King James Version
Isaiah 19
25 verses with commentary
Prophecy Against Egypt
The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.</strong> The theophany (divine appearance) depicts Yahweh riding clouds—common Ancient Near Eastern imagery for storm gods, here applied to Israel's God demonstrating supremacy. God 'coming i...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
**XIX.**
(1) **The burden of Egypt.**—In its political bearings, as Egypt and Ethiopia were at this time under the same ruler, Tirhakah, as they had been before under Piankhi-Mer-Amon, this prophecy presents nearly the same features as the preceding. Its chief characteristic is that it presents the condition of the conquered nation as distinct from that of the conqueror. The opening words declare ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
7. By subterraneous cavities, and by evaporation forming rain clouds, the fountains and rivers are supplied from the sea, into which they then flow back. The connection is: Individual men are continually changing, while the succession of the race continues; just as the sun, wind, and rivers are ever shifting about, while the cycle in which they move is invariable; they return to the point whence t...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 19
Judgments upon Egypt. (Is. 19:1-17) Its deliverance, and the conversion of the people. (Is. 19:18-25)
**Verses 1-17** God shall come into Egypt with his judgments. He will raise up the causes of their destruction from among themselves. When ungodly men escape danger, they are apt to think themselves secure; but evil pursues sinners, and will speedily overtake them, except they rep...
Read full commentary →And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom. set: Heb. mingle
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KJV Study Commentary
'And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.' Divine judgment manifests as civil war—God withdrawing the common grace maintaining social cohesion, resulting in fratricidal conflict. The progression from individual ('brother...neighbour') to corporate ('ci...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians . . .**—The discord predicted was probably the natural consequence of the overthrow of the Ethiopian power by Sargon, the Assyrian king, in B.C. 720. Under Piankhi each *nome, *or district, had been governed by a chief, owning the suzerainty of the Ethiopian king, and these, when the restraint was removed, would naturally assert their independen...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
8. Maurer translates, "All words are wearied out," that is, are inadequate, as also, "man cannot express" all the things in the world which undergo this ceaseless, changeless cycle of vicissitudes: "The eye is not satisfied with seeing them," &c. But it is plainly a return to the idea (Ec 1:3) as to man's "labor," which is only wearisome and profitless; "no new" good can accrue from it (Ec 1:9...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 19
Judgments upon Egypt. (Is. 19:1-17) Its deliverance, and the conversion of the people. (Is. 19:18-25)
**Verses 1-17** God shall come into Egypt with his judgments. He will raise up the causes of their destruction from among themselves. When ungodly men escape danger, they are apt to think themselves secure; but evil pursues sinners, and will speedily overtake them, except they rep...
Read full commentary →And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards. fail: Heb. be emptied destroy: Heb. swallow up
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KJV Study Commentary
'And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards.' Egypt's 'spirit' (ruach—breath, spirit, courage, morale) fails—collective confidence collapses. God destroys their 'counsel' (etsah—plans, wisdom, strategy), indicating intellectual/plan...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **The charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits . . .**—The old reputation of Egypt for magic arts (Exodus 7:22; Exodus 8:7) seems to have continued. The “charmers” or *mutterers *were probably distinguished, like “those that peep” in Isaiah 8:19, by some peculiar form of ventriloquism. A time of panic, when the counsels of ordinary statesmen failed, was sure there, as at Athens in its ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
9. Rather, "no new thing at all"; as in Nu 11:6. This is not meant in a general sense; but there is no new source of happiness (the subject in question) which can be devised; the same round of petty pleasures, cares, business, study, wars, &c., being repeated over and over again [Holden].
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 19
Judgments upon Egypt. (Is. 19:1-17) Its deliverance, and the conversion of the people. (Is. 19:18-25)
**Verses 1-17** God shall come into Egypt with his judgments. He will raise up the causes of their destruction from among themselves. When ungodly men escape danger, they are apt to think themselves secure; but evil pursues sinners, and will speedily overtake them, except they rep...
Read full commentary →And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts. give: or, shut up
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KJV Study Commentary
'And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts.' After internal chaos comes external oppression—a 'cruel lord' and 'fierce king' will dominate Egypt. The double title 'Lord, the LORD of hosts' emphasizes divine authority behind this judgment. The 'cruel lord' likely refers collectively to successive forei...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **Into the hand of a cruel lord.**—The later history of Egypt presents so many pictures of oppressive government, that it is hard to say to which of them the picture thus drawn bears most resemblance. Sargon, or Esarhaddon, or Psammetichus, who became king of Egypt on the breaking up of the dodecarchy, or Nebuchadnezzar, or Cambyses, has, each in his turn, been identified as presenting the fea...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**10. old time--**Hebrew, "ages."
