Isaiah 19:1–17

An Oracle against Egypt

19An oracle ^wagainst Egypt: ^x

Look, the Lord rides on a swift cloud ^y

and is coming to Egypt.

Egypt’s idols will tremble before Him, ^z

and Egypt’s heart will melt within it. ^a

²I will provoke Egypt against Egypt;

each will fight against his brother ^b

and each against his friend,

city against city, kingdom against kingdom. ^c

³Egypt’s spirit will be disturbed within it,

and I will frustrate its plans.

Then they will seek idols, ghosts,

spirits of the dead, and spiritists. ^d

⁴I will deliver Egypt into the hands of harsh masters, ^e

and a strong king will rule it.

This is the declaration of the Lord God of Hosts.

⁵The waters of the sea will dry up,

and the river will be parched and dry.

⁶The channels will stink;

they will dwindle, and Egypt’s canals will be parched.

Reed and rush will die. ^f

⁷The reeds by the Nile, by the mouth of the river,

and all the cultivated areas of the Nile

will wither, blow away, and vanish.

⁸Then the fishermen will mourn.

All those who cast hooks into the Nile will lament,

and those who spread nets on the water will shrivel up.

⁹Those who work with flax will be dismayed; ^g

the combers and weavers will turn pale. ^h

¹⁰Egypt’s weavers ⁱwill be dejected;

all her wage earners will be demoralized.

¹¹The princes of Zoan are complete fools; ^j

Pharaoh’s wisest advisers give stupid advice!

How can you say to Pharaoh,

“I am one ^kof the wise,

a student of eastern ^lkings”?

¹²Where then are your wise men?

Let them tell you and reveal

what the Lord of Hosts has planned against Egypt.

¹³The princes of Zoan have been fools;

the princes of Memphis are deceived. ^m

Her tribal chieftains have led Egypt astray.

¹⁴The Lord has mixed within her a spirit of confusion.

The leaders have made Egypt stagger in all she does,

as a drunkard staggers in his vomit.

¹⁵No head or tail, palm or reed, ⁿ

will be able to do anything for Egypt.

Egypt Will Know the Lord

¹⁶On that day Egypt will be like women. She will tremble with fear because of the threatening hand of the Lord of Hosts when He raises it against her. ¹⁷The land of Judah will terrify Egypt; whenever Judah is mentioned, Egypt will tremble because of what the Lord of Hosts has planned ^oagainst it.