Nazarene Commentary 2000©
21st Century Paraphrase of the Hebrew Scriptures©
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21st Century Version of the Christian Scriptures©
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THE PROPHET ISAIAH
CHAPTER NINETEEN:
A REVELATION AGAINST EGYPT
Isaiah 19:1-4 – YHWH’s Message against Egypt
IS19:1 A weighty message against Egypt:
Behold! YeHoWaH rides on a swift cloud,
and He will enter Egypt. The false gods
of Egypt will tremble at His presence,
and the heart of Egypt will dissolve within.
| 740 | Egypt: The name “Egypt” [= land of the Copts] is derived from the Greek AIGYPTOU in this verse. The Hebrew name for Egypt
is MITSRAYIM [Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance #4714. Arabs still call it by this name. Egypt acted both as oppressor of Israel as well as protector. |
| 741 | YeHoWaH rides on a swift cloud: Or, JPS: mounted on a swift cloud. [Deuteronomy 33:26; Psalm 68:33; 104:3] The figure of speech paints the picture of heavenly speed. |
| 742 | False gods: Or, idols. The Hebrew is ‘ELIYL [Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance #457, good for nothing]. |
| 743 | Tremble at His presence: Or, LXX: moved at his presence; JPS: tremble before him; NJB: totter before him; RHM: shake. The LXX Greek phrase is APO [from]
PROSOPOU [face] AUTOU [him]. Perhaps a figure of speech regarding the demons associated with such idols. [Jeremiah 43:12; 46:25; Ezekiel 30:13] |
| 744 | Heart of Egypt will dissolve within: Or, LXX: their heart will faint; JPS: shall sink within them; RHM: melt; NJB: quails. The LXX Greek for “heart” is KARDIA. The Hebrew is LEBAB. |
IS19:2 The Sovereign Lord YeHoWaH of [angelic] armies reveals: “I will arouse Egyptians against Egyptians. They will fight everyone against a brother and everyone against a neighbor
– city against city and
kingdom against kingdom.
[Matthew 24:7]
| 745 | A brother and everyone against a neighbor: Or, NJB: brother against brother, friend against friend; JPS: they shall war with ear other, every man with his fellow. The language reminds one of Matthew 10:35; Luke 12:52, 53. Compare Micah 7:6. God stirs up internal civil strife in Egypt. |
| 746 | Kingdom against kingdom: Compare Matthew 24:7 as an echo of the language. |
IS19:3 The will of Egypt
will become vacant
right in their midst. Yes, I will devour their keen perception.
Then they will look to their false gods, and to their enchanters,
and to their spiritualists,
and to their shaman.
| 747 | Will of Egypt: Or, spirit of. The LXX Greek is PNEUMA. The word may mean mind, attitude, disposition. [Joshua 2:11] |
| 748 | Become vacant: Or, fail, vanish, drained, troubled. |
| 749 | Devour their keen perception: Or, LXX: frustrate their counsel; JPS: confound its plan; RHM: the sagacity thereof will I swallow up; NJB: confound he deliberations; KJV: destroy the counsel.
[Psalm 94:11; Proverbs 19:21; 21:30] |
| 750 | Enchanters: Or, KJV: charmers; NJB: wizards; RHM: them that mutter; JPS: the shades; LXX: them that speak out of the earth footnote: ventriloquists]. The Hebrew is ‘AT [Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance #328, (speaking) softly, necromancer]. Such are condemned by God. [Deuteronomy 18:9-13] |
| 751 | Spiritualists: Or, JPS: ghosts; RHM: familiar spirits. |
| 752 | Shaman: Or, NJB: sorcerers; KJV: wizards; LXX: divining spirit. The spiritual dangers of such cannot be stressed enough. |
IS19:4 Then I will deliver the Egyptians into the control of a barbarous master.
