Isaiah 19

1An oracle concerning Egypt: Behold, Yahweh is riding on a swift cloud and is coming to Egypt; the idols of Egypt will tremble before him, and the heart of Egypt will melt within it.

2I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians, and each will fight against his brother, and each against his neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom.

3And the spirit of Egypt will be emptied out within it, and I will swallow up its counsel; and they will seek the idols, the mutterers, the mediums, and the spiritists.

4I will give Egypt into the hand of a harsh master, and a fierce king will rule over them, declares the Lord, Yahweh of Armies.

5And the waters of the sea will dry up, and the river will be parched and dry.

6The rivers will stink; the canals of Egypt will dwindle and dry up; reed and rush will wither.

7The reeds along the Nile, along the bank of the Nile, and every sown field of the Nile will dry up, be driven away, and be no more.

8And the fishermen will lament, and all who cast a hook into the Nile will mourn; those who spread a net over the waters will waste away.

9Those who work with combed flax will be ashamed, and those who weave white cloth.

10And her foundations will be crushed; all who work for wages will be grieved in soul.

11Surely the princes of Zoan are fools; the wise counselors of Pharaoh give foolish counsel. How can you say to Pharaoh, “I am a son of wise men, a son of ancient kings”?

12Where, then, are your wise men? Let them tell you, please; let them know what Yahweh of Armies has purposed against Egypt.

13The princes of Zoan have become foolish; the princes of Noph are deceived. They have led Egypt astray, they who are the cornerstone of her tribes.

14Yahweh has mixed within her a spirit of confusion, and they have led Egypt astray in all its work, as a drunkard staggers in his vomit.

15And there will be no work for Egypt that head or tail, palm branch or reed, can do.

16In that day Egypt will be like women, trembling and afraid because of the waving of the hand of Yahweh of Armies, which he waves against it.

17And the land of Judah will become a terror to Egypt; everyone to whom it is mentioned will fear because of the plan of Yahweh of Armies that he is planning against it.

18In that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt speaking the language of Canaan and swearing allegiance to the LORD of Armies. One of them will be called the City of Destruction.

19In that day there will be an altar to Yahweh in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to Yahweh beside its border.

20It will be for a sign and for a witness to Yahweh of Armies in the land of Egypt. For they will cry out to Yahweh because of oppressors, and he will send them a savior and champion, and he will deliver them.

21And Yahweh will make himself known to Egypt, and Egypt will know Yahweh in that day, and they will serve with sacrifice and offering, and they will vow vows to Yahweh and fulfill them.

22And Yahweh will strike Egypt, striking and healing; and they will return to Yahweh, and he will respond to their pleas and heal them.

23In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria; and Egypt will serve with Assyria.

24In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth,

25whom Yahweh of Armies has blessed, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.”