The {Or, oracle concerning}burden of Egypt.
Behold, Jehovah rideth upon a swift cloud, and cometh unto Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall tremble at his presence; and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.
And I will {Or, join together Or, arm}stir up the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbor; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.
And the spirit of Egypt shall {Hebrew: be emptied.}fail in the midst of it; and I will {Hebrew: swallow up.}destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek unto the idols, and to the {Or, whisperers}charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards.
And I will {Or, shut up}give over the Egyptians into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts.
And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and become dry.
And the rivers shall become foul; the {Or, canals}streams of {Hebrew: Mazor.}Egypt shall be diminished and dried up; the reeds and flags shall wither away.
The meadows by the Nile, by the brink of the Nile, and all the sown fields of the Nile, shall become dry, be driven away, and be no more.
And the fishers shall lament, and all they that cast angle into the Nile shall mourn, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish.
Moreover they that work in combed flax, and they that weave {Or, cotton}white cloth, shall be confounded.
And {Hebrew: her pillars.}the {Or, foundations}pillars of Egypt shall be broken in pieces; all they {Or, that make dams}that work for hire shall be grieved in soul.
The princes of Zoan are utterly foolish; the counsel of the wisest counsellors of Pharaoh is become brutish: how say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings?
Where then are thy wise men? and let them tell thee now; and let them know what Jehovah of hosts hath purposed concerning Egypt.
The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Memphis are deceived; they have caused Egypt to go astray, that are the corner-stone of her tribes.
Jehovah hath mingled a spirit of perverseness in the midst of her; and they have caused Egypt to go astray in every work thereof, as a drunken man {Or, goeth astray}staggereth in his vomit.
Neither shall there be for Egypt any work, which head or tail, palm-branch or rush, may do.
In that day shall the Egyptians be like unto women; and they shall tremble and fear because of the shaking of the hand of Jehovah of hosts, which he shaketh over them.
And the land of Judah shall become a terror unto Egypt; {Or, every one that maketh mention thereof, to him shall they turn in fear}every one to whom mention is made thereof shall be afraid, because of the purpose of Jehovah of hosts, which he purposeth against it.
In that day there shall be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan, and swear to Jehovah of hosts; one shall be called The city of {Or, Heres Or, according to another reading, the sun.}destruction.
In that day shall there be an altar to Jehovah in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to Jehovah.
And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto Jehovah of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they shall cry unto Jehovah because of oppressors, and he will send them a saviour, and {Or, a mighty one}a defender, and he will deliver them.
And Jehovah shall {Or, make himself known}be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know Jehovah in that day; yea, they shall worship with sacrifice and oblation, and shall vow a vow unto Jehovah, and shall perform it.
And Jehovah will smite Egypt, smiting and healing; and they shall return unto Jehovah, and he will be entreated of them, and will heal them.
In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria; and the Egyptians shall worship with the Assyrians.
In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth;
for that Jehovah of hosts hath blessed them, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance.
Querverweise zu Jesaja 19,12 Jes 19,12
Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
Who hath {Or, meted out}directed the Spirit of Jehovah, or being his counsellor hath taught him?
For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness; thou hast said, None seeth me; thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee, and thou hast said in thy heart, I am, and there is none else besides me.
Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know {Or, how to charm it away}the dawning thereof: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it away: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou knowest not.
Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast labored from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest {Or, strike terror}prevail.
Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels: let now the {Hebrew: dividers of the heavens.}astrologers, the star-gazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from the things that shall come upon thee.
With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed to him the way of understanding?
Then said Zebul unto him, Where is now thy mouth, that thou saidst, Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him? is not this the people that thou hast despised? go out now, I pray, and fight with them.
Let them bring forth, and declare unto us what shall happen: declare ye the former things, what they are, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or show us things to come.
But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee? let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble: for according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah.
Declare the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may {Or, look one upon another}be dismayed, and behold it together.
Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this {Or, age}world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
{Or, And who, as I, can proclaim? let him declare it &c.}And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I established the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and that shall come to pass, let them {Or, declare unto them}declare.
And that he would show thee the secrets of wisdom!For he is manifold in understanding.Know therefore that God {Or, remitteth (Hebrew: causeth to be forgotten) unto thee of thine iniquity}exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth.
{Or, Canst thou find out the deep things of God?}Canst thou by searching find out God?Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?
O the depth {Or, of the riches and the wisdom & c.}of the riches {Or, both of wisdom & c.}both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past tracing out!
For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?