Isaiah 19
Expanded Bible
God’s Message to Egypt
19 This is a ·message [prophecy; oracle; burden] about Egypt:
Look, the Lord is coming on a ·fast [swift] cloud
to enter Egypt.
The idols of Egypt will tremble before him,
and Egypt’s ·courage [heart] will melt away.
2 The Lord says, “I will ·cause the Egyptians to fight against themselves [L provoke Egypt against Egypt].
People will fight with their ·relatives [brothers];
neighbors will fight neighbors;
cities will fight cities;
kingdoms will fight kingdoms.
3 The Egyptians will ·be afraid [lose heart],
and I will ·ruin their plans [confuse their counsel].
They will ·ask advice from [consult] their idols and spirits of the dead,
from their mediums and ·fortune-tellers [magicians; necromancers].”
4 The Lord God ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says,
“I will hand Egypt ·over to [L into the hand of] a hard master,
and a ·powerful [fierce] king will rule over them.”
5 The ·sea [or river; L waters] will become dry,
and the ·water will disappear from the Nile River [L river will be parched and dry].
6 The canals will stink;
the streams of Egypt will decrease and dry up.
All the ·water plants [L reeds and bulrushes] will rot;
7 all the plants along the banks of the Nile will die.
Even the ·planted [cultivated] fields by the Nile
will dry up, blow away, and disappear [C catastrophic, since the Nile was essential to Egypt’s existence].
8 The fishermen, all those who ·catch fish from [L cast hooks into] the Nile,
will groan and ·cry [lament];
those who ·fish in the Nile [L spread nets on the water] will ·be sad [grieve; lose heart].
9 All the people who make cloth from flax will ·be sad [despair; or be ashamed],
and those who weave linen will ·lose hope [turn pale].
10 Those who ·weave cloth [or are its foundations] will be broken.
All those who work for ·money [wages] will be ·sad [L grieved in their soul].
11 The officers of the city of Zoan [C probably Tanis, the Egyptian city nearest Israel] are fools;
the wise ·men who advise the king of Egypt [counselors/advisors of Pharaoh] give ·wrong [senseless; stupid] advice.
How can you say to him, ‘I am ·wise [L a son of the wise]’?
How can you say, ‘I am ·from the old family of the kings [a son of ancient kings; C “son of” may mean “an expert in the ways of”]’?
12 Egypt, where are your wise men?
Let them show you
what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] has planned for Egypt.
13 The officers of Zoan [v. 11] have ·been fooled [become fools];
the ·leaders [princes] of Memphis [C prominent city in northern Egypt] ·have believed false things [are deceived/deluded].
So the ·leaders of Egypt [L cornerstones of her tribes]
lead that nation ·the wrong way [astray].
14 The Lord has ·made the leaders confused [L mixed into them a spirit of distortion].
They have led Egypt to ·wander in the wrong ways [or err in all it does],
like drunk people stumbling in their own vomit.
15 There is nothing Egypt can do;
·no one there can help [L head or tail, palm branch or reed; C no one, high or low, could help Egypt].
16 In that day the Egyptians will be like women [C physically weak and vulnerable]. They will ·be afraid of [tremble with fear at] the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], because he will raise his hand to strike them down. 17 The land of Judah will ·bring fear [be a terror] to Egypt. Anyone there who hears the name Judah will be afraid, because the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] has planned terrible things for them. 18 ·At that time [L In that day] five cities in Egypt will speak the language of Canaan [C Hebrew or Aramaic, evidence of Israel’s dominance over Egypt], and they will ·promise to be loyal [swear allegiance] to the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts]. One of these cities will be named the City of Destruction.[a] 19 ·At that time [L In that day] there will be an altar for the Lord in the middle of Egypt and a ·monument [or sacred pillar] to the Lord at the border of Egypt. 20 This will be a sign and a witness to the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] in the land of Egypt. When the people cry to the Lord for help, he will send a savior and defender, who will rescue them.
21 So the Lord will ·show himself [make himself known] to the Egyptians, and ·then [L in that day] they will ·know he is [acknowledge; know] the Lord. They will ·worship [serve] God ·and offer many sacrifices [with sacrifices and offerings]. They will make ·promises [vows] to the Lord and will keep them. 22 The Lord will ·punish [L strike] the Egyptians, but then he will heal them. They will ·come back [return] to the Lord, and he will listen to their ·prayers [pleas] and heal them.
23 ·At that time [L In that day] 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 [L In that day] ·Israel, Assyria, and Egypt will join together [L Israel will be the third, with Egypt and Assyria; C a great power like them], which will be a blessing for the earth. 25 The Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] will bless them, saying, “Egypt, you are my people. Assyria, ·I made you [L the work of my hands]. Israel, ·I own you [my inheritance]. You are all blessed!”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 19:18 City of Destruction Most Hebrew copies read “City of Destruction.” The Dead Sea Scrolls, some Hebrew copies and other translations read “City of the Sun.”
Isaiah 19
English Standard Version
An Oracle Concerning Egypt
19 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[a] their (G)counsel;
and they will inquire of the idols and the sorcerers,
and (H)the mediums and the necromancers;
4 and I will give over the Egyptians
into the hand of (I)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 (J)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 (K)combed flax will be in despair,
and the weavers of white cotton.
10 Those who are the (L)pillars of the land will be crushed,
and all who (M)work for pay will be grieved.
11 The princes of (N)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 (O)wise men?
Let them tell you
that they might know what the Lord of hosts has purposed against Egypt.
13 The princes of (P)Zoan have become fools,
and the princes of (Q)Memphis are deluded;
those who are the (R)cornerstones of her tribes
have made Egypt stagger.
14 The Lord has mingled within her (S)a spirit of confusion,
and they will make Egypt stagger in all its deeds,
(T)as a drunken man staggers in his vomit.
15 And there will be nothing for Egypt
that (U)head or tail, palm branch or reed, may do.
Egypt, Assyria, Israel Blessed
16 In that day the Egyptians will be (V)like women, and (W)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 (X)In that day there will be (Y)five cities in the land of Egypt that (Z)speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord of hosts. One of these will be called the City of Destruction.[b]
19 In that day there will be an (AA)altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a (AB)pillar to the Lord at its border. 20 (AC)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, (AD)he will send them a savior and defender, and deliver them. 21 (AE)And the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians will know the Lord in that day (AF)and worship with sacrifice and offering, and they will make vows to the Lord and perform them. 22 (AG)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 (AH)In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria, (AI)and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians.
24 In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, (AJ)a blessing in the midst of the earth, 25 whom the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed be Egypt (AK)my people, and Assyria (AL)the work of my hands, and (AM)Israel my inheritance.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 19:3 Or I will swallow up
- Isaiah 19:18 Dead Sea Scroll and some other manuscripts City of the Sun
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