**which was--**The Hebrew plural cannot be joined to the verb singular. Therefore translate: "It hath been in the ages before; certainly it hath been before us" [Holden]. Or, as Maurer: "That which has been (done) before us (in our presence, 1Ch 16:33), has been (done) already in the old times."
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 19
Judgments upon Egypt. (Is. 19:1-17) Its deliverance, and the conversion of the people. (Is. 19:18-25)
**Verses 1-17** God shall come into Egypt with his judgments. He will raise up the causes of their destruction from among themselves. When ungodly men escape danger, they are apt to think themselves secure; but evil pursues sinners, and will speedily overtake them, except they rep...
Read full commentary →And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up.
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KJV Study Commentary
'And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up.' The Nile—Egypt's lifeblood—fails. Egypt's entire economy, agriculture, and civilization depended absolutely on the Nile's annual flood cycle. Without it, Egypt becomes uninhabitable desert. The 'sea' refers to the Nile Delta region and associated lakes. This judgment strikes Egypt's fundamental source of life and...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **The waters shall fail from the sea.**—The “sea,” like the river, is, of course, the Nile (Homer calls it *Oceanus*)*, *or, possibly, indicates specially the Pelusiac branch of the river. So the White and Blue Niles are respectively the White and Blue Seas (*Bahr*)*. *The words that follow seem to describe partly the result of the failure of the annual rising of the Nile, partly of the neglec...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
11. The reason why some things are thought "new," which are not really so, is the imperfect record that exists of preceding ages among their successors.
**those that ... come after--**that is, those that live still later than the "things, rather the persons or generations, Ec 1:4, with which this verse is connected, the six intermediate verses being merely illustrations of Ec 1:4 [Weiss], that a...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 19
Judgments upon Egypt. (Is. 19:1-17) Its deliverance, and the conversion of the people. (Is. 19:18-25)
**Verses 1-17** God shall come into Egypt with his judgments. He will raise up the causes of their destruction from among themselves. When ungodly men escape danger, they are apt to think themselves secure; but evil pursues sinners, and will speedily overtake them, except they rep...
Read full commentary →And they shall turn the rivers far away; and the brooks of defence shall be emptied and dried up: the reeds and flags shall wither.
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KJV Study Commentary
'And they shall turn the rivers far away; and the brooks of defence shall be emptied and dried up: the reeds and flags shall wither.' The Nile's branches ('rivers'—distributaries in the Delta) turn away—changing course or drying up. 'Brooks of defence' (irrigation canals) empty—defensive moats and waterways fail. Reeds and flags (papyrus and marsh plants) wither. This comprehensive ecological coll...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **And they shall turn the rivers far away.**—Better, *the river shall stagnate; i.e., *in consequence of the Nile’s inundation failing.
**The brooks of defence.**—The latter noun (Heb., *matzor*) is better treated as a proper name, the singular of the dual form Mitsraim, commonly used for Egypt. Here it would seem to be used for Lower Egypt, the region of Zoan and Memphis, as distinct from Upp...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
12. Resumption of Ec 1:1, the intermediate verses being the introductory statement of his thesis. Therefore, "the Preacher" (Koheleth) is repeated.
**was king--**instead of "am," because he is about to give the results of his past experience during his long reign.
**in Jerusalem--**specified, as opposed to David, who reigned both in Hebron and Jerusalem; whereas Solomon reigned only in Jerusal...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 19
Judgments upon Egypt. (Is. 19:1-17) Its deliverance, and the conversion of the people. (Is. 19:18-25)
**Verses 1-17** God shall come into Egypt with his judgments. He will raise up the causes of their destruction from among themselves. When ungodly men escape danger, they are apt to think themselves secure; but evil pursues sinners, and will speedily overtake them, except they rep...