A brutal king will rule over them.” | 753 | Control of a barbarous master: Or, LXX: cruel lords; JPS: harsh master; NJB: clutches of a cruel master. That is, Assyria and later Persia and Rome. |
| 754 | A brutal king will rule over them: Or, KJV: fierce king; NJB: ruthless; LXX: cruel kings. Likely Nebuchadnezzar. [Jeremiah 46:2, 26; Ezekiel 29:19] |
Isaiah 19:5-10 – Against the Nile
IS19:5 Then their waters will be dried up from the sea, and the Nile river
will become desolate and dry.
| 755 | Nile river: See Bible dictionaries on the history and important of the Nile. Egypt absolutely depended on the Nile. The language may be metaphorical of the hard times to come upon Egypt under Babylonian rule. |
IS19:6 Rivers will stink and the channels of Egypt will become shallow and turn foul. Reed and papyrus will wither away.
IS19:7 The Nile banks in the Nile delta – and all that grows in the Nile – will become dry, blow away, and disappear!
IS19:8 Then the fishermen will wail, and all those who cast a fishing-hook in the Nile will groan. Those who cast their nets on the surface of the waters will droop in exhaustion.
IS19:9 Also the flax workers and the weavers of fine linen will all turn ashen.
IS19:10 Then all the foundations will be crushed, and the daily laborers will be pained in their souls.
Isaiah 19:11-15 – Wise And Royal in Egypt Foolish
IS19:11 For a certainty all the royalty of Zoan are foolish.
The wisest counselors of Pharaoh are unreasonable in their predictions.
How can you tell Pharaoh, “I am a child of the wisest sage,
a child of the ancient kings?”
| 756 | Royalty of Zoan are foolish: Or, LXX: princes of Tanis; JPS: utter fools are the nobles of Tanis; NJB: the princes of Zoan are fools.
The place was called Tanis by the Greeks. Close to San el-Hagar. The name Zoan is used as a paraell to Egypt. [Psalm 78:12, 43] Some think Zoan to be the location of the events described in Exodus 1-12. Zoan is first used in the Syriac Version at Genesis 13:10
and again at Numbers 13:22. Note Isaiah 30:4. |
| 757 | Unreasonable in their predictions: Or, KJV: brutish; NJB: stupid
council; JPS: absurd predictions; LXX: turned into folly. Note Isaiah 44:25. |
| 758 | Child of the wisest sage: Or,
JPS: scion of sages; NJB: descended from sages. |
| 759 | Ancient kings: Or, NJB: bygone kings; RHM: olden times JPS:
scion of Kedeite kings [1 Kings 5:10]. Lineage or social status is no guarantee of wisdom. |
IS19:12 Where are your wise men?
[1 Corinthians 1:20] Please, let them tell you! Let them know what YeHoWaH of [angelic] armies has purposed regarding Egypt!
| 760 | Where are your wise men: Or, NJB: these sages of yours. Paul uses POU SOPHOS at 1 Corinthians 1:20 while the LXX Greek here is POU
EISI NYN OI SOPHOI. Wisdom was often associated with Egypt. [Genesis 41:25; 1 Kings 4:30; Acts 7:22] It is where Plato studied. |
IS19:13 The royalty of Zoan are stupid,
the princes of Noph are beguiled.
Those who are supposed to be the pillars of her tribes
have misled Egypt.
| 761 | Royalty of Zoan are stupid: Or, LXX: princes of Tanis have failed; JPS: have been fools; RHM: doting are. See the principle at Romans
1:22. |
| 762 | Princes of Noph are beguiled: Or, NJB: self-deceivers; RHM: deceived; JPS: the nobles of Memphis deluded.
“Noph” [the Hebrew word] was another name for Memphis. [Jeremiah 2:16; 44:1; 46:14, 19; Ezekiel 30:13, 16; Hosea 9:6] |
| 763 |
Supposed to be the pillars of her tribes: Or, JPS: chiefs of her tribes; RHM: those who are the corner-stone of her tribes; NJB: top men of her provinces; KJV: the stay of the tribes. On the word PINNAH [Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance
#6438, corner] see Judges 20:2 and 1 Samuel 14:30. |
IS19:14 YeHoWaH has
permeated within her a warped disposition.
