Isaiah 19-21

New International Version

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.

²“I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian—
    brother will fight against brother,^(E)
    neighbor against neighbor,
    city against city,
    kingdom against kingdom.^(F)
³The 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)
⁴I 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.

⁵The waters of the river will dry up,^(L)
    and the riverbed will be parched and dry.^(M)
⁶The canals will stink;^(N)
    the streams of Egypt will dwindle and dry up.^(O)
The reeds^(P) and rushes will wither,^(Q)
⁷    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)
⁸The fishermen^(U) will groan and lament,
    all who cast hooks^(V) into the Nile;
those who throw nets on the water
    will pine away.
⁹Those who work with combed flax^(W) will despair,
    the weavers of fine linen^(X) will lose hope.
¹⁰The workers in cloth will be dejected,
    and all the wage earners will be sick at heart.

¹¹The 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”?

¹²Where are your wise men^(AC) now?
    Let them show you and make known
what the Lord Almighty
    has planned^(AD) against Egypt.
¹³The officials of Zoan^(AE) have become fools,
    the leaders of Memphis^(AF) are deceived;
the cornerstones^(AG) of her peoples
    have led Egypt astray.
¹⁴The 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.
¹⁵There is nothing Egypt can do—
    head or tail, palm branch or reed.^(AJ)

¹⁶In 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. ¹⁷And 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.

¹⁸In 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)

¹⁹In 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. ²⁰It 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. ²¹So 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) ²²The 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.

²³In 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. ²⁴In that day^(BM) Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria,^(BN) a blessing^[b]^(BO) on the earth. ²⁵The Lord Almighty will bless^(BP) them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people,^(BQ) Assyria my handiwork,^(BR) and Israel my inheritance.^(BS)”

A Prophecy Against Egypt and Cush

20 In the year that the supreme commander,^(BT) sent by Sargon king of Assyria, came to Ashdod^(BU) and attacked and captured it— ²at that time the Lord spoke through Isaiah son of Amoz.^(BV) He said to him, “Take off the sackcloth^(BW) from your body and the sandals^(BX) from your feet.” And he did so, going around stripped^(BY) and barefoot.^(BZ)

³Then the Lord said, “Just as my servant^(CA) Isaiah has gone stripped and barefoot for three years,^(CB) as a sign^(CC) and portent^(CD) against Egypt^(CE) and Cush,^[c]^(CF) ⁴so the king^(CG) of Assyria will lead away stripped^(CH) and barefoot the Egyptian captives^(CI) and Cushite^(CJ) exiles, young and old, with buttocks bared^(CK)—to Egypt’s shame.^(CL) ⁵Those who trusted^(CM) in Cush^(CN) and boasted in Egypt^(CO) will be dismayed and put to shame.^(CP) ⁶In that day^(CQ) the people who live on this coast will say, ‘See what has happened^(CR) to those we relied on,^(CS) those we fled to for help^(CT) and deliverance from the king of Assyria! How then can we escape?^(CU)’”

A Prophecy Against Babylon

21 A prophecy^(CV) against the Desert^(CW) by the Sea:

Like whirlwinds^(CX) sweeping through the southland,^(CY)
an invader comes from the desert,
from a land of terror.

²A dire^(CZ) vision has been shown to me:
The traitor betrays,^(DA) the looter takes loot.
Elam,^(DB) attack! Media,^(DC) lay siege!
I will bring to an end all the groaning she caused.

³At this my body is racked with pain,^(DD)
    pangs seize me, like those of a woman in labor;^(DE)
I am staggered by what I hear,
    I am bewildered^(DF) by what I see.
⁴My heart^(DG) falters,
    fear makes me tremble;^(DH)
the twilight I longed for
    has become a horror^(DI) to me.

⁵They set the tables,
    they spread the rugs,
    they eat, they drink!^(DJ)
Get up, you officers,
    oil the shields!^(DK)

⁶This is what the Lord says to me:

“Go, post a lookout^(DL)
    and have him report what he sees.
⁷When he sees chariots^(DM)
    with teams of horses,
riders on donkeys
    or riders on camels,^(DN)
let him be alert,
    fully alert.”

⁸And the lookout^[d]^(DO) shouted,

“Day after day, my lord, I stand on the watchtower;
    every night I stay at my post.
⁹Look, here comes a man in a chariot^(DP)
    with a team of horses.
And he gives back the answer:
    ‘Babylon^(DQ) has fallen,^(DR) has fallen!
All the images of its gods^(DS)
    lie shattered^(DT) on the ground!’”

¹⁰My people who are crushed on the threshing floor,^(DU)
I tell you what I have heard
from the Lord Almighty,
from the God of Israel.

A Prophecy Against Edom

¹¹A prophecy against Dumah^[e]:^(DV)

Someone calls to me from Seir,^(DW)
    “Watchman, what is left of the night?
    Watchman, what is left of the night?”
¹²The watchman replies,
    “Morning is coming, but also the night.
If you would ask, then ask;
    and come back yet again.”

A Prophecy Against Arabia

¹³A prophecy^(DX) against Arabia:^(DY)

You caravans of Dedanites,^(DZ)
    who camp in the thickets of Arabia,
¹⁴    bring water for the thirsty;
you who live in Tema,^(EA)
    bring food for the fugitives.
¹⁵They flee^(EB) from the sword,^(EC)
    from the drawn sword,
from the bent bow
    and from the heat of battle.

¹⁶This is what the Lord says to me: “Within one year, as a servant bound by contract^(ED) would count it, all the splendor^(EE) of Kedar^(EF) will come to an end. ¹⁷The survivors of the archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be few.^(EG)” The Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.^(EH)

Footnotes

Isaiah 19:18 Some manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, Dead Sea Scrolls, Symmachus and Vulgate; most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text City of Destruction
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
Isaiah 20:3 That is, the upper Nile region; also in verse 5
Isaiah 21:8 Dead Sea Scrolls and Syriac; Masoretic Text A lion
Isaiah 21:11 Dumah, a wordplay on Edom, means silence or stillness.