Isaiah 19:6-16

6 The ¹canals will emit a stench, The ²streams of Egypt will thin out and dry up; ³The reeds and rushes will rot away.

7 The bulrushes by the ⁴Nile, by the edge of the Nile And all the sown fields by the Nile Will become dry, be driven away, and be no more.

8 And the ⁵fishermen will lament, And all those who cast a line into the Nile will mourn, And those who spread nets on the waters will pine away.

9 Moreover, the manufacturers of linen made from combed flax And the weavers of white ⁶cloth will be utterly dejected.

10 And the ⁷pillars of Egypt will be crushed; All the hired laborers will be grieved in soul.

11 The princes of ⁸Zoan are mere fools; The advice of Pharaoh's wisest advisers has become stupid. How can you men say to Pharaoh, "I am a son of the ⁹wise, a son of ancient kings "?

12 Well then, where are your wise men? Please let them tell you, And let them understand what the LORD of hosts Has ¹⁰purposed against Egypt.

13 The princes of Zoan have acted foolishly, The princes of ¹¹Memphis are deluded; Those who are the ¹²cornerstone of her tribes Have led Egypt astray.

14 The LORD has mixed within her a spirit of ¹³distortion; ¹⁴They have led Egypt astray in all that it does, As a ¹⁵drunken man staggers in his vomit.

15 There will be no work for Egypt ¹⁶Which its head or tail, its palm branch or bulrush, may do.

16 In that day the Egyptians will become like women, and they will tremble and be in ¹⁷dread because * of the ¹⁸waving of the hand of the LORD of hosts, which He is going to wave over 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.

Cross References

• 1. Exodus 7:18
• 2. Isaiah 37:25
• 3. Exodus 2:3; Job 8:11; Isaiah 15:6
• 4. Isaiah 23:3, 10
• 5. Ezekiel 47:10; Habakkuk 1:15
• 6. Proverbs 7:16; Ezekiel 27:7
• 7. Psalms 11:3
• 8. Numbers 13:22; Psalms 78:12, 43; Isaiah 30:4
• 9. Genesis 41:38, 39; 1 Kings 4:30; Acts 7:22
• 10. Isaiah 14:24; Romans 9:17
• 11. Jeremiah 2:16; Jeremiah 46:14, 19; Ezekiel 30:13
• 12. Zechariah 10:4
• 13. Proverbs 12:8; Matthew 17:17
• 14. Isaiah 3:12; Isaiah 9:16
• 15. Isaiah 28:7
• 16. Isaiah 9:14, 15
• 17. 2 Corinthians 5:11; Hebrews 10:31
• 18. Isaiah 11:15

Footnotes

• [a] Lit "rivers"
• [b] Or "Nile branches;" i.e. the delta
• [c] Or "mouth"
• [d] Lit "hook"
• [e] Or "languish"
• [f] Lit "ashamed"
• [g] Lit "her pillars" or, "her weavers"
• [h] Or "Tanis"
• [i] Or "brutish"
• [j] Or "know"
• [k] Or "Tanis"
• [l] Or "have caused Egypt to stagger"
• [m] Lit "its work"
• [n] Or "goes astray"