Isaiah 19

A Prophecy Against Egypt

A prophecy^a concerning Egypt:^bc

See, the Lord rides on a swift cloud^d

and is coming to Egypt.

The idols of Egypt tremble before him,

and the hearts of the Egyptians melt^e within them.

“I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian—

brother will fight against brother,^f

neighbor against neighbor,

city against city,

kingdom against kingdom.^g

The Egyptians will lose heart,^h

and I will bring their plansⁱ to nothing;^j

they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead,

the mediums and the spiritists.^k

I will hand the Egyptians over

to the power of a cruel master,

and a fierce king^l will rule over them,”

declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.

The waters of the river will dry up,^m

and the riverbed will be parched and dry.ⁿ

The canals will stink;^o

the streams of Egypt will dwindle and dry up.^p

The reeds^q and rushes will wither,^r

also the plants^s along the Nile,

at the mouth of the river.

Every sown field^t along the Nile

will become parched, will blow away and be no more.^u

Those who fish^v will groan and lament,

all who cast hooks^w into the Nile;

those who throw nets on the water

will pine away.

Those who work with combed flax^x will despair,

the weavers of fine linen^y will lose hope.

The workers in cloth will be dejected,

and all the wage earners will be sick at heart.

The officials of Zoan^z are nothing but fools;

the wise counselors^a of Pharaoh give senseless advice.^b

How can you say to Pharaoh,

“I am one of the wise men,^c

a disciple of the ancient kings”?

Where are your wise men^d now?

Let them show you and make known

what the Lord Almighty

has planned^e against Egypt.

The officials of Zoan^f have become fools,

the leaders of Memphis^g are deceived;

the cornerstones^h of her peoples

have led Egypt astray.

The Lord has poured into them

a spirit of dizziness;ⁱ

they make Egypt stagger in all that she does,

as drunkards stagger^j around in their vomit.

There is nothing Egypt can do—

head or tail, palm branch or reed.^k

In that day^l the Egyptians will become weaklings.^m They will shudder with fearⁿ at the uplifted hand^o that the Lord Almighty raises against them. And the land of Judah will bring terror to the Egyptians; everyone to whom Judah is mentioned will be terrified,^p because of what the Lord Almighty is planning^q against them.

In that day^r five cities^s in Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance^t to the Lord Almighty. One of them will be called the City of the Sun.^u

In that day^v there will be an altar^w to the Lord in the heart of Egypt,^x and a monument^y to the Lord at its border. It will be a sign and witness^z 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^a and defender, and he will rescue^b them. So the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and in that day they will acknowledge^c the Lord. They will worship^d with sacrifices and grain offerings; they will make vows to the Lord and keep them.^e The Lord will strike^f Egypt with a plague;^g he will strike them and heal them. They will turn^h to the Lord, and he will respond to their pleas and healⁱ them.

In that day^j there will be a highway^k from Egypt to Assyria.^l The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship^m together. In that dayⁿ Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria,^o a blessing^p on the earth. The Lord Almighty will bless^q them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people,^r Assyria my handiwork,^s and Israel my inheritance.^t”