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

9Moreover, the manufacturers of linen made from combed flax And the weavers of white cloth will be utterly dejected. 10And the pillars of Egypt will be crushed; All the hired laborers will be grieved in soul. The princes of Zoan are mere fools; The advice of Pharaoh’s wisest advisers has become stupid. How can you men say to Pharaoh, “I am a son of the wise, a son of ancient kings”? 12Well then, where are your wise men? Please let them tell you, And let them understand what the Lord of hosts Has purposed against Egypt. 13The princes of Zoan have acted foolishly, The princes of Memphis are deluded; Those who are the cornerstone 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
• Zoanצֹ֫עַןtsô‛an · ZoanH6814
• are mereאַךְ'ak · surelyH389
• foolsאֱוִיל'ĕvîyl · fool(ish)H191
• The adviceעֵצָה‛êtsâh · counselH6098
• of Pharaoh’sפַּרְעֹהpar‛ôh · PharaohH6547
• wisestחָכָםchâkâm · wiseH2450
• advisersיָעַץyâ‛ats · to adviseH3289
• has becomeבָּעַרbâ‛ar · be brutishH1197
• Howאֵיךְ'êyk 'êykâh 'êykâkâh · how?H349
• sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• I am a sonבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• of ancientקֶ֫דֶםqedem qêdmâh · front: oldH6924
• kingsמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428

Cross-references for Isaiah 19:11

• Isaiah 19:3Then the spirit of the Egyptians will be demoralized within them; And I will confound their strategy, So that they will resort to idols and ghosts of the dead And to mediums and spiritists.
• Isaiah 29:14Therefore behold, I will once again deal marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous; And the wisdom of their wise men will perish, And the discernment of their discerning men will be concealed.”
• Isaiah 44:25Causing the omens of boasters to fail, Making fools out of diviners, Causing wise men to draw back And turning their knowledge into foolishness,
• Job 5:12He frustrates the plotting of the shrewd, So that their hands cannot attain success.
• Job 12:17He makes counselors walk barefoot And makes fools of judges.
• Psalms 33:10The Lord nullifies the counsel of the nations; He frustrates the plans of the peoples.
• Jeremiah 49:7Concerning Edom. Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Is there no longer any wisdom in Teman? Has good counsel been lost to the prudent? Has their wisdom decayed?
• Ezekiel 7:26Disaster will come upon disaster and rumor will be added to rumor; then they will seek a vision from a prophet, but the law will be lost from the priest and counsel from the elders.
• 1 Corinthians 1:19For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.”
• Isaiah 30:4For their princes are at Zoan And their ambassadors arrive at Hanes.
• Numbers 13:22When they had gone up into the Negev, they came to Hebron where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the descendants of Anak were. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)
• Psalms 78:12He wrought wonders before their fathers In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.
• Ezekiel 30:14I will make Pathros desolate, Set a fire in Zoan And execute judgments on Thebes.
• Psalms 73:22Then I was senseless and ignorant; I was like a beast before You.
• Psalms 92:6A senseless man has no knowledge, Nor does a stupid man understand this:
• Proverbs 30:2Surely I am more stupid than any man, And I do not have 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
• Egypt
• Zoan
• Ancient
• Brute; Brutish
• Evil
• Ezekiel
• Fool; Folly
• Heredity
• Isaiah

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