Isaiah 19:4-6

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

a powerful king will rule over them,”

says the sovereign master, ¹  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. ² 

19:6 The canals ³  will stink; ⁴ 

the streams of Egypt will trickle and then dry up;

the bulrushes and reeds will decay,

[19:4]  ¹ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[19:5]  ² tn Heb “will dry up and be dry.” Two synonyms are joined for emphasis.

[19:6]  ³ tn Heb “rivers” (so KJV, ASV); NAB, CEV “streams”; TEV “channels.”

[19:6]  ⁴ tn The verb form appears as a Hiphil in the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a; the form in MT may be a so-called “mixed form,” reflecting the Hebrew Hiphil stem and the functionally corresponding Aramaic Aphel stem. See HALOT 276 s.v. I זנח.