Study

a Bible passage

Click a verse to see commentary

Select a resource above

An Oracle concerning Egypt

An oracle concerning Egypt.

See, the L ord is riding on a swift cloud

and comes to Egypt;

the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence,

and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.

I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians,

and they will fight, one against the other,

neighbor against neighbor,

city against city, kingdom against kingdom;

the spirit of the Egyptians within them will be emptied out,

and I will confound their plans;

they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead

and the ghosts and the familiar spirits;

I will deliver the Egyptians

into the hand of a hard master;

a fierce king will rule over them,

says the Sovereign, the L ord of hosts.

The waters of the Nile will be dried up,

and the river will be parched and dry;

its canals will become foul,

and the branches of Egypt’s Nile will diminish and dry up,

reeds and rushes will rot away.

There will be bare places by the Nile,

on the brink of the Nile;

and all that is sown by the Nile will dry up,

be driven away, and be no more.

Those who fish will mourn;

all who cast hooks in the Nile will lament,

and those who spread nets on the water will languish.

The workers in flax will be in despair,

and the carders and those at the loom will grow pale.

Its weavers will be dismayed,

and all who work for wages will be grieved.

The princes of Zoan are utterly foolish;

the wise counselors of Pharaoh give stupid counsel.

How can you say to Pharaoh,

“I am one of the sages,

a descendant of ancient kings”?

Where now are your sages?

Let them tell you and make known

what the L ord of hosts has planned against Egypt.

The princes of Zoan have become fools,

and the princes of Memphis are deluded;

those who are the cornerstones of its tribes

have led Egypt astray.

The L ord has poured into them

a spirit of confusion;

and they have made Egypt stagger in all its doings

as a drunkard staggers around in vomit.

Neither head nor tail, palm branch or reed,

will be able to do anything for Egypt.

¹⁶ On that day the Egyptians will be like women, and tremble with fear before the hand that the L ord of hosts raises against them. ¹⁷And the land of Judah will become a terror to the Egyptians; everyone to whom it is mentioned will fear because of the plan that the L ord of hosts is planning against them.

Egypt, Assyria, and Israel Blessed

¹⁸ On that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the L ord of hosts. One of these will be called the City of the Sun.

¹⁹ On that day there will be an altar to the L ord in the center of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the L ord at its border. ²⁰It will be a sign and a witness to the L ord of hosts in the land of Egypt; when they cry to the L ord because of oppressors, he will send them a savior, and will defend and deliver them. ²¹The L ord will make himself known to the Egyptians; and the Egyptians will know the L ord on that day, and will worship with sacrifice and burnt offering, and they will make vows to the L ord and perform them. ²²The L ord will strike Egypt, striking and healing; they will return to the L ord, and he will listen to their supplications and heal them.

²³ On that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians.

²⁴ On that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, ²⁵whom the L ord of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my heritage.”

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

12. Where are thy wise men? that they may tell thee. Though literally it runs thus, “And they shall tell thee, and shall know,” yet the word ought to be regarded as meaning, “that they may tell thee, and even that at length they may know;” for this mode of expression is frequently employed by the Hebrews. The Egyptians had their diviners from whom they thought that nothing, however secret, was concealed; for they consulted them about the smallest and greatest affairs, and held their replies to be oracles. The Prophet, mocking that vanity, says, “How shall they tell what they do not know? Have they been admitted to the counsel of God?” It is also probable that he condemns the art which they used in divination, because it was not only unlawful, but also made use of absolute tricks and deceptions.

There are three ways in which we may foresee or know what is future. The first and chief way is, by the revelation of the Spirit, which alone can make us certain, as by the gift of prophecy, which is rare and uncommon. The second is, by astronomy. The third is, by a comparison of past events, from which prudence is commonly obtained

As to a knowledge of the stars, from their position and conjunction, some things may occasionally be learned, such as famine, scarcity, pestilence, abundant harvests, and things of that sort; but even these cannot be certain, for they rest on mere conjecture. Now, we ought always to consider what relation the stars bear to these lower regions; for the actions of men are not regulated by them, as idle and false astrologers imagine, a vast number of whom, at the present day, endeavor to insinuate themselves into the minds of princes and subjects, as if they possessed a knowledge of everything, both present and future. Such men resemble the impostors of whom the Prophet speaks, who deceive men by their jugglery. Yet princes lend an attentive ear to such persons, and receive them as gods; and indeed they deserve to be thus imposed upon, and are justly punished for their curiosity.

They likewise boast of magic, in which those Egyptian diviners were skilled. But they add many things which are worse, and more abominable, exorcisms and calling on devils, than which nothing more destructive can be expressed or conceived. The Lord pronounces a curse on such conjectures and arts of divination, and the issue of them cannot but be disastrous and wretched. And if they were formerly condemned in the Egyptians, how much more do they deserve condemnation in those who use the name of God as a pretext? It is wonderful that men otherwise acute and sagacious should be so childishly deceived by such jugglery, so that they appear to be deprived of understanding and judgment; but it is the Lord’s righteous vengeance, who punishes the wickedness of men.

Again, when from past events we calculate what is future, and judge by experience and observation what is most proper to be done, that cannot in itself be blamed; but neither can we by these means learn with certainty what is future, for the matter always lies in conjecture. Yet Isaiah directly attacks that sagacity which is universally applauded as something highly excellent, not because it is in itself sinful, but because we can scarcely find an acute or ingenious person who does not confidently believe that his skill places within his reach all that deserves or is necessary to be known. In this manner they despise the secret providence of God, as if nothing were hidden from them.

What the Lord of hosts hath decreed. There is still another vice, that craftiness and sleight of hand are preferred by them to true wisdom. But Isaiah expressly censures that pride which led men endued with great abilities to measure events by their own judgment, as if the government of the world were not in the hand of God; and therefore with their divination he contrasts the heavenly decree. And hence learn how skillfully Isocrates says,

“Κράτιστον εἶναι παρὰ μὲν θεοῦ εὐτυχίαν, παρὰ δὲ ἡμῶν αὐτῶν εὐβουλίαν,
“that the best gift of God is success, and the best gift from ourselves is prudence.”

At first sight, this maxim of the elegant orator appears beautiful; but since he robs God of the spirit of prudence and bestows it on mortals, the distribution is both wicked and foolish, to ascribe to men sound counsel, and to leave nothing to God but prosperous fortune. Now, if any one neglect the methods by which God teaches us, and resort to Satan’s impostures, he richly deserves to be deceived and involved in the greatest disgrace; for he seeks remedies that are nowhere to be found, and despises those which were offered by God.