are thy wise men? and let them tell thee now; and let them know what Jehovah of hosts hath purposed concerning Egypt. 13 The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Memphis are deceived; they have caused Egypt to go astray, that are the corner-stone of her tribes. 14 Jehovah hath mingled a spirit of perverseness in the midst of her; and they have caused Egypt to go astray in every work thereof, as a drunken man [m]staggereth in his vomit. 15 Neither shall there be for Egypt any work, which head or tail, palm-branch or rush, may do. 16 In that day shall the Egyptians be like unto women; and they shall tremble and fear because of the shaking of the hand of Jehovah of hosts, which he shaketh over them. 17 And the land of Judah shall become a terror unto Egypt; [n]every one to whom mention is made thereof shall be afraid, because of the purpose of Jehovah of hosts, which he purposeth against it. 18 In that day there shall be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan, and swear to Jehovah of hosts; one shall be called The city of [o]destruction.

19 In that day shall there be an altar to Jehovah in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to Jehovah. 20 And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto Jehovah of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they shall cry unto Jehovah because of oppressors, and he will send them a saviour, and [p]a defender, and he will deliver them. 21 And Jehovah shall [q]be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know Jehovah in that day; yea, they shall worship with sacrifice and oblation, and shall vow a vow unto Jehovah, and shall perform it. 22 And Jehovah will smite Egypt, smiting and healing; and they shall return unto Jehovah, and he will be entreated of them, and will heal them.

23 In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria; and the Egyptians shall worship with the Assyrians.

24 In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth; 25 for that Jehovah of hosts hath blessed them, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance.

20 In the year that [r]Tartan came unto Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him, and he fought against Ashdod and took it; at that time Jehovah spake by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go, and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put thy shoe from off thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot. And Jehovah said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot [s]three years for a sign and a wonder concerning Egypt and concerning [t]Ethiopia; so shall the king of Assyria lead away the captives of Egypt, and the exiles of Ethiopia, young and old, naked and barefoot, and with buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. And they shall be dismayed and confounded, because of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory. And the inhabitant of this coast-land shall say in that day, Behold, such is our expectation, whither we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria: and we, how shall we escape?

21 The [u]burden of the wilderness of the sea.

As whirlwinds in the South sweep through, it cometh from the wilderness, from a terrible land. A [v]grievous vision is declared unto me; the treacherous man dealeth treacherously, and the destroyer destroyeth. Go up, O Elam; besiege, O Media; all the sighing thereof [w]have I made to cease. Therefore are my loins filled with anguish; pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman in travail: I am [x]pained so that I cannot hear; I am dismayed so that I cannot see. My heart [y]fluttereth, horror hath affrighted me; the twilight that I desired hath been turned into trembling unto me. They prepare the table, they [z]set the watch, they eat, they drink: rise up, ye princes, anoint the shield. For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman; let him declare what he seeth: [aa]and when he seeth [ab]a troop, [ac]horsemen in pairs, [ad]a troop of asses, [ae]a troop of camels, he shall hearken diligently with much heed. And he cried as a lion: O Lord, I stand continually upon the watch-tower in the day-time, and am set in my ward [af]whole nights; and, behold, here [ag]cometh a troop of men, [ah]horsemen in pairs. And he answered and said, Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the graven images of her gods are broken unto the ground.

10 O thou my threshing, and the [ai]grain of my floor! that which I have heard from Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared unto you.

11 The [aj]burden of Dumah.

One calleth unto me out of Seir, Watchman, [ak]what of the night? Watchman, [al]what of the night? 12 The watchman said, The morning [am]cometh, and also the night: if ye will inquire, inquire ye: [an]turn ye, come.

13 The [ao]burden upon Arabia.

In the [ap]forest in Arabia shall ye lodge, O ye caravans of Dedanites. 14 Unto him that [aq]was thirsty they brought water; [ar]the inhabitants of the land of Tema did meet the fugitives with their bread. 15 For they fled away from the swords, from the drawn sword, and from the bent bow, and from the grievousness of war. 16 For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Within a year, according to the years of a hireling, all the glory of Kedar shall fail; 17 and the residue of the number of the archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, shall be few; for Jehovah, the God of Israel, hath spoken it.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 19:1 Or, oracle concerning
  2. Isaiah 19:2 Or, join together. Or, arm
  3. Isaiah 19:3 Hebrew be emptied.
  4. Isaiah 19:3 Hebrew swallow up.
  5. Isaiah 19:3 Or, whisperers
  6. Isaiah 19:4 Or, shut up
  7. Isaiah 19:6 Or, canals
  8. Isaiah 19:6 Hebrew Mazor.
  9. Isaiah 19:9 Or, cotton
  10. Isaiah 19:10 Hebrew her pillars.
  11. Isaiah 19:10 Or, foundations
  12. Isaiah 19:10 Or, that make dams
  13. Isaiah 19:14 Or, goeth astray
  14. Isaiah 19:17 Or, every one that maketh mention thereof, to him shall they turn in fear
  15. Isaiah 19:18 Or, Heres. Or, according to another reading, the sun
  16. Isaiah 19:20 Or, a mighty one
  17. Isaiah 19:21 Or, make himself known
  18. Isaiah 20:1 The title of the Assyrian commander-in-chief.
  19. Isaiah 20:3 Or, to be for three years a sign etc.
  20. Isaiah 20:3 Hebrew Cush.
  21. Isaiah 21:1 Or, oracle concerning
  22. Isaiah 21:2 Or, hard
  23. Isaiah 21:2 Or, will I make
  24. Isaiah 21:3 Hebrew bent.
  25. Isaiah 21:4 Hebrew wandereth.
  26. Isaiah 21:5 Or, spread the carpets
  27. Isaiah 21:7 Or, and he saw . . . and he hearkened
  28. Isaiah 21:7 Or, a chariot. Or, chariots
  29. Isaiah 21:7 Or, a pair of horsemen
  30. Isaiah 21:7 Or, a chariot. Or, chariots
  31. Isaiah 21:7 Or, a chariot. Or, chariots
  32. Isaiah 21:8 Or, every night
  33. Isaiah 21:9 Or, come chariots of men
  34. Isaiah 21:9 Or, a pair of horsemen
  35. Isaiah 21:10 Hebrew son.
  36. Isaiah 21:11 Or, oracle concerning
  37. Isaiah 21:11 Or, what hour
  38. Isaiah 21:11 Or, what hour
  39. Isaiah 21:12 Or, is come
  40. Isaiah 21:12 Or, come ye again
  41. Isaiah 21:13 Or, oracle
  42. Isaiah 21:13 Or, thickets
  43. Isaiah 21:14 Or, is thirsty bring ye
  44. Isaiah 21:14 Or, as otherwise read, ye inhabitants of the land of Tema, meet