Isaiah 19:3

Isaiah 19:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)The Egyptians will lose heart, and I will bring their plans to nothing; they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead, the mediums and the spiritists.
• English Standard Version (ESV)and the spirit of the Egyptians within them will be emptied out, and I will confound their counsel; and they will inquire of the idols and the sorcerers, and the mediums and the necromancers;
• New King James Version (NKJV)The spirit of Egypt will fail in its midst; I will destroy their counsel, And they will consult the idols and the charmers, The mediums and the sorcerers.

Context of Isaiah 19:3

1The [mournful, inspired] oracle (a burden to be carried) concerning Egypt: Listen carefully, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud and is about to come to Egypt; The idols of Egypt will tremble at His presence, And the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them. 2“So I will provoke Egyptians against Egyptians; And they will fight, each one against his brother and each one against his neighbor, City against city, kingdom against kingdom. Then the spirit of the Egyptians will become exhausted within them and emptied out; And I will confuse their strategy, So that they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead, And mediums and soothsayers. 4And I will hand over the Egyptians to a hard and cruel master, And a mighty king will rule over them,” declares the Lord God of hosts. 5The waters from the sea will dry up, And the river will be parched and dry.

Isaiah 19:3 word by word

וְנָבְקָ֤ה רֽוּחַ־מִצְרַ֙יִם֙ בְּקִרְבּ֔וֹ וַעֲצָת֖וֹ אֲבַלֵּ֑עַ וְדָרְשׁ֤וּ אֶל־הָֽאֱלִילִים֙ וְאֶל־הָ֣אִטִּ֔ים וְאֶל־הָאֹב֖וֹת וְאֶל־הַיִּדְּעֹנִֽים׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the spiritרוּחַrûach · spiritH7307
• of Egyptמִצְרַ֫יִםmitsrayim · EgyptH4714
• shall failבָּקַקbâqaq · to emptyH1238
• in the midstקֶ֫רֶבqereb · entrails: amongH7130
• thereof; and I will destroyבָּלַעbâla‛ · to swallow upH1104
• the counselעֵצָה‛êtsâh · counselH6098
• thereof: and they shall seekדָּרַשׁdârash · to seekH1875
• to the idolsאֱלִיל'ĕlîyl · idolH457
• and to the charmersאִטִּי'aţ · muttererH328
• and to them that have familiar spiritsאוֹב'ôb · mediumH178
• and to the wizardsיִדְּעֹנִיyidde‛ônîy · spiritistH3049

Cross-references for Isaiah 19:3

• Isaiah 19:1The [mournful, inspired] oracle (a burden to be carried) concerning Egypt: Listen carefully, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud and is about to come to Egypt; The idols of Egypt will tremble at His presence, And the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.
• Isaiah 57:16For I will not contend forever, Nor will I always be angry; For [if I did stay angry] the spirit [of man] would grow weak before Me, And the breath of those whom I have created.
• 1 Samuel 25:37But in the morning, when Nabal was sober, and his wife told him these things, his heart died within him and he became [paralyzed and helpless] like a stone.
• Psalms 76:12He will cut off the spirit of princes; He is awesome and feared by the kings of the earth.
• Jeremiah 46:15Why have your strong ones been cut down? They do not stand because the Lord drove them away.
• Ezekiel 21:7And when they say to you, ‘Why do you sigh and groan?’ you shall answer, ‘Because of the news that is coming; and every heart will melt and all hands will be frail, and every spirit will faint and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it comes and it will happen,’ says the Lord God.”
• Ezekiel 22:14Can your heart (courage) endure, or can your hands be strong in the days that I will deal with you? I the Lord have spoken, and will act.
• Isaiah 14:27For the Lord of hosts has decided and planned, and who can annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?”
• 2 Samuel 15:31David was told, “Ahithophel [your counselor] is among the conspirators with Absalom.” David said, “O Lord, I pray You, turn Ahithophel’s counsel into foolishness.”
• 2 Samuel 17:14Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The advice of Hushai the Archite is better than that of Ahithophel.” For the Lord had ordained to thwart the good advice of Ahithophel, so that the Lord could bring disaster upon Absalom.
• 2 Chronicles 25:16As he was talking, the king said to him, “Have we made you the king’s counselor? Stop! Why should you be put to death?” Then the prophet stopped and said, “I know that God has decided to destroy you because you have done this and have ignored my advice.”
• Job 5:12He frustrates the devices and schemes of the crafty, So that their hands cannot attain success or achieve anything of [lasting] worth.
• Proverbs 21:30There is no [human] wisdom or understanding Or counsel [that can prevail] against the Lord.
• 1 Corinthians 3:19For the wisdom of this world is foolishness (absurdity, stupidity) before God; for it is written [in Scripture], “[He is] The one who catches the wise and clever in their craftiness;”
• Psalms 107:27They staggered and trembled like a drunken man, And were at their wits’ end [all their wisdom was useless].
• Isaiah 8:19When the people [instead of trusting God] say to you, “Consult the mediums [who try to talk to the dead] and the soothsayers who chirp and whisper and mutter,” should not a people consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living?

Commentaries on Isaiah 19:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3They shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards - And thei schul asken their symulacres, and their debynouris, and their devyl clepers, and their devyl sacristers. - Old Bible. The import of the original words has already been given where they occur in the Pentateuch. See Deuteronomy 18:10, etc.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3And the spirit of Egypt - (see Isaiah 19:1). They shall be exhausted with their long internal contentions and strifes; and seeing no prospect of deliverance, and anxious that the turmoils should end, they shall seek counsel and refuge in their gods and necromancers, but in vain. Shall fail - (נבקה nâbeqâh ). Margin, Be emptied.‘ The word means, literally, “to pour out, empty, depopulate.” Here it means that they would become disheartened and…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3People called upon idols, spirits, mediums, and those who consult the spirits of the dead to try to prevent destruction (see Isaiah 8:19–22; 47:12–13).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. spirit--wisdom, for which Egypt was famed (Is 31:2; 1Ki 4:30; Ac 7:22); answering to "counsel" in the parallel clause. fail--literally, "be poured out," that is, be made void (Jr 19:7). They shall "seek" help from sources that can afford none, "charmers," &c. (Is 8:19). charmers--literally, "those making a faint sound"; the soothsayers imitated the faint sound which was attributed to the spirits of the dead (see on Is 8:19).Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 19:3

• Charmers and Charming
• Familiar Spirits
• Sorcery
• War

In the dictionaries

• Egypt
• Egypt, Egyptian
• Charmer
• Idol
• Wizard
• Communion With Demons; Devils
• Divination
• Evil
• Ezekiel
• Familiar

Commentaries on Isaiah 19

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings