Isaiah 19:1--21:17

The Lord Will Judge Egypt

19:1 Here is a message about Egypt:

Look, the Lord rides on a swift-moving cloud

and approaches Egypt.

The idols of Egypt tremble before him;

the Egyptians lose their courage.

19:2 “I will provoke civil strife in Egypt,

brothers will fight with each other,

as will neighbors,

cities, and kingdoms.

19:3 The Egyptians will panic,

and I will confuse their strategy.

They will seek guidance from the idols and from the spirits of the dead,

from the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, and from the magicians.

19:4 I will hand Egypt over to a harsh master;

a powerful king will rule over them,”

says the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies.

19:5 The water of the sea will be dried up,

and the river will dry up and be empty.

19:6 The canals will stink;

the streams of Egypt will trickle and then dry up;

the bulrushes and reeds will decay,

19:7 along with the plants by the mouth of the river.

All the cultivated land near the river

will turn to dust and be blown away.

19:8 The fishermen will mourn and lament,

all those who cast a fishhook into the river,

and those who spread out a net on the water’s surface will grieve.

19:9 Those who make clothes from combed flax will be embarrassed;

those who weave will turn pale.

19:10 Those who make cloth will be demoralized;

all the hired workers will be depressed.

19:11 The officials of Zoan are nothing but fools;

Pharaoh’s wise advisers give stupid advice.

How dare you say to Pharaoh,

“I am one of the sages,

one well-versed in the writings of the ancient kings?”

19:12 But where, oh where, are your wise men?

Let them tell you, let them find out

what the Lord who commands armies has planned for Egypt.

19:13 The officials of Zoan are fools,

the officials of Memphis are misled;

the rulers of her tribes lead Egypt astray.

19:14 The Lord has made them undiscerning;

they lead Egypt astray in all she does,

so that she is like a drunk sliding around in his own vomit.

19:15 Egypt will not be able to do a thing,

head or tail, shoots and stalk.

19:16 At that time the Egyptians will be like women. They will tremble and fear because the Lord who commands armies brandishes his fist against them. 19:17 The land of Judah will humiliate Egypt. Everyone who hears about Judah will be afraid because of what the Lord who commands armies is planning to do to them.

19:18 At that time five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord who commands armies. One will be called the City of the Sun. 19:19 At that time there will be an altar for the Lord in the middle of the land of Egypt, as well as a sacred pillar dedicated to the Lord at its border. 19:20 It will become a visual reminder in the land of Egypt of the Lord who commands armies. When they cry out to the Lord because of oppressors, he will send them a deliverer and defender who will rescue them. 19:21 The Lord will reveal himself to the Egyptians, and they will acknowledge the Lord’s authority at that time. 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 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. 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 in the earth. 19:25 The Lord who commands armies will pronounce a blessing over the earth, saying, “Blessed be my people, Egypt, and the work of my hands, Assyria, and my special possession, Israel!”

20:1 The Lord revealed the following message during the year in which King Sargon of Assyria sent his commanding general to Ashdod, and he fought against it and captured it. 20:2 At that time the Lord announced through Isaiah son of Amoz: “Go, remove the sackcloth from your waist and take your sandals off your feet.” He did as instructed and walked around in undergarments and barefoot. 20:3 Later the Lord explained, “In the same way that my servant Isaiah has walked around in undergarments and barefoot for the past three years, as an object lesson and omen pertaining to Egypt and Cush, 20:4 so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, both young and old. They will be in undergarments and barefoot, with the buttocks exposed; the Egyptians will be publicly humiliated. 20:5 Those who put their hope in Cush and took pride in Egypt will be afraid and embarrassed. 20:6 At that time those who live on this coast will say, ‘Look what has happened to our source of hope to whom we fled for help, expecting to be rescued from the king of Assyria! How can we escape now?’”

The Lord Will Judge Babylon

21:1 Here is a message about the Desert by the Sea:

Like strong winds blowing in the south,

one invades from the desert,

from a land that is feared.

21:2 I have received a distressing message:

“The deceiver deceives,

the destroyer destroys.

Attack, you Elamites!

Lay siege, you Medes!

I will put an end to all the groaning!”

21:3 For this reason my stomach churns;

cramps overwhelm me

like the contractions of a woman in labor.

I am disturbed by what I hear,

horrified by what I see.

21:4 My heart palpitates,

I shake in fear;

the twilight I desired

has brought me terror.

21:5 Arrange the table,

lay out the carpet,

eat and drink!

Get up, you officers,

smear oil on the shields!

21:6 For this is what the sovereign master has told me:

“Go, post a guard!

He must report what he sees.

21:7 When he sees chariots,

teams of horses,

riders on donkeys,

riders on camels,

he must be alert,

very alert.”

21:8 Then the guard cries out:

“On the watchtower, O sovereign master,

I stand all day long;

at my post

I am stationed every night.

21:9 Look what’s coming!

A charioteer,

a team of horses.”

When questioned, he replies,

“Babylon has fallen, fallen!

All the idols of her gods lie shattered on the ground!”

21:10 O my downtrodden people, crushed like stalks on the threshing floor,

what I have heard

from the Lord who commands armies,

the God of Israel,

I have reported to you.

Bad News for Seir

21:11 Here is a message about Dumah:

Someone calls to me from Seir,

“Watchman, what is left of the night?

Watchman, what is left of the night?”

21:12 The watchman replies,

“Morning is coming, but then night.

If you want to ask, ask;

come back again.”

The Lord Will Judge Arabia

21:13 Here is a message about Arabia:

In the thicket of Arabia you spend the night,

you Dedanite caravans.

21:14 Bring out some water for the thirsty.

You who live in the land of Tema,

bring some food for the fugitives.

21:15 For they flee from the swords –

from the drawn sword

and from the battle-ready bow

and from the severity of the battle.

21:16 For this is what the sovereign master has told me: “Within exactly one year all the splendor of Kedar will come to an end. 21:17 Just a handful of archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be left.” Indeed, the Lord God of Israel has spoken.