Isaiah 19:16

19:16 At that time ¹  the Egyptians ²  will be like women. ³  They will tremble and fear because the Lord who commands armies brandishes his fist against them. ⁴ 

Isaiah 66:2

66:2 My hand made them; ⁵ 

that is how they came to be,” ⁶  says the Lord.

I show special favor ⁷  to the humble and contrite,

who respect what I have to say. ⁸ 

[19:16]  ¹ tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV), likewise at the beginning of vv. 18 and 19.

[19:16]  ² tn Heb “Egypt,” which stands by metonymy for the country’s inhabitants.

[19:16]  ³ sn As the rest of the verse indicates, the point of the simile is that the Egyptians will be relatively weak physically and will wilt in fear before the Lord’s onslaught.

[19:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he will tremble and be afraid because of the brandishing of the hand of the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts], which he brandishes against him.” Since according to the imagery here the Lord’s “hand” is raised as a weapon against the Egyptians, the term “fist” has been used in the translation.

[66:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “all these.” The phrase refers to the heavens and earth, mentioned in the previous verse.

[66:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “and all these were.” Some prefer to emend וַיִּהְיוּ (vayyihyu, “and they were”) to וְלִי הָיוּ (vÿli hayu, “and to me they were”), i.e., “and they belong to me.”

[66:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “and to this one I look” (KJV and NASB both similar).

[66:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “to the humble and the lowly in spirit and the one who trembles at my words.”