Read full commentary →The paper reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and every thing sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and be no more. and be: Heb. and shall not be
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KJV Study Commentary
'The paper reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and every thing sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and be no more.' Continuing the ecological disaster: vegetation by waterways withers and disappears. The threefold description emphasizes completeness: withering (dying), driven away (wind-blown after death), and 'be no more' (complete disappearance). Agriculture 'sown by t...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **The paper reeds by the brooks.**—Better, *the meadows by the Nile. *And so in the other clauses, the Hebrew word for “brooks” being used specifically for that river. For “shall wither and be driven away,” read, *shall dry up and vanish. *The valley of the Nile is to become as parched and barren as the desert on either side of it.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**13. this sore travail--**namely, that of "searching out all things done under heaven." Not human wisdom in general, which comes afterwards (Ec 2:12, &c.), but laborious enquiries into, and speculations about, the works of men; for example, political science. As man is doomed to get his bread, so his knowledge, by the sweat of his brow (Ge 3:19) [Gill].
**exercised--**that is, disciplined; ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 19
Judgments upon Egypt. (Is. 19:1-17) Its deliverance, and the conversion of the people. (Is. 19:18-25)
**Verses 1-17** God shall come into Egypt with his judgments. He will raise up the causes of their destruction from among themselves. When ungodly men escape danger, they are apt to think themselves secure; but evil pursues sinners, and will speedily overtake them, except they rep...
Read full commentary →The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brooks shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish.
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KJV Study Commentary
'The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brooks shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish.' Economic devastation extends to fishing industry—fishermen mourn because there are no fish to catch. The progression ('cast angle...spread nets') covers different fishing methods, indicating comprehensive failure across all techniques. 'Languish' (ama...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **The fishers also shall mourn.**—With the failure of the river, one at least of the industries of Egypt failed also. Fish had at all times formed part of the diet of the working-classes of Egypt (Herod. ii. 93; Numbers 11:5), and the pictures of Egyptian life continually represent the two modes of fishing, with the “angle” or hook, and with the net.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
14. The reason is here given why investigation into man's "works" is only "sore travail" (Ec 1:13); namely, because all man's ways are vain (Ec 1:18) and cannot be mended (Ec 1:15).
**vexation of--**"a preying upon"
**the Spirit--**Maurer translates; "the pursuit of wind," as in Ec 5:16; Ho 12:1, "Ephraim feedeth on wind." But old versions support the English Version.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 19
Judgments upon Egypt. (Is. 19:1-17) Its deliverance, and the conversion of the people. (Is. 19:18-25)
**Verses 1-17** God shall come into Egypt with his judgments. He will raise up the causes of their destruction from among themselves. When ungodly men escape danger, they are apt to think themselves secure; but evil pursues sinners, and will speedily overtake them, except they rep...
Read full commentary →Moreover they that work in fine flax, and they that weave networks, shall be confounded. networks: or, white works
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KJV Study Commentary
'Moreover they that work in fine flax, and they that weave networks, shall be confounded.' The textile industry fails next. 'Fine flax' (Egyptian linen) was a luxury export. 'Networks' likely refers to fine woven fabrics. 'Confounded' (bosh) means ashamed, disappointed—skilled craftsmen unable to practice their trade experience shame and economic loss. Egypt's famous linen industry depended on fla...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **Moreover they that work in fine flax.**—Another class also would find its occupation gone. The “fine flax” was used especially for the dress of the priests (Herod. ii. 81), and for the mummy clothes of the dead (1Kings 10:28; Ezekiel 27:7).
**They that weave networks.**—Better, *white cloths, *the cotton or byssus fabrics for which Egypt was famous.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
15. Investigation (Ec 1:13) into human ways is vain labor, for they are hopelessly "crooked" and "cannot be made straight" by it (Ec 7:13). God, the chief good, alone can do this (Is 40:4; 45:2).
**wanting--**(Da 5:27).
**numbered--**so as to make a complete number; so equivalent to "supplied" [Maurer]. Or, rather, man's state is utterly wanting; and that which is wholly defective cannot be nu...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 19
Judgments upon Egypt. (Is. 19:1-17) Its deliverance, and the conversion of the people. (Is. 19:18-25)
**Verses 1-17** God shall come into Egypt with his judgments. He will raise up the causes of their destruction from among themselves. When ungodly men escape danger, they are apt to think themselves secure; but evil pursues sinners, and will speedily overtake them, except they rep...
Read full commentary →And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof, all that make sluices and ponds for fish. purposes: Heb. foundations for fish: Heb. of living things
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KJV Study Commentary
'And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof, all that make sluices and ponds for fish.' Aquaculture and water management industries fail. 'Broken in the purposes thereof' indicates frustrated plans—investment and labor proving futile. 'Sluices and ponds for fish' refers to artificial fish ponds and water management systems. When water sources fail, even engineered alternatives collapse. This...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof.**—Better, *the pillars thereof *(*i.e., *the props and columns of the state) *shall be broken in pieces, and all those who work for wages *(*i.e., *the great masses of the people) *shall be troubled in mind. *The word translated “purposes,” occurs in the sense here given in Psalm 11:3, and is there translated “foundations.” (Compare the like...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**16. communed with ... heart--**(Ge 24:45).
