English Standard Version
Isaiah 19:3
3and 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;
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)The Egyptians will lose heart, and I will confuse their plans. They will plead with their idols for wisdom and call on spirits, mediums, and those who consult the spirits of the dead.
Context of Isaiah 19:3
1An oracle concerning Egypt. Behold, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud and comes to Egypt; and the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence, and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them. 2And I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians, and they will fight, each against another and each against his neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom; 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; 4and I will give over the Egyptians into the hand of a hard master, and a fierce king will rule over them, declares the Lord God of hosts. 5And the waters of the sea will be dried up, and the river will be dry and parched,
Read all of Isaiah 19Isaiah 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 19:1An oracle concerning Egypt. Behold, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud and comes to Egypt; and 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 the spirit would grow faint before me, and the breath of life that I made.
- 1 Samuel 25:37In the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone.
- Psalms 76:12who cuts off the spirit of princes, who is to be feared by the kings of the earth.
- Jeremiah 46:15Why are your mighty ones face down? They do not stand because the Lord thrust them down.
- Ezekiel 21:7And when they say to you, 'Why do you groan?' you shall say, 'Because of the news that it is coming. Every heart will melt, and all hands will be feeble; every spirit will faint, and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it is coming, and it will be fulfilled,'" declares the Lord God.
- Ezekiel 22:14Can your courage endure, or can your hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with you? I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it.
- Isaiah 14:27For the Lord of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back?
- 2 Samuel 15:31And it was told David, "Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom." And David said, "O Lord, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness."
- 2 Samuel 17:14And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, "The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel." For the Lord had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the Lord might bring harm upon Absalom.
- 2 Chronicles 25:16But as he was speaking, the king said to him, "Have we made you a royal counselor? Stop! Why should you be struck down?" So the prophet stopped, but said, "I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not listened to my counsel."
- Job 5:12He frustrates the devices of the crafty, so that their hands achieve no success.
- Proverbs 21:30No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the Lord.
- 1 Corinthians 3:19For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, "He catches the wise in their craftiness,"
- Psalms 107:27they reeled and staggered like drunken men and were at their wits' end.
- Isaiah 8:19And when they say to you, "Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter," should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of 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
In the dictionaries
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries