Isaiah 19:20

Isaiah 19:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)It will be a sign and witness to the Lord Almighty in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and he will rescue them.
• English Standard Version (ESV)It will be a sign and a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry to the Lord because of oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and deliver them.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And it will be for a sign and for a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the Lord because of the oppressors, and He will send them a Savior and a Mighty One, and He will deliver them.

Context of Isaiah 19:20

18At that time, five cities in Egypt will speak the language of Canaan. The people in those cities will promise to obey the Lord Almighty. One of the cities will have the name ‘Sun City’. 19At that time, there will be an altar in the middle of Egypt's land, where people will worship the Lord. There will also be a tall stone for the Lord at Egypt's border. Those two things will be signs to tell everyone in Egypt about the Lord Almighty. Because of those signs, the Egyptians will remember that the Lord is powerful. When their enemies are cruel to them, they will call out to the Lord for help. Then he will send a strong saviour to rescue them. 21The Lord will cause the Egyptians to know him. They will agree to serve him. They will worship the Lord with sacrifices and offerings. They will make promises to the Lord, and they will do what they have promised to do. 22The Lord himself will punish the Egyptians. But after that, they will turn to the Lord. He will answer their prayers, and he will make them well again.

Isaiah 19:20 word by word

וְהָיָ֨ה לְא֥וֹת וּלְעֵ֛ד לַֽיהוָ֥ה צְבָא֖וֹת בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרָ֑יִם כִּֽי־יִצְעֲק֤וּ אֶל־יְהוָה֙ מִפְּנֵ֣י לֹֽחֲצִ֔ים וְיִשְׁלַ֥ח לָהֶ֛ם מוֹשִׁ֥יעַ וָרָ֖ב וְהִצִּילָֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And it shall be for a signאוֹת'ôth · sign: miraculousH226
• and for a witnessעֵד‛êd · witnessH5707
• unto the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• of hostsצָבָאtsâbâ' tsebâ'âh · HostsH6635
• in the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• of Egyptמִצְרַ֫יִםmitsrayim · EgyptH4714
• for they shall cryצָעַקtsâ‛aq · to cryH6817
• becauseפָּנֶהpânîym · face: becauseH6440
• of the oppressorsלָחַץlâchats · to oppressH3905
• and he shall sendשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
• them a saviourיָשַׁעyâsha‛ · to saveH3467
• and a great oneרַבrab · manyH7227
• and he shall deliverנָצַלnâtsal · to rescueH5337

Cross-references for Isaiah 19:20

• Isaiah 55:13Where thorn bushes have been growing, pine trees will grow instead. Myrtle bushes will grow where there are weeds now. Those things will show everyone that the Lord is great. It will be a sign to people for ever.
• Joshua 4:20At Gilgal, Joshua made a heap with the 12 stones that they had taken out of the Jordan River.
• Joshua 22:27But it will help us all, our descendants and your descendants, to remember to obey the Lord. We will go to worship him at his tabernacle. There we will bring to him our burnt offerings, our sacrifices and our friendship offerings. Then, in future years, your descendants will not say to our descendants, “You cannot worship the Lord with us.”
• Joshua 24:26Joshua wrote these things in the Book of God's Law. Then he took a big stone. He stood it there under the oak tree that was near the Lord's holy place.
• Isaiah 19:4I will cause a cruel master to have power over Egypt. A powerful king will rule over its people.’ That is what the Lord, the Almighty Lord.
• Isaiah 20:4The king of Assyria will take away people from Egypt as prisoners. He will do the same thing to the people of Cush. Young people and old people will go as prisoners to Assyria. They will not wear any clothes or shoes. People will see their bare bodies. The Egyptians will be very ashamed.
• Isaiah 52:5But now, what is happening? An enemy has taken my people away as slaves, for no good reason. Their leaders boast loudly, and they insult me all the time.
• Exodus 2:23After a long time had passed, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites were still slaves of the Egyptians. That made them very sad and they complained loudly. God heard them when they cried for help.
• Exodus 3:7The Lord said, ‘I have certainly seen the troubles of my people in Egypt. I have heard them when they cry for help because of their cruel masters. I know that they are very sad.
• 2 Kings 13:4Then King Jehoahaz asked the Lord for help. The Lord saw that the king of Syria was being very cruel to Israel, so he answered the prayer of Jehoahaz.
• Psalms 50:15Pray to me when you are in trouble. Then I will rescue you, and you will praise me.’
• James 5:4But you have not paid the workers in your fields the money that you should have paid them. You have cheated them. Now they are shouting against you. The Lord of great power has heard them when they cry to him for help.
• Isaiah 37:36Then the Lord's angel went to the camp of the Assyrian army. He killed 185,000 of their soldiers. When people got up in the morning, they saw all those dead bodies!
• Isaiah 45:21Now decide together what you will say in court! Tell me what you think! Who said a long time ago what would happen? Who spoke about it long before it happened? It was I, the Lord! There is nobody else like me. There is no other God, except me. I am a righteous God and I save my people. There is no other God.
• Luke 2:11Something happened today in the town of David. Someone special was born. He is the one who will save you. He is the Messiah. He is the Lord.

Commentaries on Isaiah 19:20

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20And it shall be for a sign - The altar, and the pillar. This shows that the altar was not to be for sacrifice, but was a “memorial,” or designed to designate a place of worship. They shall cry to the Lord because of the oppressors - That is, oppressed and borne down under the exactions of their rulers, they shall seek deliverance from the true God - one instance among many of the effect of affliction and oppression in leading people to embrace the true…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-25Verses 18-25 The words, "In that day," do not always refer to the passage just before. At a time which was to come, the Egyptians shall speak the holy language, the Scripture language; not only understand it, but use it. Converting grace, by changing the heart, changes the language; for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. So many Jews shall come to Egypt, that they shall soon fill five cities. Where the sun was worshipped, a place infamous…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20The altar (Isaiah 19:19) would be a sign and a witness of the Egyptians’ religious connection with Israel (see 19:24–25). God answers the prayers of those who ask the Lord for help. The Lord is a savior; he would protect the Egyptians just as he protected Jerusalem from the Assyrians.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 18-2218-22. In that day, &c.--Suffering shall lead to repentance. Struck with "terror" and "afraid" (Is 19:17) because of Jehovah's judgments, Egypt shall be converted to Him: nay, even Assyria shall join in serving Him; so that Israel, Assyria, and Egypt, once mutual foes, shall be bound together by the tie of a common faith as one people. So a similar issue from other prophecies (Is 18:7; 23:18). five cities--that is, several cities, as in Is 17:6; 30:17; Ge…Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 19:20

• Afflictions and Adversities
• Prayer

In the dictionaries

• Egypt
• Egypt, Egyptian
• Lord of Hosts
• Cry, Crying
• Ezekiel
• Great; Greatness
• Ir-Ha-Heres
• Isaiah
• Salvation

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