Isaiah

The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.

1This is the message about Egypt. Look, the LORD rides on a fast cloud, and he is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt will shake when he comes, and the Egyptians will lose their courage.

Note"The burden of Egypt" does not mean a heavy load. In the prophets, a "burden" is a serious message that a prophet was given to announce about a nation.

2And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.

2"I will turn Egyptians against Egyptians. Brother will fight brother, and neighbor will fight neighbor. City will fight city, and kingdom will fight kingdom.

3And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards.

3The Egyptians will lose heart, and I will ruin their plans. So they will go asking idols for help, and spirits of the dead, and people who claim to speak with them.

4And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts.

4I will hand the Egyptians over to harsh masters, and a fierce king will rule them." This is what the Lord, the LORD of Armies, says.

5And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up.

5The water of the Nile will dry up. The riverbed will be baked dry and empty.

NoteThe KJV says "the sea," but it means the Nile River. Egyptians called the great river a sea because it was so wide.

6And they shall turn the rivers far away; and the brooks of defence shall be emptied and dried up: the reeds and flags shall wither.

6The canals will start to stink. The streams of Egypt will shrink to a trickle and dry up. The tall reeds and grasses will wither.

7The paper reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and every thing sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and be no more.

7The reeds along the Nile, and at the river's mouth, and every field planted beside it, will dry up. The wind will blow them away, and they will be gone.

8The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brooks shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish.

8The fishermen will cry. Everyone who drops a hook in the Nile will grieve. Those who spread nets on the water will lose all hope.

9Moreover they that work in fine flax, and they that weave networks, shall be confounded.

9The people who work with flax will be upset, and the weavers of fine linen will go pale.

10And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof, all that make sluices and ponds for fish.

10The cloth workers will be crushed, and all the hired workers will be sick at heart.

11Surely the princes of Zoan are fools, the counsel of the wise counsellors of Pharaoh is become brutish: how say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings?

11The leaders of Zoan are complete fools. Pharaoh's wise advisers give senseless advice. How can you say to Pharaoh, "I come from wise men, from ancient kings"?

12Where are they? where are thy wise men? and let them tell thee now, and let them know what the LORD of hosts hath purposed upon Egypt.

12Where are your wise men now? Let them tell you. Let them explain what the LORD of Armies has planned against Egypt.

13The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Noph are deceived; they have also seduced Egypt, even they that are the stay of the tribes thereof.

13The leaders of Zoan have become fools. The leaders of Noph are fooled. The men who were supposed to hold Egypt steady have led her the wrong way.

NoteZoan and Noph were two important Egyptian cities. Noph is the city we usually call Memphis today.

14The LORD hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof: and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit.

14The LORD has poured confusion into Egypt. Her leaders have made her stumble in everything she does, like a drunk man staggering in his own vomit.

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

15There is nothing Egypt can do. No one can help her, from the top to the bottom, from the tallest tree to the smallest reed.

16In that day shall Egypt be like unto women: and it shall be afraid and fear because of the shaking of the hand of the LORD of hosts, which he shaketh over it.

16When that day comes, the Egyptians will be weak and shaking. They will be afraid when the LORD of Armies lifts his hand against them.

NoteThe KJV says Egypt "shall be like unto women." This was an old way of saying an army would be frightened and unable to fight. It is not a statement about women.

17And the land of Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt, every one that maketh mention thereof shall be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of the LORD of hosts, which he hath determined against it.

17The land of Judah will fill Egypt with fear. Whenever someone mentions Judah, the Egyptians will tremble, because of what the LORD of Armies has planned.

18In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan, and swear to the LORD of hosts; one shall be called, The city of destruction.

18When that day comes, five cities in Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and promise to be loyal to the LORD of Armies. One of them will be called the City of the Sun.

19In that day shall there be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the LORD.

19When that day comes, there will be an altar to the LORD in the middle of Egypt, and a stone pillar for the LORD near her border.

20And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt: for they shall cry unto the LORD because of the oppressors, and he shall send them a saviour, and a great one, and he shall deliver them.

20It will stand as a sign and a witness to the LORD of Armies in Egypt. When they call out to the LORD because people are crushing them, he will send someone to rescue them and defend them.

21And the LORD shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the LORD in that day, and shall do sacrifice and oblation; yea, they shall vow a vow unto the LORD, and perform it.

21The LORD will show himself to Egypt, and on that day the Egyptians will know the LORD. They will worship him with sacrifices and gifts. They will make promises to him and keep them.

22And the LORD shall smite Egypt: he shall smite and heal it: and they shall return even to the LORD, and he shall be intreated of them, and shall heal them.

22The LORD will strike Egypt, and then he will heal her. The people will turn back to the LORD. He will listen to them and make them well.

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

23When that day comes, there will be a road from Egypt to Assyria. Assyrians will travel to Egypt, and Egyptians to Assyria, and the two will worship together.

24In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land:

24When that day comes, Israel will join Egypt and Assyria as a third partner, a blessing on the earth.

25Whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance.

25The LORD of Armies will bless them, saying, "Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel, the people who belong to me."