ris3n's Apologetics Codex
Isaiah 19.1
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Passage

Isaiah 19.1

Book: Isaiah · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

1. The 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.

  1. And I will 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. 3. And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst of it; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek unto the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards. (Isaiah 19:1-3, ASV)
WEB

1. The burden of Egypt: “Behold, Yahweh rides on a swift cloud, and comes to Egypt. The idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence; and the heart of Egypt will melt within it.

  1. I will stir up the Egyptians against the Egyptians, and they will fight everyone against his brother, and everyone against his neighbor; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom. 3. The spirit of Egypt will fail within it. I will destroy its counsel. They will seek the idols, the charmers, those who have familiar spirits, and the wizards. (Isaiah 19:1-3, WEB)
KJV

1. 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.

  1. 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 3. 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 (Isaiah 19:1-3, KJV)
YLT

1. The burden of Egypt. Lo, Jehovah is riding on a swift thick cloud, And He hath entered Egypt, And moved have been the idols of Egypt at His presence, And the heart of Egypt melteth in its midst.

  1. And I armed Egyptians against Egyptians, And they fought, each against his brother, And each against his neighbour, City against city, kingdom against kingdom. 3. And emptied out hath been in its midst the spirit of Egypt. And its counsel I swallow up, And they have sought unto the idols, And unto the charmers, And unto those having familiar spirits, And unto the wizards. (Isaiah 19:1-3, YLT)

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Setting

  • Speaker: Isaiah the prophet, delivering an oracle ("burden") concerning Egypt, in which YHWH also speaks in the first person (19:2, 19:4)
  • Audience: Judah, the people who hear the oracle; Egypt is its subject rather than its hearer
  • Location: Jerusalem, where Isaiah ministered
  • Time period: Eighth century BC, during Isaiah's ministry under the kings of Judah from Uzziah to Hezekiah (1:1). The oracle sits in the collection of oracles against the nations (chapters 13-23), and its exact date is debated.

Theological reading

"The 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." The verse is the heading and opening picture of an oracle that moves from judgment on Egypt (19:1-17) to an astonishing promise of Egypt's conversion (19:18-25).

"The burden." The word (Strong's H4853, massa) comes from the verb "to lift" and heads several of Isaiah's oracles against the nations (13:1; 15:1; 17:1). It marks a weighty pronouncement laid on a people.

The rider on the cloud. "Jehovah rideth (H7392) upon a swift cloud (H5645)." Riding the clouds is language the Old Testament uses of God himself: "Who maketh the clouds his chariot; Who walketh upon the wings of the wind" (Psalm 104:3); "Who rideth upon the heavens for thy help, And in his excellency on the skies" (Deuteronomy 33:26). Texts from ancient Ugarit give the storm god Baal a similar title, "rider of the clouds," and Israel's poets apply the image to YHWH alone. This is why Daniel 7:13, where one "like unto a son of man" comes "with the clouds of heaven," draws attention: the figure arrives in the manner of God. Rabbinic and Christian readers differ on who that figure is; see Rabbinic Judaism vs the Christian God and Daniel 7.13-14.

The idols tremble. Egypt's gods are called elilim (H457), a word Isaiah uses for idols as worthless things (2:8, 2:18, 2:20). They "tremble" before YHWH as the people's courage melts. The image recalls the exodus, when God said, "against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments" (Exodus 12:12). Here the God of Israel comes into Egypt again, and Egypt's gods cannot stand before him. The oracle does not end in destruction, though: by 19:21 "Jehovah shall be known to Egypt." See Kemetic Religion vs the Christian God.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.