English Standard Version

New Living Translation

An Oracle Concerning Egypt

An oracle concerning Egypt.
Behold, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud
and comes to Egypt;
and the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence,
and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.

1

A Message about Egypt

This message came to me concerning Egypt:
Look! The LORD is advancing against Egypt,
riding on a swift cloud.
The idols of Egypt tremble.
The hearts of the Egyptians melt with fear.

2

And I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians,
and they will fight, each against another
and each against his neighbor,
city against city, kingdom against kingdom;

2

“I will make Egyptian fight against Egyptian —
brother against brother,
neighbor against neighbor,
city against city,
province against province.

3

and the spirit of the Egyptians within them will be emptied out,
and I will confounda their counsel;
and they will inquire of the idols and the sorcerers,
and the mediums and the necromancers;

3

The Egyptians will lose heart,
and I will confuse their plans.
They will plead with their idols for wisdom
and call on spirits, mediums, and those who consult the spirits of the dead.

4

and I will give over the Egyptians
into the hand of a hard master,
and a fierce king will rule over them,
declares the Lord God of hosts.

4

I will hand Egypt over
to a hard, cruel master.
A fierce king will rule them,”
says the Lord, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

5

And the waters of the sea will be dried up,
and the river will be dry and parched,

5

The waters of the Nile will fail to rise and flood the fields.
The riverbed will be parched and dry.

6

and its canals will become foul,
and the branches of Egypt’s Nile will diminish and dry up,
reeds and rushes will rot away.

6

The canals of the Nile will dry up,
and the streams of Egypt will stink
with rotting reeds and rushes.

7

There will be bare places by the Nile,
on the brink of the Nile,
and all that is sown by the Nile will be parched,
will be driven away, and will be no more.

7

All the greenery along the riverbank
and all the crops along the river
will dry up and blow away.

8

The fishermen will mourn and lament,
all who cast a hook in the Nile;
and they will languish
who spread nets on the water.

8

The fishermen will lament for lack of work.
Those who cast hooks into the Nile will groan,
and those who use nets will lose heart.

9

The workers in combed flax will be in despair,
and the weavers of white cotton.

9

There will be no flax for the harvesters,
no thread for the weavers.

10

Those who are the pillars of the land will be crushed,
and all who work for pay will be grieved.

10

They will be in despair,
and all the workers will be sick at heart.

11

The princes of Zoan are utterly foolish;
the wisest counselors of Pharaoh give stupid counsel.
How can you say to Pharaoh,
“I am a son of the wise,
a son of ancient kings”?

11

What fools are the officials of Zoan!
Their best counsel to the king of Egypt is stupid and wrong.
Will they still boast to Pharaoh of their wisdom?
Will they dare brag about all their wise ancestors?

12

Where then are your wise men?
Let them tell you
that they might know what the Lord of hosts has purposed against Egypt.

12

Where are your wise counselors, Pharaoh?
Let them tell you what God plans,
what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies is going to do to Egypt.

13

The princes of Zoan have become fools,
and the princes of Memphis are deluded;
those who are the cornerstones of her tribes
have made Egypt stagger.

13

The officials of Zoan are fools,
and the officials of Memphisa are deluded.
The leaders of the people
have led Egypt astray.

14

The Lord has mingled within her a spirit of confusion,
and they will make Egypt stagger in all its deeds,
as a drunken man staggers in his vomit.

14

The LORD has sent a spirit of foolishness on them,
so all their suggestions are wrong.
They cause Egypt to stagger
like a drunk in his vomit.

15

And there will be nothing for Egypt
that head or tail, palm branch or reed, may do.

15

There is nothing Egypt can do.
All are helpless —
the head and the tail,
the noble palm branch and the lowly reed.

16

Egypt, Assyria, Israel Blessed

In that day the Egyptians will be like women, and tremble with fear before the hand that the Lord of hosts shakes over them.

16

In that day the Egyptians will be as weak as women. They will cower in fear beneath the upraised fist of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

17

And the land of Judah will become a terror to the Egyptians. Everyone to whom it is mentioned will fear because of the purpose that the Lord of hosts has purposed against them.

17

Just to speak the name of Israel will terrorize them, for the LORD of Heaven’s Armies has laid out his plans against them.

18

In that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord of hosts. One of these will be called the City of Destruction.b

18

In that day five of Egypt’s cities will follow the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. They will even begin to speak Hebrew, the language of Canaan. One of these cities will be Heliopolis, the City of the Sun.b

19

In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the Lord at its border.

19

In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the heart of Egypt, and there will be a monument to the LORD at its border.

20

It will be a sign and a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry to the Lord because of oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and deliver them.

20

It will be a sign and a witness that the LORD of Heaven’s Armies is worshiped in the land of Egypt. When the people cry to the LORD for help against those who oppress them, he will send them a savior who will rescue them.

21

And the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians will know the Lord in that day and worship with sacrifice and offering, and they will make vows to the Lord and perform them.

21

The LORD will make himself known to the Egyptians. Yes, they will know the LORD and will give their sacrifices and offerings to him. They will make a vow to the LORD and will keep it.

22

And the Lord will strike Egypt, striking and healing, and they will return to the Lord, and he will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them.

22

The LORD will strike Egypt, and then he will bring healing. For the Egyptians will turn to the LORD, and he will listen to their pleas and heal them.

23

In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians.

23

In that day Egypt and Assyria will be connected by a highway. The Egyptians and Assyrians will move freely between their lands, and they will both worship God.

24

In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth,

24

In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth.

25

whom the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.”

25

For the LORD of Heaven’s Armies will say, “Blessed be Egypt, my people. Blessed be Assyria, the land I have made. Blessed be Israel, my special possession!”

Parallel

English Standard Version

New Living Translation

Isaiah 19

Isaiah 19