**come to great estate--**Rather, "I have magnified and gotten" (literally, "added," increased), &c.
**all ... before me in Jerusalem--**namely, the priests, judges, and two kings that preceded Solomon. His wisdom exceeded that of all before Jesus Christ, the antitypical Koheleth, or "Gatherer of men," (Lu 13:34), and "Wisdom" incarnate (Mt 11:1...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 19
Judgments upon Egypt. (Is. 19:1-17) Its deliverance, and the conversion of the people. (Is. 19:18-25)
**Verses 1-17** God shall come into Egypt with his judgments. He will raise up the causes of their destruction from among themselves. When ungodly men escape danger, they are apt to think themselves secure; but evil pursues sinners, and will speedily overtake them, except they rep...
Read full commentary →Surely the princes of Zoan are fools, the counsel of the wise counsellors of Pharaoh is become brutish: how say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings?
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KJV Study Commentary
'Surely the princes of Zoan are fools, the counsel of the wise counsellors of Pharaoh is become brutish: how say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings?' Egypt's vaunted wisdom fails. Zoan (Tanis) was a major Delta city and royal residence. Its 'princes' (sarim—officials, nobles) are 'fools' (evilim—stupid, foolish), and Pharaoh's counselors are 'brutish' (baar—sensele...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **Surely the princes of Zoan are fools.**—Zoan, the great city of the Delta, was known to the Greeks as Tanis, founded, as stated in Numbers 13:22, seven years after Hebron. Here the great Rameses II. fixed his capital, and the city thus acquired the name of Pi-Rameses.
**How say ye unto Pharaoh . . .?**—The princes of Zoan, probably priest-princes and priest-magicians (Exodus 7:11), boasting...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**17. wisdom ... madness--**that is, their effects, the works of human wisdom and folly respectively. "Madness," literally, "vaunting extravagance"; Ec 2:12; 7:25, &c., support English Version rather than Dathe, "splendid matters." "Folly" is read by English Version with some manuscripts, instead of the present Hebrew text, "prudence." If Hebrew be retained, understand "prudence," falsely so c...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 19
Judgments upon Egypt. (Is. 19:1-17) Its deliverance, and the conversion of the people. (Is. 19:18-25)
**Verses 1-17** God shall come into Egypt with his judgments. He will raise up the causes of their destruction from among themselves. When ungodly men escape danger, they are apt to think themselves secure; but evil pursues sinners, and will speedily overtake them, except they rep...
Read full commentary →Where are they? where are thy wise men? and let them tell thee now, and let them know what the LORD of hosts hath purposed upon Egypt.
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KJV Study Commentary
'Where are they? where are thy wise men? and let them tell thee now, and let them know what the LORD of hosts hath purposed upon Egypt.' God challenges Egypt: let their wise men explain divine purposes. The repeated 'where are they?' indicates absence or futility—either the wise men don't exist, or they're incompetent to understand God's plans. This sarcastic challenge demonstrates that human wisd...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**18. wisdom ... knowledge--**not in general, for wisdom, &c., are most excellent in their place; but speculative knowledge of man's ways (Ec 1:13, 17), which, the farther it goes, gives one the more pain to find how "crooked" and "wanting" they are (Ec 1:15; 12:12).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 19
Judgments upon Egypt. (Is. 19:1-17) Its deliverance, and the conversion of the people. (Is. 19:18-25)
**Verses 1-17** God shall come into Egypt with his judgments. He will raise up the causes of their destruction from among themselves. When ungodly men escape danger, they are apt to think themselves secure; but evil pursues sinners, and will speedily overtake them, except they rep...
