Isaiah 19:6-16

6 And the floods shall fail, and the strands of the fields shall be made thin, and shall be dried; a reed and spire shall fade (away). (And the rivers shall fail, and the streams of the fields shall be made shallow, and shall be dried up; the reed and the bulrush shall fade away.)

7 The bottom of water shall be made naked, and streams from their well(s); and the moist place of all seed shall be dried, it shall wax dry, and it shall not be. (The bottom of the waters shall be uncovered, yea, of all the streams from the wells; and all the seeds on the river banks shall dry up, yea, they shall grow dry, and they shall be no more.)

8 And [the] fishers shall mourn, and all that cast hook into the flood shall wail; and they that spread abroad a net on the face of waters shall fade (away). (And the fishermen shall mourn, and all who cast a hook into the River shall wail; and they who spread abroad a net upon the face of the waters shall fade away.)

9 They shall be shamed, that wrought flax (who work the flax), folding and ordaining subtle things.

10 And the water places thereof shall be dry (And the places of water there shall dry up); (and) all that made ponds to take fishes, shall be shamed.

11 The fond princes of Tanis (The foolish leaders of Zoan), the wise counsellors of Pharaoh, gave unwise counsel; how shall ye say to Pharaoh, I am the son of wise men, the son of eld kings?

12 Where be now thy wise men? Tell they to thee, and show they, what the Lord of hosts thought on Egypt. (Where be thy wise men now? Tell they to thee, and show they, what the Lord of hosts thought about Egypt.)

13 The princes of Tanis be made fools; the princes of Memphis faded; they deceived Egypt, a corner(stone) of the peoples thereof. (The leaders of Zoan be made fools; the leaders of Noph faded away; they deceived Egypt, yea, the chieftains of the peoples there.)

14 The Lord meddled a spirit of error in the midst thereof; and they made Egypt for to err in all his work, as a drunken man and spewing erreth. (The Lord mixed in a spirit of error in its midst; and so the leaders made Egypt to err in all its ways and works, like a drunken man who wandereth about in his own spewing, or his own vomit.)

15 And work shall not be to Egypt, that it make an head and tail bowing and refraining. (And there shall not be work in Egypt, not for head nor tail, nor for the palm tree or the bulrush.)

16 In that day Egypt shall be as (weak as) women, and they shall be astonied, and shall dread of the face of the moving of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which he moved on it. (On that day the Egyptians shall become as weak as women, and they shall be astonished, and they shall fear the moving of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which he shall move against them.)

Isaiah 19:6-16 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 19

This chapter contains prophecies of various calamities that should come upon Egypt in a short time, and of the conversion of many of them to Christ in Gospel times. The calamities are many; the Lord's coming unto them, which their gods cannot prevent, nor stand before, nor save them, and at which the hearts of the Egyptians are dispirited, Isa 19:1 civil wars among themselves, Isa 19:2 want of counsel, which sends them to idols and wizards, but in vain, Isa 19:3 subjection to a cruel lord, Isa 19:4 drying up of their rivers and waters, so that the paper reeds wither, and fishes die; and hence no business for fishermen, nor for workers in flax, or weavers of nets, Isa 19:5-10,15 the stupidity of their princes and wise counsellors, given up by the Lord to a perverse spirit, so that they concerted wrong measures, and deceived the people, Isa 19:11-14 a general consternation among them, because of the hand and counsel of the Lord; and because of the Lord's people, the Jews, who were a terror to them, Isa 19:16,17 and then follows the prophecy of their conversion in later times, which is signified by their speaking the language of Canaan, and swearing to the Lord, Isa 19:18 by their erecting an altar, and a pillar to the Lord, which should be a sign and witness to him; and by their crying to him, and his sending them a Saviour, and a great one, Isa 19:19,20 by his being known unto them, by their offering sacrifice to him, and by his smiting and healing them Isa 19:21,22 and the chapter is concluded with a prophecy of that harmony, and agreement, and fellowship, that shall be between Jew and Gentile, between Egypt, Assyria, and Israel; and that the blessing of God should be upon them all, Isa 19:23-25.