Isaiah 19:1-6

1 The burden of Egypt. Lo! the Lord shall ascend on a light cloud, and he shall enter into Egypt; and the simulacra of Egypt shall be moved from his face, and the heart of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof. (The burden of Egypt. Lo! the Lord shall ride upon a swift moving cloud, and he shall enter into Egypt; and the idols of Egypt shall tremble before him, and the heart, or the courage, of Egypt shall fail in its midst.)
2 And I shall make (some) Egyptians to run together against (other) Egyptians, and a man shall fight against his brother, and a man against his friend, a city against a city, and a realm against a realm (and a kingdom against a kingdom).
3 And the spirit of Egypt shall be broken in the entrails thereof, and I shall cast down the counsel thereof; and they shall ask their simulacra (and they shall ask their idols), and their false diviners, and their men that have unclean spirits speaking in the womb, and their diviners by sacrifices made on altars to fiends.
4 And I shall betake Egypt into the hand of cruel lords, and a strong king shall be lord of them, saith the Lord God of hosts. (And I shall deliver Egypt into the hands of cruel lords, or cruel masters, and a strong king shall be lord over them, saith the Lord God of hosts.)
5 And [the] water of the sea shall wax dry, and the flood shall be desolate, and shall be dried. (And the water of the River shall grow dry, yea the River shall become desolate, and dried up.)
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.)

Isaiah 19:1-6 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.

Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.