Isaiah 19:20-25

19:20 It ¹  will become a visual reminder in the land of Egypt of ²  the Lord who commands armies. When they cry out to the Lord because of oppressors, he will send them a deliverer and defender ³  who will rescue them. 19:21 The Lord will reveal himself to the Egyptians, and they ⁴  will acknowledge the Lord’s authority ⁵  at that time. ⁶  They will present sacrifices and offerings; they will make vows to the Lord and fulfill them. 19:22 The Lord will strike Egypt, striking and then healing them. They will turn to the Lord and he will listen to their prayers ⁷  and heal them.

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. ⁸  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 ⁹  in the earth. ¹⁰  19:25 The Lord who commands armies will pronounce a blessing over the earth, saying, ¹¹  “Blessed be my people, Egypt, and the work of my hands, Assyria, and my special possession, ¹²  Israel!”

¹ tn The masculine noun מִזְבֵּחַ (mizbbeakh, “altar”) in v. 19 is probably the subject of the masculine singular verb הָיָה (hayah) rather than the feminine noun מַצֵּבָה (matsevah, “sacred pillar”), also in v. 19.

² tn Heb “a sign and a witness to the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts] in the land of Egypt.”

³ tn רָב (rav) is a substantival participle (from רִיב, riv) meaning “one who strives, contends.”

⁴ tn Heb “Egypt.” For stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy, the present translation uses the pronoun (“they”) here.

⁵ tn Heb “will know the Lord.”

⁶ tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV), likewise at the beginning of vv. 23 and 24.

⁷ tn Heb “he will be entreated.” The Niphal has a tolerative sense here, “he will allow himself to be entreated.”

⁸ 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.

⁹ tn Heb “will be a blessing” (so NCV).

¹⁰ tn Or “land” (KJV, NAB).

¹¹ tn Heb “which the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts] will bless [it], saying.” The third masculine singular suffix on the form בֵּרֲכוֹ (berakho) should probably be emended to a third feminine singular suffix בֵּרֲכָהּ (berakhah), for its antecedent would appear to be the feminine noun אֶרֶץ (’erets, “earth”) at the end of v. 24.

¹² tn Or “my inheritance” (NAB, NASB, NIV).