Read full commentary →The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Noph are deceived; they have also seduced Egypt, even they that are the stay of the tribes thereof. they that: or, governors: Heb. corners
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KJV Study Commentary
'The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Noph are deceived; they have also seduced Egypt, even they that are the stay of the tribes thereof.' Egypt's leaders aren't just wrong—they're fools who've been deceived and who deceive others. Noph (Memphis) was Egypt's ancient capital; its princes represent the nation's leadership core. The 'stay of the tribes' (cornerstone/support of provinc...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **The princes of Noph.**—Probably, as in the LXX., Noph is the same as Memphis. The name has been derived (1) from *Ma-m-pthah *(“the house of Pthah,” an Egyptian deity of the Hephæstos, or Yulcan type); or (2), and more correctly, from *Men-nepher *(“place of the good”). This also was, as in Hosea 9:6 (where we have the form Moph), one of the chief royal cities of Lower Egypt, and the seat o...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 19
Judgments upon Egypt. (Is. 19:1-17) Its deliverance, and the conversion of the people. (Is. 19:18-25)
**Verses 1-17** God shall come into Egypt with his judgments. He will raise up the causes of their destruction from among themselves. When ungodly men escape danger, they are apt to think themselves secure; but evil pursues sinners, and will speedily overtake them, except they rep...
Read full commentary →The LORD hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof: and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit. a perverse: Heb. a spirit of perversities
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KJV Study Commentary
'The LORD hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof: and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit.' God actively sends confusion—a 'perverse spirit' (ruach ivim—spirit of distortions/perversity). This isn't mere human error but divine judgment causing intellectual and moral confusion. The simile of a drunk staggering in vomit vividly d...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **The Lord hath mingled a perverse spirit.**—Better, *hath poured a spirit of giddiness. *As in 1Kings 22:22; 1Samuel 16:14, the infatuation of the Egyptian rulers is thought of as a judicial blindness. Prostrate or vacillating amid the wrecks of frustrated hopes and plans, they are as the drunkard staggering in his foulness. (Comp. Isaiah 29:9.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 2
Ec 2:1-26.
He next tries pleasure and luxury, retaining however, his worldly "wisdom" (Ec 3:9), but all proves "vanity" in respect to the chief good.
**1. I said ... heart--**(Lu 12:19).
**thee--**my heart, I will test whether thou canst find that solid good in pleasure which was not in "worldly wisdom." But this also proves to be "vanity" (Is 50:11).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 19
Judgments upon Egypt. (Is. 19:1-17) Its deliverance, and the conversion of the people. (Is. 19:18-25)
**Verses 1-17** God shall come into Egypt with his judgments. He will raise up the causes of their destruction from among themselves. When ungodly men escape danger, they are apt to think themselves secure; but evil pursues sinners, and will speedily overtake them, except they rep...
Read full commentary →Neither shall there be any work for Egypt, which the head or tail, branch or rush, may do.
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KJV Study Commentary
'Neither shall there be any work for Egypt, which the head or tail, branch or rush, may do.' Complete paralysis—no work for anyone, regardless of position. 'Head or tail' represents leadership versus lowest classes. 'Branch or rush' represents strong versus weak. Normally societies function through differentiated roles, but under divine judgment, everyone is equally helpless. This describes totali...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **The head or tail, branch or rush.**—For this figurative description of all classes of the people, see Note on Isaiah 9:14.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2. laughter--**including prosperity, and joy in general (Job 8:21).
**mad--**that is, when made the chief good; it is harmless in its proper place.
**What doeth it?--**Of what avail is it in giving solid good? (Ec 7:6; Pr 14:13).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 19
Judgments upon Egypt. (Is. 19:1-17) Its deliverance, and the conversion of the people. (Is. 19:18-25)
**Verses 1-17** God shall come into Egypt with his judgments. He will raise up the causes of their destruction from among themselves. When ungodly men escape danger, they are apt to think themselves secure; but evil pursues sinners, and will speedily overtake them, except they rep...
Read full commentary →In that day shall Egypt be like unto women: and it shall be afraid and fear because of the shaking of the hand of the LORD of hosts, which he shaketh over it.
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KJV Study Commentary
'In that day shall Egypt be like unto women: and it shall be afraid and fear because of the shaking of the hand of the LORD of hosts, which he shaketh over it.' Egypt becomes 'like women'—not sexist but using ancient Near Eastern military metaphor where 'like women' meant 'unable to fight' (Jeremiah 50:37; 51:30; Nahum 3:13). Egypt's military prowess fails, becoming weak and fearful. The 'shaking ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **In that day shall Egypt be like unto “women.**—This image of panic, terror, and weakness has been natural in the poetry of all countries (comp. Homer, “Achæan women, not Achæan men”), and appears in its strongest form in Jeremiah 48:41. In such a state, even the land of Judah, once so despised, shall become a source of terror.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
3-11. Illustration more at large of Ec 2:1, 2.
