NIV
Isaiah 19
- 1<pb/>A prophecy against Egypt: <pb/><t>See, the LORD rides on a swift cloud</t> <t>and is coming to Egypt.</t> <t>The idols of Egypt tremble before him,</t> <t>and the hearts of the Egyptians melt with fear. <pb/></t>
- 2<t>“I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian—</t> <t>brother will fight against brother,</t> <t>neighbor against neighbor,</t> <t>city against city,</t> <t>kingdom against kingdom.</t>
- 3<t>The Egyptians will lose heart,</t> <t>and I will bring their plans to nothing;</t> <t>they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead,</t> <t>the mediums and the spiritists.</t>
- 4<t>I will hand the Egyptians over</t> <t>to the power of a cruel master,</t> <t>and a fierce king will rule over them,”</t> <t>declares the Lord, the LORD Almighty. <pb/></t>
- 5<t>The waters of the river will dry up,</t> <t>and the riverbed will be parched and dry.</t>
- 6<t>The canals will stink;</t> <t>the streams of Egypt will dwindle and dry up.</t> <t>The reeds and rushes will wither,</t>
- 7<t>also the plants along the Nile,</t> <t>at the mouth of the river.</t> <t>Every sown field along the Nile</t> <t>will become parched, will blow away and be no more.</t>
- 8<t>The fishermen will groan and lament,</t> <t>all who cast hooks into the Nile;</t> <t>those who throw nets on the water</t> <t>will pine away.</t>
- 9<t>Those who work with combed flax will despair,</t> <t>the weavers of fine linen will lose hope.</t>
- 10<t>The workers in cloth will be dejected,</t> <t>and all the wage earners will be sick at heart. <pb/></t>
- 11<t>The officials of Zoan are nothing but fools;</t> <t>the wise counselors of Pharaoh give senseless advice.</t> <t>How can you say to Pharaoh,</t> <t>“I am one of the wise men,</t> <t>a disciple of the ancient kings”? <pb/></t>
- 12<t>Where are your wise men now?</t> <t>Let them show you and make known</t> <t>what the LORD Almighty</t> <t>has planned against Egypt.</t>
- 13<t>The officials of Zoan have become fools,</t> <t>the leaders of Memphis are deceived;</t> <t>the cornerstones of her peoples</t> <t>have led Egypt astray.</t>
- 14<t>The LORD has poured into them</t> <t>a spirit of dizziness;</t> <t>they make Egypt stagger in all that she does,</t> <t>as a drunkard staggers around in his vomit.</t>
- 15<t>There is nothing Egypt can do—</t> <t>head or tail, palm branch or reed.</t>
- 16<pb/>In that day the Egyptians will become weaklings. They will shudder with fear at the uplifted hand that the LORD Almighty raises against them.
- 17And 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.
- 18<pb/>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 the Sun.<f>[45]</f>
- 19<pb/>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.
- 20It 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.
- 21So 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.
- 22The 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.
- 23<pb/>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.
- 24In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing<f>[46]</f> on the earth.
- 25The LORD Almighty will bless them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance.”