Isaiah
19
- An oracle concerning Egypt: See, the LORD
rides on a swift cloud and is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt tremble
before him, and the hearts of the Egyptians melt within them.
- "I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian
-- brother will fight against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against
city, kingdom against kingdom.
- The Egyptians will lose heart, and I will
bring their plans to nothing; they will consult the idols and the spirits
of the dead, the mediums and the spiritists.
- I will hand the Egyptians over to the power
of a cruel master, and a fierce king will rule over them," declares the
Lord, the LORD Almighty.
- The waters of the river will dry up, and
the riverbed will be parched and dry.
- The canals will stink; the streams of Egypt
will dwindle and dry up. The reeds and rushes will wither,
- also the plants along the Nile, at the mouth
of the river. Every sown field along the Nile will become parched, will blow
away and be no more.
- The fishermen will groan and lament, all
who cast hooks into the Nile; those who throw nets on the water will pine
away.
- Those who work with combed flax will despair,
the weavers of fine linen will lose hope.
- The workers in cloth will be dejected, and
all the wage earners will be sick at heart.
- The officials of Zoan are nothing but fools;
the wise counselors of Pharaoh give senseless advice. How can you say to Pharaoh,
"I am one of the wise men, a disciple of the ancient kings "?
- Where are your wise men now? Let them show
you and make known what the LORD Almighty has planned against Egypt.
- The officials of Zoan have become fools,
the leaders of Memphis are deceived; the cornerstones of her peoples have
led Egypt astray.
- The LORD has poured into them a spirit of
dizziness; they make Egypt stagger in all that she does, as a drunkard staggers
around in his vomit.
- There is nothing Egypt can do--head or tail,
palm branch or reed.
- In that day the Egyptians will be like women.
They will shudder with fear at the uplifted hand that the LORD Almighty raises
against them.
- And the land of Judah will bring terror
to the Egyptians; everyone to whom Judah is mentioned will be terrified, because
of what the LORD Almighty is planning against them.
- In that day five cities in Egypt will speak
the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the LORD Almighty. One of them
will be called the City of Destruction.
- In that day there will be an altar to the
LORD in the heart of Egypt, and a monument to the LORD at its border.
- It will be a sign and witness to the LORD
Almighty in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the LORD because of their
oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and he will rescue them.
- So the LORD will make himself known to the
Egyptians, and in that day they will acknowledge the LORD. They will worship
with sacrifices and grain offerings; they will make vows to the LORD and keep
them.
- The LORD will strike Egypt with a plague;
he will strike them and heal them. They will turn to the LORD, and he will
respond to their pleas and heal them.
- In that day there will be a highway from
Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria.
The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together.
- In that day Israel will be the third, along
with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing on the earth.
- The LORD Almighty will bless them, saying,
"Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance."
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