**I sought--**I resolved, after search into many plans.
**give myself unto wine--**literally, "to draw my flesh," or "body to wine" (including all banquetings). Image from a captive drawn after a chariot in triumph (Ro 6:16, 19; 1Co 12:2); or, one "allured" (2Pe 2:18, 19).
**yet acquainting ... wisdom--**literally, "and my heart (still) was beha...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 19
Judgments upon Egypt. (Is. 19:1-17) Its deliverance, and the conversion of the people. (Is. 19:18-25)
**Verses 1-17** God shall come into Egypt with his judgments. He will raise up the causes of their destruction from among themselves. When ungodly men escape danger, they are apt to think themselves secure; but evil pursues sinners, and will speedily overtake them, except they rep...
Read full commentary →And the land of Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt, every one that maketh mention thereof shall be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of the LORD of hosts, which he hath determined against it.
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KJV Study Commentary
'And the land of Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt, every one that maketh mention thereof shall be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of the LORD of hosts, which he hath determined against it.' Dramatic reversal: formerly mighty Egypt fears tiny Judah. Not because Judah is militarily superior, but because of 'the counsel of the LORD of hosts'—divine purposes associated with Judah terrify E...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
3-11. Illustration more at large of Ec 2:1, 2.
**I sought--**I resolved, after search into many plans.
**give myself unto wine--**literally, "to draw my flesh," or "body to wine" (including all banquetings). Image from a captive drawn after a chariot in triumph (Ro 6:16, 19; 1Co 12:2); or, one "allured" (2Pe 2:18, 19).
**yet acquainting ... wisdom--**literally, "and my heart (still) was beha...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 19
Judgments upon Egypt. (Is. 19:1-17) Its deliverance, and the conversion of the people. (Is. 19:18-25)
**Verses 1-17** God shall come into Egypt with his judgments. He will raise up the causes of their destruction from among themselves. When ungodly men escape danger, they are apt to think themselves secure; but evil pursues sinners, and will speedily overtake them, except they rep...
Read full commentary →In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan, and swear to the LORD of hosts; one shall be called, The city of destruction. the language: Heb. the lip of destruction: or, of Heres, or, of the sun
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KJV Study Commentary
'In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan, and swear to the LORD of hosts; one shall be called, The city of destruction.' Future conversion of Egyptian cities to worship Yahweh. 'Language of Canaan' means Hebrew, but figuratively indicates adopting Israelite faith and covenant relationship. 'Swear to the LORD' indicates covenant commitment. This eschatologica...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) **In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan.**—The prophecy is, it will be noticed, parallel to that affecting Ethiopia in Isaiah 18:7, and at least expresses the yearnings of the prophet’s heart after the conversion of Egypt to the worship of Jehovah. Like the previous prediction, it connects itself with Psalms 87, as recording the admission of proselyte...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
3-11. Illustration more at large of Ec 2:1, 2.
**I sought--**I resolved, after search into many plans.
**give myself unto wine--**literally, "to draw my flesh," or "body to wine" (including all banquetings). Image from a captive drawn after a chariot in triumph (Ro 6:16, 19; 1Co 12:2); or, one "allured" (2Pe 2:18, 19).
**yet acquainting ... wisdom--**literally, "and my heart (still) was beha...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-25** The words, "In that day," do not always refer to the passage just before. At a time which was to come, the Egyptians shall speak the holy language, the Scripture language; not only understand it, but use it. Converting grace, by changing the heart, changes the language; for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. So many Jews shall come to Egypt, that they shall soon f...
Read full commentary →In that day shall there be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the LORD.
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KJV Study Commentary
'In that day shall there be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the LORD.' Unprecedented vision—legitimate Yahweh worship in Egypt itself. An 'altar' in Egypt's 'midst' (heart/center) and a 'pillar' (standing stone/monument) at the border both dedicated to Yahweh. This violates Deuteronomic centralization of worship in Jerusalem (Deuteronom...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **In that day shall there be an altar to the Lord . . .**—The words naturally tended to bring about their own fulfilment, as related in the preceding note. From the prophet’s own stand-point, however, the altar was probably thought of, not as the centre of a rival worship, but, like that erected by the trans-Jordanic tribes in the time of Joshua, as an altar of “witness” (Joshua 22:27), and t...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
3-11. Illustration more at large of Ec 2:1, 2.
**I sought--**I resolved, after search into many plans.
**give myself unto wine--**literally, "to draw my flesh," or "body to wine" (including all banquetings). Image from a captive drawn after a chariot in triumph (Ro 6:16, 19; 1Co 12:2); or, one "allured" (2Pe 2:18, 19).
