Isaiah 19

1The “Egypt” Pronouncement.Mounted on a swift cloud,GOD will come to Egypt;Egypt’s idols shall tremble in response,And the heart of the Egyptians shall sink within them.

2“I will incite Egyptian against Egyptian:They shall war with each other,Neighbor with neighbor,City with cityAnd kingdom with kingdom.

3Egypt shall be drained of spirit,And I will confound its plans;So they will consult the idols and the shadesAnd the ghosts and the familiar spirits.

4And I will place the EgyptiansAt the mercy of a harsh master,And a ruthless king shall rule them”—declares the Sovereign, GOD of Hosts.

5Water shall fail from the seas,Rivers dry up and be parched,

6Channels turn foul as they ebb,And Egypt’s canals run dry.Reed and rush shall decay,

7And the Nile papyrus by the Nile-side And everything sown by the NileShall wither, blow away, and vanish.

8The fishermen shall lament;All who cast lines in the Nile shall mourn,And those who spread nets on the water shall languish.

9The flax workers, too, shall be dismayed,Both carders and weavers chagrined.

10Her foundations shall be crushed,And all who make dams shall be despondent.

11Utter fools are the nobles of Tanis;The sagest of Pharaoh’s advisers[Have made] absurd predictions.How can you say to Pharaoh,“I am a scion of sages,A scion of Kedemite kings”?

12Where, indeed, are your sages?Let them tell you, let them discoverWhat GOD of Hosts has planned against Egypt.

13The nobles of Tanis have been fools,The nobles of Memphis deluded;Egypt has been led astrayBy the chiefs of her tribes.

14GOD has mixed within herA spirit of distortion,Which shall lead Egypt astray in all her undertakingsAs a vomiting drunkard goes astray;

15Nothing shall be achieved in EgyptBy either head or tail,Palm branch or reed.

16In that day, the Egyptians shall be like women, trembling and terrified because GOD of Hosts will raise a divine hand against them.

17And the land of Judah shall also be the dread of the Egyptians; they shall quake whenever anybody mentions it to them, because of what GOD of Hosts is planning against them.

18In that day, there shall be several towns in the land of Egypt speaking the language of Canaan and swearing loyalty to GOD of Hosts; one shall be called Town of Heres., “sun,” which may refer to Heliopolis, i.e., Sun City, in Egypt. Targum’s “Beth Shemesh” (cf. Jer. 43.13) has the same meaning.

19In that day, there shall be an altar to GOD inside the land of Egypt and a pillar to GOD at its border.

20They shall serve as a symbol and reminder of GOD of Hosts in the land of Egypt, so that when [the Egyptians] cry out to GOD against oppressors, a savior and champion will be sent to deliver them.

21For the Egyptians will be made to know GOD, and the Egyptians shall acknowledge GOD in that day, and they shall serve with sacrifice and oblation and shall make vows to GOD and fulfill them.

22GOD will first afflict and then heal the Egyptians: when they turn back, GOD will respond to their entreaties and heal them.

23In that day, there shall be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians shall join with the Egyptians and Egyptians with the Assyrians, and then the Egyptians together with the Assyrians shall serve [GOD].

24In that day, Israel shall be a third partner with Egypt and Assyria as a blessing on earth;

25for GOD of Hosts will bless them, saying, “Blessed be My people Egypt, My handiwork Assyria, and My very own Israel.”