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Isaiah 19:18-25

King James Version (KJV)

“In our prayers we talk to God, in our Bible study God talks to us, and we had better let God do most of the talking.”
— D.L. Moody

Scripture focus

18. 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. 19. 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. 20. 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. 21. 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]. 22. 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. 23. 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. 24. In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, [even] a blessing in the midst of the land: 25. Whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed [be] Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance.

Isaiah 19:18-25 — KJV

Commentary

Commentary on Isaiah 19:18

Theological / Devotional

In that day. That is, when Egypt has learned the folly and futility of opposition to the will of God (v. 17). Compare the same expression in Isa. 2:11, 17; 4:2; 26:1; 29:18; 52:6; Joel 3:18; Zech. 2:11; 9:16; 12:8; 13:1; 14:4, 9; Mal. 3:17. “In that day” appears to be a technical expression of the prophets in regard to the time when God reveals Himself to the nations and sets up the Messianic kingdom. The remainder of Isa. 19 (vs. 18-25) constitutes a conditional prophecy of the time when, according to God’s original plan for the evangelization of the world (see pp. 29, 34), the Egyptians should come to a knowledge of the true God and should serve Him as the Hebrew people did (see v. 25).

Five cities. Either five specific but unnamed cities (Heliopolis, Leontopolis, Elephantine, Daphnae, and Memphis have been suggested) or simply a round number. From among the heathen Egyptians, who had long rejected the message of God’s grace, many would turn to the Lord and learn the “language” and ways of God’s people (see p. 29). In Zeph. 3:8-10 a similar picture is presented (see also Zech. 14:16-19).

Swear. That is, swear an oath of allegiance to the Lord, acknowledging Him as the true God.

The city of destruction. Heb. ‘ir haheres, literally, “the city of the destruction.” Fifteen Hebrew manuscripts, the Dead Sea scroll lQIs, Symmachus’ version of the LXX, the Vulgate, and the Arabic read ‘ir hacheres, or its equivalent, “the city of the sun.” The name of the Egyptian city of Heliopolis means “City of the Sun.” Heliopolis is the Greek name for the city of On, mentioned in Gen. 41:45, 50. It was situated near the eastern bank of the Nile, 19 mi. north of Memphis (Noph; see Isa. 19:13), and almost due west of the northern end of the Gulf of Suez. Jeremiah (Jer. 43:13) refers to the city as Beth-shemesh, Hebrew for “House of the Sun.” This city was the center of sun worship. If the reading ‘ir hacheres is correct, Isaiah is commenting on the fact that of the “five cities” that “swear to the Lord of hosts” one would be the City of the Sun, the erstwhile center of Egyptian sun worship.

By SdaBc