Isaiah 19:16

16 In days to come, the people of Egypt will be as terrified as women. The LORD who rules over all will raise his hand against them. Then they will tremble with fear.

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 given them a spirit that makes them feel dizzy. They make Egypt unsteady in everything it does. Egypt is like a person who drinks too much. He throws up and then walks around in the mess he's made.

15 No one in Egypt can do anything to help them. Its elders and important leaders can't help them. Its prophets and priests can't do anything. Those who rule over others can't help. And those who bow down to them can't help either.

16 In days to come, the people of Egypt will be as terrified as women. The LORD who rules over all will raise his hand against them. Then they will tremble with fear.

17 The people of Judah will bring terror to the Egyptians. Everyone in Egypt who hears the name of Judah will be terrified. That's because of what the LORD who rules over all is planning to do to them.

18 At that time the people of five cities in Egypt will use the Hebrew language when they worship the LORD who rules over all. They will take an oath. And they will promise to be faithful to him. One of those cities is called The City of the Sun.