**yet acquainting ... wisdom--**literally, "and my heart (still) was beha...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-25** The words, "In that day," do not always refer to the passage just before. At a time which was to come, the Egyptians shall speak the holy language, the Scripture language; not only understand it, but use it. Converting grace, by changing the heart, changes the language; for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. So many Jews shall come to Egypt, that they shall soon f...
Read full commentary →And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt: for they shall cry unto the LORD because of the oppressors, and he shall send them a saviour, and a great one, and he shall deliver them.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
'And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt: for they shall cry unto the LORD because of the oppressors, and he shall send them a saviour, and a great one, and he shall deliver them.' The altar and pillar serve as 'sign and witness'—testimony to God's presence and character. Future oppressed Egyptians will cry to Yahweh, and He will send 'a saviour'—de...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(20) F**or they shall cry unto the Lord because of the oppressors . . .**—The words are almost as an anticipation of the great truth proclaimed in John 4:21. The prayers of the worshippers in spirit and in truth, whether Jews or proselytes, in Egypt should find as immediate an access to the ear of Jehovah as if they had been offered in the Temple at Jerusalem. If the people suffered under the oppr...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
3-11. Illustration more at large of Ec 2:1, 2.
**I sought--**I resolved, after search into many plans.
**give myself unto wine--**literally, "to draw my flesh," or "body to wine" (including all banquetings). Image from a captive drawn after a chariot in triumph (Ro 6:16, 19; 1Co 12:2); or, one "allured" (2Pe 2:18, 19).
**yet acquainting ... wisdom--**literally, "and my heart (still) was beha...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-25** The words, "In that day," do not always refer to the passage just before. At a time which was to come, the Egyptians shall speak the holy language, the Scripture language; not only understand it, but use it. Converting grace, by changing the heart, changes the language; for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. So many Jews shall come to Egypt, that they shall soon f...
Read full commentary →And the LORD shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the LORD in that day, and shall do sacrifice and oblation; yea, they shall vow a vow unto the LORD, and perform it.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
'And the LORD shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the LORD in that day, and shall do sacrifice and oblation; yea, they shall vow a vow unto the LORD, and perform it.' Knowledge of Yahweh becomes Egypt's possession—'the LORD shall be known' indicates revelation, and 'Egyptians shall know' indicates response. This isn't mere intellectual awareness but covenant relationship knowledg...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(21) **The Egyptians shall know the Lord . . .**—Here also we note what we may venture to call the catholicity of Isaiah’s mind. The highest of all blessings, the knowledge of God as He is (John 17:3), was not to be the exclusive inheritance of Israel, but was to be shared even by the nation whom she had reason to regard as her hereditary enemy.
**Sacrifice and oblation.**—The two words describe r...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
3-11. Illustration more at large of Ec 2:1, 2.
**I sought--**I resolved, after search into many plans.
**give myself unto wine--**literally, "to draw my flesh," or "body to wine" (including all banquetings). Image from a captive drawn after a chariot in triumph (Ro 6:16, 19; 1Co 12:2); or, one "allured" (2Pe 2:18, 19).
**yet acquainting ... wisdom--**literally, "and my heart (still) was beha...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-25** The words, "In that day," do not always refer to the passage just before. At a time which was to come, the Egyptians shall speak the holy language, the Scripture language; not only understand it, but use it. Converting grace, by changing the heart, changes the language; for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. So many Jews shall come to Egypt, that they shall soon f...
Read full commentary →And the LORD shall smite Egypt: he shall smite and heal it: and they shall return even to the LORD, and he shall be intreated of them, and shall heal them.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
'And the LORD shall smite Egypt: he shall smite and heal it: and they shall return even to the LORD, and he shall be intreated of them, and shall heal them.' Divine discipline leads to restoration: God smites (strikes/judges), but then heals. This smiting produces repentance—'they shall return' (shuv—turn back, repent). God is 'intreated' (atar—responds favorably to prayer), and healing follows. T...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(22) **And the Lord shall smite Egypt . . .**—The tone of the preceding verses seems at first at variance with the stern prophecies of disaster with which the chapter opened. The prophet, however, is no eater of his words. What he has learnt is to look beyond the chastisement, and to see that it is as true of Egypt as of Israel, that “whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth.” The sword of Jehovah smote...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
3-11. Illustration more at large of Ec 2:1, 2.
