Isaiah 19:11

Isaiah 19:11 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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?
• New International Version (NIV)The officials of Zoan are nothing but fools; the wise counselors of Pharaoh give senseless advice. How can you say to Pharaoh, “I am one of the wise men, a disciple of the ancient kings”?
• English Standard Version (ESV)The princes of Zoan are utterly foolish; the wisest counselors of Pharaoh give stupid counsel. How can you say to Pharaoh, "I am a son of the wise, a son of ancient kings"?
• New King James Version (NKJV)Surely the princes of Zoan are fools; Pharaoh’s wise counselors give foolish counsel. How do you say to Pharaoh, “I am the son of the wise, The son of ancient kings?”

Context of Isaiah 19:11

9The workers in flax will be dismayed, and the weavers of fine linen will turn pale. 10The workers in cloth will be dejected, and all the hired workers will be sick at heart. The princes of Zoan are mere fools; Pharaoh’s wise counselors give senseless advice. How can you say to Pharaoh, “I am one of the wise, a son of eastern kings”? 12Where are your wise men now? Let them tell you and reveal what the LORD of Hosts has planned against Egypt. 13The princes of Zoan have become fools; the princes of Memphis are deceived. The cornerstones of her tribes have led Egypt astray.

Isaiah 19:11 word by word

אַךְ־אֱוִלִים֙ שָׂ֣רֵי צֹ֔עַן חַכְמֵי֙ יֹעֲצֵ֣י פַרְעֹ֔ה עֵצָ֖ה נִבְעָרָ֑ה אֵ֚יךְ תֹּאמְר֣וּ אֶל־פַּרְעֹ֔ה בֶּן־חֲכָמִ֥ים אֲנִ֖י בֶּן־מַלְכֵי־קֶֽדֶם׃Read the interlinear

• The princesשַׂרώar · rulerH8269
• of Zoanצֹ֫עַןtsô‛an · ZoanH6814
• are mereאַךְ'ak · surelyH389
• foolsאֱוִיל'ĕvîyl · fool(ish)H191
• Pharaoh’sפַּרְעֹהpar‛ôh · PharaohH6547
• wiseחָכָםchâkâm · wiseH2450
• counselorsעֵצָה‛êtsâh · counselH6098
• give senselessבָּעַרbâ‛ar · be brutishH1197
• Howאֵיךְ'êyk 'êykâh 'êykâkâh · how?H349
• can you sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• toאֶל'êl 'el · to(wards)H413
• Iאֲנִי'ănîy · IH589
• am oneבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• of easternקֶ֫דֶםqedem qêdmâh · front: oldH6924
• kingsמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428

Cross-references for Isaiah 19:11

• Isaiah 19:3Then the spirit of the Egyptians will be emptied out from among them, and I will frustrate their plans, so that they will resort to idols and spirits of the dead, to mediums and spiritists.
• Isaiah 29:14Therefore I will again confound these people with wonder upon wonder. The wisdom of the wise will vanish, and the intelligence of the intelligent will be hidden.”
• Isaiah 44:25who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who confounds the wise and turns their knowledge into nonsense,
• Job 5:12He thwarts the schemes of the crafty, so that their hands find no success.
• Job 12:17He leads counselors away barefoot and makes fools of judges.
• Psalms 33:10The LORD frustrates the plans of the nations; He thwarts the devices of the peoples.
• Jeremiah 49:7Concerning Edom, this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Is there no longer wisdom in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom decayed?
• Ezekiel 7:26Disaster upon disaster will come, and rumor after rumor. Then they will seek a vision from a prophet, but instruction from the priests will perish, as will counsel from the elders.
• 1 Corinthians 1:19For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”
• Isaiah 30:4For though their princes are at Zoan and their envoys have arrived in Hanes,
• Numbers 13:22They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, dwelled. It had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.
• Psalms 78:12He worked wonders before their fathers in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.
• Ezekiel 30:14I will lay waste Pathros, set fire to Zoan, and execute judgment on Thebes.
• Psalms 73:22I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before You.
• Psalms 92:6A senseless man does not know, and a fool does not understand,
• Proverbs 30:2Surely I am the most ignorant of men, and I lack the understanding of a man.

Commentaries on Isaiah 19:11

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 11The counsel of the wise counselors of Pharaoh is become brutish "Have counseled a brutish counsel" - The sentence as it now stands in the Hebrew, is imperfect: it wants the verb. Archbishop Secker conjectures that the words פרעה יועצי yoatsey pharoh should be transposed; which would in some degree remove the difficulty. But it is to be observed, that the translator of the Vulgate seems to have found in his copy the verb יעצו yaatsu added after פרעה pharoh…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 11Surely the princes - The following verses, to Isaiah 19:16, are designed to describe further the calamities that were coming upon Egypt by a want of wisdom in their rulers. They would be unable to devise means to meet the impending calamities, and would actually increase the national misery by their unwise counsels. The word princes‘ here is taken evidently for the rulers or counselors of state. Of Zoan - The Vulgate, Septuagint, and Chaldee, render this…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 11Zoan was the capital of Egypt, located in the Nile delta (see Numbers 13:22). princes … wise counselors: The king relied on the strategies and advice of wise men (Isaiah 19:12; see Genesis 41:39–40). The officials of Zoan were famous for their wise ancestors, and Egypt often boasted about them.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1111. Zoan--The Greeks called it Tanis, a city of Lower Egypt, east of the Tanitic arms of the Nile, now San; it was one the Egyptian towns nearest to Palestine (Nu 13:22), the scene of Moses' miracles (Psa 78:12, 43). It, or else Memphis, was the capital under Sethos. I am ... son of the wise ... kings--Ye have no advice to suggest to Pharaoh in the crisis, notwithstanding that ye boast of descent from wise and royal ancestors. The priests were the usual…Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 19:11

• Sorcery
• War
• Zoan

In the dictionaries

• Pharaoh
• Pharaoh, king of Egypt
• Egypt
• Zoan
• Ancient
• Brute; Brutish
• Evil
• Ezekiel
• Fool; Folly
• Heredity

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