[2 Thessalonians 2:11] They have led Egypt astray
in everything she does – like a staggering drunk in his own vomit.
| 764 | Permeated within her a warped disposition: Or, KJV: mingled a perverse spirit; NJB: infused them with a giddy spirit; RHM: infused
in her midst a spirit of perverseness; JPS: mixed within her a spirit of distortion; LXX: prepared for them a spirit of error. The LXX Greek [AUTOIS PNEUMA PLANESEOS] is close enough to Paul’s language at 2 Thessalonians 2:11 to suggest an allusion if
not an echo – HO THEOS ENERGYEIAN PLANES. Comparing the language of the two verses may indicate Paul had Isaiah 19:14 in mind. |
| 765 |
Astray: Or, LXX: err. Compare the LXX Greek here [EPLANESAN] with PLANON IN Revelation 12:9. |
| 766 | Like a staggering
drunk in his own vomit: Or, LXX: as one staggers who is drunken and vomits also; JPS: as a vomiting drunkard goes astray; RHM: a drunken man staggereth into his own vomit; NJB: like a drunkard straying about as he vomits. God’s image is graphic and
if one were to follow such a drunk’s footsteps they would wander and stagger here and there with traces of his/her vomit. Note Isaiah 28:7. [Psalm 107:27; Jeremiah 48:26] On the subject of drunkenness see Proverbs 20:1 and Proverbs 23:29-35. |
IS19:15 And Egypt can do nothing about it – either through head or tail,
whether the tops of palms or the bottom of reeds.| 767 | Head or tail: See notes at Isaiah 9:15. |
Isaiah 19:16-18 – Egypt Like Frightened Women
IS19:16 In that day Egypt will be like women,
startled and trembling because of the raised hand of YeHoWaH of [angelic] armies which He is about to raise against her.
| 768 | Egypt will be like women: Compare 1 Peter 3:7. |
IS19:17 Then the land of the Jews
will cause Egypt to stagger in terror.
Everybody who hears of it will shake with tremors. All because of the purpose of YeHoWaH of [angelic] armies which He is purposing against Egypt.
| 770 | Stagger in terror: Or, JPS: trembling and terrified; RHM: start and tremble; KJV: afraid and fear. |
IS19:18 In that day there will be five cities
in the land of Egypt speaking the Canaanite tongue.
They will swear to
YeHoWaH of [angelic] armies: “One of these cities will be called City of Destruction!” | 771 | Five cities: See some possibilities at Jeremiah 43:7; 44:1; Ezekiel 30:14. |
| 772 | Speaking the Canaanite tongue: Or, NJB: language of Canaan. Many English dictionaries trace the source of the alphabet to that of the root in Syro-Phoenician, another way of saying “Canann”
or Palestine. It is closely related to Hebrew. [2 Kings 18:28] The Greek language may be traced to Hebrew. [See Eusebius’ Preparation of the Gospel] |
| 773 | They will swear to: Or, LXX: swearing by the name of [YHWH]; JPS: swearing loyalty to; NJB: pledging themselves to. [Deuteronomy 10:20] |
| 774 | City of Destruction: Or, NJB: City of the Sun; JPS: Town of Heres; LXX: city of Asedec. Some see an association with the sun. The Hebrew is uncertain, possibly On-Heliopolis. |
Isaiah 19:19-22 – An Altar in Egypt
IS19:19 In that day there will be an altar
to YeHoWaH in the middle of the land of Egypt, even an obelisk
to YeHoWaH on the border.
| 775 | Altar: Or, NJB: altar dedicated to. |
| 776 | Obelisk: Or, LXX: pillar. |
IS19:20 It will serve as a sign and a testimony
regarding YeHoWaH of [angelic] armies in the land of Egypt. So when Egyptians cry out to YeHoWaH because of tyrants,
then He will send to them a powerful savior to rescue them.
| 777 | Sign and a testimony: Or, NJB: sign and a witness; JPS: symbol and reminder; LXX: it shall be for a sign. [Jeremiah 32:20] |
| 778 | Cry out to YeHoWaH because of tyrants: Or, LXX: them that afflict them; JPS: against oppressors; RHM: outcry. |
| 779 | Powerful savior to rescue them: Or, NJB: a Saviour and leader to deliver them; RHM: send them a saviour – and a great one; JPS: savior
and champion to deliver them; LXX: he will send them a man who shall save them. There may be a temptation to think of Christ [Luke 2:11] but it is also possible this alludes to future delivers of the oppressed in Egypt. |
IS19:21 Then YeHoWaH will make Himself known
to the Egyptians, and they will present a sacrifice and a gift-offering.