**I sought--**I resolved, after search into many plans.
**give myself unto wine--**literally, "to draw my flesh," or "body to wine" (including all banquetings). Image from a captive drawn after a chariot in triumph (Ro 6:16, 19; 1Co 12:2); or, one "allured" (2Pe 2:18, 19).
**yet acquainting ... wisdom--**literally, "and my heart (still) was beha...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-25** The words, "In that day," do not always refer to the passage just before. At a time which was to come, the Egyptians shall speak the holy language, the Scripture language; not only understand it, but use it. Converting grace, by changing the heart, changes the language; for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. So many Jews shall come to Egypt, that they shall soon f...
Read full commentary →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 serve with the Assyrians.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
'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 serve with the Assyrians.' Remarkable peace vision—Egypt and Assyria (ancient enemies) connected by highway enabling free travel and joint worship. 'Serve' (avad) means worship/serve God together. Historical enmity (Assyria conquered Egypt, 6...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(23) **In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria.**—The prophet’s horizon at once brightens and expands. Palestine was in his time the battle-field of the two great empires. The armies of one of the great powers crossed it both before and after, as in the case of Shishak, Zerah, Tirhakah, Necho, Sargon, Sennacherib, Nebuchadnezzar, on their march against the other. The prophet l...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
3-11. Illustration more at large of Ec 2:1, 2.
**I sought--**I resolved, after search into many plans.
**give myself unto wine--**literally, "to draw my flesh," or "body to wine" (including all banquetings). Image from a captive drawn after a chariot in triumph (Ro 6:16, 19; 1Co 12:2); or, one "allured" (2Pe 2:18, 19).
**yet acquainting ... wisdom--**literally, "and my heart (still) was beha...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-25** The words, "In that day," do not always refer to the passage just before. At a time which was to come, the Egyptians shall speak the holy language, the Scripture language; not only understand it, but use it. Converting grace, by changing the heart, changes the language; for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. So many Jews shall come to Egypt, that they shall soon f...
Read full commentary →In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land:
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
'In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land.' Unprecedented equality—Israel doesn't dominate but joins Egypt and Assyria as equal partners. 'The third' indicates partnership, not hierarchy. Together they constitute 'a blessing in the midst of the land' (earth)—their unity blesses all nations. This fulfills Abrahamic covenant: Israel ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
3-11. Illustration more at large of Ec 2:1, 2.
**I sought--**I resolved, after search into many plans.
**give myself unto wine--**literally, "to draw my flesh," or "body to wine" (including all banquetings). Image from a captive drawn after a chariot in triumph (Ro 6:16, 19; 1Co 12:2); or, one "allured" (2Pe 2:18, 19).
**yet acquainting ... wisdom--**literally, "and my heart (still) was beha...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-25** The words, "In that day," do not always refer to the passage just before. At a time which was to come, the Egyptians shall speak the holy language, the Scripture language; not only understand it, but use it. Converting grace, by changing the heart, changes the language; for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. So many Jews shall come to Egypt, that they shall soon f...
Read full commentary →Whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
'Whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance.' Astonishing conclusion: God applies His covenant titles to Gentile nations. 'Egypt MY PEOPLE' uses the covenant phrase reserved for Israel (Exodus 3:7; Hosea 1:9-10). 'Assyria the work of my hands' echoes Isaiah 60:21's description of Israel. 'Israel mine inherit...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(25) **Whom the Lord of hosts shall bless . . .**—In this tripartite holy alliance Israel is to retain the spiritual supremacy. Egypt, once alien, becomes the people of the Lord. (Comp. Hosea 1:9-10.) Assyria is recognised as the instrument which He has made to do His work (comp. Isaiah 10:15; Isaiah 37:26); but Israel has the proud pre-eminence of being His “inheritance.”
Ellicott's Commentary fo...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
12. He had tried (worldly) wisdom (Ec 1:12-18) and folly (foolish pleasure) (Ec 2:1-11); he now compares them (Ec 2:12) and finds that while (worldly)
wisdom excelleth folly (Ec 2:13, 14), yet the one event, death, befalls both (Ec 2:14-16), and that thus the wealth acquired by the wise man's "labor" may descend to a "fool" that hath not labored (Ec 2:18, 19, 21); therefore all his labor is van...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-25** The words, "In that day," do not always refer to the passage just before. At a time which was to come, the Egyptians shall speak the holy language, the Scripture language; not only understand it, but use it. Converting grace, by changing the heart, changes the language; for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. So many Jews shall come to Egypt, that they shall soon f...
Read full commentary →