Isaiah 19:16

16 A time is coming when the people of Egypt will be as timid as women. They will tremble in terror when they see that the Lord Almighty has stretched out his hand to punish them.

Isaiah 19:16 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 19:16

In that day shall Egypt be like unto women
Weak and feeble, as the Targum; fearful and timorous, even their military force; and devoid of wisdom, even their princes and nobles: and it shall be afraid and fear because of the shaking of the
hand of the Lord of hosts, which he shaketh over it:
which the Lord may be said to do, when he lifts up his rod, and holds it over a people, and threatens them with ruin and destruction; perhaps this may refer to what was done in Judea by Sennacherib's army, which was an intimation to the Egyptians that their turn was next; and if the shaking of the Lord's hand over a people is so terrible, what must the weight of it be? Some think there is an allusion to Moses's shaking his rod over the Red sea when the Egyptians were drowned, in which the hand or power of the Lord was so visibly seen, and which now might be called to mind. Ben Melech observes, that when one man calls to another, he waves his hand to him to come to him; so here it is as if the Lord waved with his hand to the enemy to come and fight against Egypt, which caused fear and dread.

Isaiah 19:16 In-Context

14 The Lord has made them give confusing advice. As a result, Egypt does everything wrong and staggers like a drunk slipping on his own vomit.

15 No one in Egypt, rich or poor, important or unknown, can offer help.

16 A time is coming when the people of Egypt will be as timid as women. They will tremble in terror when they see that the Lord Almighty has stretched out his hand to punish them.

17 The people of Egypt will be terrified of Judah every time they are reminded of the fate that the Lord Almighty has prepared for them.

18 When that time comes, the Hebrew language will be spoken in five Egyptian cities. The people there will take their oaths in the name of the Lord Almighty. One of the cities will be called, "City of the Sun."