Isaiah 19

¹The word about Egypt. See, the Lord is seated on a quick-moving cloud, and is coming to Egypt: and the false gods of Egypt will be troubled at his coming, and the heart of Egypt will be turned to water.

²And I will send the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they will be fighting every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; town against town, and kingdom against kingdom.

³And the spirit of Egypt will be troubled in her, and I will make her decisions without effect: and they will be turning to the false gods, and to those who make hollow sounds, and to those who have control of spirits, and to those who are wise in secret arts.

⁴And I will give the Egyptians into the hand of a cruel lord; and a hard king will be their ruler, says the Lord, the Lord of armies.

⁵And the waters of the sea will be cut off, and the river will become dry and waste:

⁶And the rivers will have an evil smell; the stream of Egypt will become small and dry: all the water-plants will come to nothing.

⁷The grass-lands by the Nile, and everything planted by the Nile, will become dry, or taken away by the wind, and will come to an end.

⁸The fishermen will be sad, and all those who put fishing-lines into the Nile will be full of grief, and those whose nets are stretched out on the waters will have sorrow in their hearts.

⁹And all the workers in linen thread, and those who make cotton cloth, will be put to shame.

¹⁰And the makers of twisted thread will be crushed, and those who ... will be sad in heart.

¹¹The chiefs of Zoan are completely foolish; the wisest guides of Pharaoh have become like beasts: how do you say to Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the offspring of early kings?

¹²Where, then, are your wise men? let them make clear to you, let them give you knowledge of the purpose of the Lord of armies for Egypt.

¹³The chiefs of Zoan have become foolish, the chiefs of Noph are tricked, the heads of her tribes are the cause of Egypt's wandering out of the way.

¹⁴The Lord has sent among them a spirit of error: and by them Egypt is turned out of the right way in all her doings, as a man overcome by wine is uncertain in his steps.

¹⁵And in Egypt there will be no work for any man, head or tail, high or low, to do.

¹⁶In that day the Egyptians will be like women: and the land will be shaking with fear because of the waving of the Lord's hand stretched out over it.

¹⁷And the land of Judah will become a cause of great fear to Egypt; whenever its name comes to mind, Egypt will be in fear before the Lord of armies because of his purpose against it.

¹⁸In that day there will be five towns in the land of Egypt using the language of Canaan, and making oaths to the Lord of armies; and one of them will be named, The Town of the Sun.

¹⁹In 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 the edge of the land.

²⁰And it will be a sign and a witness to the Lord of armies in the land of Egypt: when they are crying out to the Lord because of their cruel masters, then he will send them a saviour and a strong one to make them free.

²¹And the Lord will give the knowledge of himself to Egypt, and the Egyptians will give honour to the Lord in that day; they will give him worship with offerings and meal offerings, and will take an oath to the Lord and give effect to it.

²²And the Lord will send punishment on Egypt, and will make them well again; and when they come back to the Lord he will give ear to their prayer and take away their disease.

²³In that day there will be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt will come into Assyria; and the Egyptians will give worship to the Lord together with the Assyrians.

²⁴In that day Israel will be the third together with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the earth:

²⁵Because of the blessing of the Lord of armies which he has given them, saying, A blessing on Egypt my people, and on Assyria the work of my hands, and on Israel my heritage.

Isaiah 19

¹The burden of Egypt: "Behold, the Lord rides on a swift cloud, and comes to Egypt. The idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence; and the heart of Egypt will melt in its midst.

²I will stir up the Egyptians against the Egyptians, and they will fight everyone against his brother, and everyone against his neighbor; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.

³The spirit of Egypt will fail in its midst. I will destroy its counsel. They will seek the idols, the charmers, those who have familiar spirits, and the wizards.

⁴I will give over the Egyptians into the hand of a cruel lord. A fierce king will rule over them," says the Lord, the Lord of hosts.

⁵The waters will fail from the sea, and the river will be wasted and become dry.

⁶The rivers will become foul. The streams of Egypt will be diminished and dried up. The reeds and flags will wither away.

⁷The meadows by the Nile, by the brink of the Nile, and all the sown fields of the Nile, will become dry, be driven away, and be no more.

⁸The fishermen will lament, and all those who fish in the Nile will mourn, and those who spread nets on the waters will languish.

⁹Moreover those who work in combed flax, and those who weave white cloth, will be confounded.

¹⁰The pillars will be broken in pieces. All those who work for hire will be grieved in soul.

¹¹The princes of Zoan are utterly foolish. The counsel of the wisest counselors of Pharaoh has become stupid. How do you say to Pharaoh, "I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings?"

¹²Where then are your wise men? Let them tell you now; and let them know what the Lord of hosts has purposed concerning Egypt.

¹³The princes of Zoan have become fools. The princes of Memphis are deceived. They have caused Egypt to go astray, who are the cornerstone of her tribes.

¹⁴The Lord has mixed a spirit of perverseness in the midst of her; and they have caused Egypt to go astray in all of its works, like a drunken man staggers in his vomit.

¹⁵Neither shall there be for Egypt any work, which head or tail, palm branch or rush, may do.

¹⁶In that day the Egyptians will be like women. They will tremble and fear because of the shaking of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which he shakes over them.

¹⁷The land of Judah will become a terror to Egypt. Everyone to whom mention is made of it will be afraid, because of the plans of the Lord of hosts, which he determines against it.

¹⁸In that day, there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan, and swear loyalty to the Lord of hosts. One will be called "The City of the Sun."

¹⁹In that day, there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the Lord at its border.

²⁰It will be for a sign and for a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the Lord because of oppressors, and he will send them a savior and a defender, and he will deliver them.

²¹The Lord will be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know the Lord in that day. Yes, they will worship with sacrifice and offering, and will make vows to the Lord, and will perform them.

²²The Lord will strike Egypt, striking and healing. They will return to the Lord, and he will listen to their pleas, and will heal them.

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

²⁴In that day, Israel will be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth;

²⁵because the Lord of hosts has blessed them, saying, "Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance."