2 Kings 23:29

23:29 During Josiah’s reign Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt marched toward ¹  the Euphrates River to help the king of Assyria. King Josiah marched out to fight him, but Necho ²  killed him at Megiddo ³  when he saw him.

Isaiah 19:23-24

19:23 At that time there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will visit Egypt, and the Egyptians will visit Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. ⁴  19:24 At that time Israel will be the third member of the group, along with Egypt and Assyria, and will be a recipient of blessing ⁵  in the earth. ⁶ 

¹ tn Heb “went up to.” The idiom עַל…עָלָה (’alah …’al) can sometimes mean “go up against,” but here it refers to Necho’s attempt to aid the Assyrians in their struggle with the Babylonians.

² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Necho) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ map For location see Map1-D4; Map2-C1; Map4-C2; Map5-F2; Map7-B1.

⁴ tn The text could be translated, “and Egypt will serve Assyria” (cf. NAB), but subjugation of one nation to the other does not seem to be a theme in vv. 23-25. Rather the nations are viewed as equals before the Lord (v. 25). Therefore it is better to take אֶת (’et) in v. 23b as a preposition, “together with,” rather than the accusative sign. The names of the two countries are understood to refer by metonymy to their respective inhabitants.

⁵ tn Heb “will be a blessing” (so NCV).

⁶ tn Or “land” (KJV, NAB).