Isaiah 19:16

16 In that day the Egyptians will be like women. They will be afraid of the Lord All-Powerful, because he will raise his hand to strike them down.

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 the leaders confused. They have led Egypt to wander in the wrong ways, like drunk people stumbling in their own vomit.

15 There is nothing Egypt can do; no one there can help.

16 In that day the Egyptians will be like women. They will be afraid of the Lord All-Powerful, because he will raise his hand to strike them down.

17 The land of Judah will bring fear to Egypt. Anyone there who hears the name Judah will be afraid, because the Lord All-Powerful has planned terrible things for them.

18 At that time five cities in Egypt will speak Hebrew, the language of Canaan, and they will promise to be loyal to the Lord All-Powerful. One of these cities will be named the City of Destruction.