They will swear an oath
to YeHoWaH and do it.
| 780 | Make Himself known: Or, NJB: reveal himself. The idea would be preposterous to those Egyptians just as it is today. Ultimately citizens
of Egypt will come to “know” Jehovah. [Isaiah 11:9; 26:9] Compare Zechariah 14:16-19 with Revelation 11:2; 21:24. |
| 781 |
Sacrifice and a gift-offering: Or, LXX: offer sacrifices and shall vow vows; JPS: oblation; RHM: present [footnote: meal-offering]; NJB: cereal offerings. [Zephaniah 3:10; Malachi 1:11] See Zechariah 14:16-19. |
| 782 | Swear an oath: Or, NJB: make vows to; RHM: vow a vow to. |
| 783 | And do it: Or, LXX: pay them; JPS: fulfill them; RHM: will perform. [Ecclesiastes 5:4] On oaths see the Nazarene at Matthew 5:33-36. |
IS19:22 YeHoWaH
will strike Egypt – both a blow and a healing.
Then they will turn to YeHoWaH. They will make supplication
to Him and He will heal them.| 784 | Blow and a healing: Or, NJB: having struck he will heal; RHM: plague and heal; JPS: first afflict and
then heal; LXX: a stroke and shall completely heal them. Compare Zechariah 14:1-3, 12-16. See allusions to Zechariah 14 in Revelation. [Nazarene Apocalypse 2000©] |
| 785 | Supplication: Or, JPS: entreaties; NJB: hear their prayers. |
Isaiah 19:23-25 – A Highway out of Egypt
IS19:23 In that day there will be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria.
Assyrians will journey to Egypt, and Egyptians to Assyria. Egyptians will worship together with
Assyrians.
| 786 | Highway out of Egypt to Assyria: Or, NJB: a highway from Egypt to Assyria. A healing between the two powers. Return to Isaiah 11:16.
[Isaiah 35:8; 40:3] |
| 787 | Worship together with: Or, JPS: join with; RHM: serve [footnote: worship]; NJB: have access to. Another unthinkable finale. [Zechariah 14:16] |
IS19:24 Then Israel will be a third with
Egypt and Assyria – a blessing for the whole earth.
| 788 | Israel will be a third with: Or, JPS: third partner. The final healing between three ancient enemies. |
| 789 | A blessing for the whole earth: Or, LXX: blessed in the land; JPS: a blessing on earth; RHM: a blessing in the midst of the earth; NJB:
blessing at the centre of the world. [Genesis 12:2] |
IS19:25 For YeHoWaH of [angelic] armies will bless it, saying: “Blessed our my people Egypt,
as well as the work of my hands, Assyria;
and My own inheritance, Israel.” | 790 | Blessed our my people Egypt: Or, LXX: blessed be my people that is in Egypt. The ultimate healing when God calls Egypt His own people. Note Egypt in Revelation 11:8 where Jerusalem is compared to Egypt. |
| 791 | Work of my hands, Assyria: Or, JPS: My handiwork Assyria; NJB: Assyria my creation. [Hosea 2:23; Romans 3:29] See notes on Acts 10:34, 35; 17:26, 27, 30, 31. |
| 792 | My own inheritance, Israel: Or, NJB: Israel my heritage; JPS: My very own Israel. Though Egypt and Assyria are mentioned, only Israel is God’s inheritance. [Compare notes on Romans chapter 11, Ephesians chapter 2, and Revelation 7:1-8.] |
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Nazarene Commentary 2000©
Mark Heber Miller
©2000 All Rights Reserved
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