Isaiah 19

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 a message about Egypt. Look! The LORD rides on a fast cloud. He is coming to Egypt. Egypt's idols will shake when He comes. The people's hearts will melt with fear.

Note"Burden" here does not mean a heavy load to carry. It means a serious message from God 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.

2God says, "I will turn Egyptians against each other. Brother will fight brother. Neighbor will fight neighbor. City will fight city. 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.

3Egypt will lose its courage. God says, "I will spoil their plans." So the people will run to idols. They will ask the dead for help. They will go to people who claim to talk with spirits.

NoteThe old word "charmers" and the phrase "familiar spirits" mean people who said they could talk to the dead or use magic.

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.

4God says, "I will hand Egypt over to harsh masters. A fierce king will rule them." That is what the Lord, the LORD who commands all armies, says.

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

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

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 smell bad. The streams of Egypt will shrink and dry up. The tall reeds and grasses will die.

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 by the Nile will die. So will the plants at the river's mouth. Every field planted near the river will dry up. The wind will blow it away, and it 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 fishes with a hook will be sad. Those who spread nets on the water will lose heart.

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

9The workers who make thread from flax plants will be upset. The weavers who make fine cloth will turn pale.

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

10The cloth workers will lose hope. Everyone who works for pay 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 the city of Zoan are fools. Pharaoh's wise helpers give silly advice. How can you say to Pharaoh, "I am one of the wise ones. My family goes back to old 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, Egypt? Let them tell you what is coming. Let them explain what the LORD of all 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 the city of Memphis are fooled too. These men were meant to hold Egypt steady. Instead they have led Egypt the wrong way.

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 a mixed-up spirit into Egypt. So Egypt goes wrong in everything it does. It stumbles like a drunk man 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 to fix it. Not the head or the tail. Not the tall palm branch or the low reed. No one can help, great or small.

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.

16On that day Egypt's people will be like women. They will shake with fear. The LORD of all armies will lift His hand and wave it over them.

Note"Like women" was an old way of saying that soldiers would be too scared to fight. It is about fear, not about what women are like.

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 frighten Egypt. Whenever someone says Judah's name, Egypt will be afraid. This is because of what the LORD of all 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.

18On that day five cities in Egypt will speak the language of Canaan. They will promise to belong to the LORD of all armies. One of them will be given a new name.

NoteOld copies of this verse give the fifth city different names. Some say "City of Destruction," others say "City of the Sun." No one is certain which name is the original.

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.

19On that day there will be an altar for the LORD in the middle of Egypt. There will also be a stone pillar for the LORD near Egypt's 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 be a sign that shows Egypt belongs to the LORD of all armies. When the people cry out because others treat them badly, He will help. He will send them a rescuer who will fight for them and save 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. On that day the Egyptians will know Him. They will bring Him gifts and offerings. They will make promises to the LORD 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 to hurt it, and then He will make it well again. The people will turn back to the LORD. He will listen to their prayers and heal them.

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.

23On that day there will be a wide road from Egypt to Assyria. People from Assyria will visit Egypt, and Egyptians will visit Assyria. The two peoples will worship God together.

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

24On that day Israel will join Egypt and Assyria. The three will be together, and they will bring blessing to 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 all armies will bless them. He will say, "Blessed be Egypt, my people. Blessed be Assyria, made by my hands. Blessed be Israel, my very own."