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 pronouncement concerning Egypt: Behold, 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 incite Egyptians against Egyptians; And they will fight, each against his brother and each against his neighbor, City against city and kingdom against kingdom. Then the spirit of the Egyptians will be demoralized within them; And I will confuse their strategy, So that they will resort to idols and ghosts of the dead, And to mediums and spiritists. 4Furthermore, I will hand the Egyptians over to a cruel master, And a mighty king will rule over them,” declares the Lord God of armies. 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

• Then the spiritרוּחַrûach · spiritH7307
• of the Egyptiansמִצְרַ֫יִםmitsrayim · EgyptH4714
• will be demoralizedבָּקַקbâqaq · to emptyH1238
• withinקֶ֫רֶבqereb · entrails: amongH7130
• And I will confuseבָּלַעbâla‛ · to swallow upH1104
• their strategyעֵצָה‛êtsâh · counselH6098
• they will resortדָּרַשׁdârash · to seekH1875
• to idolsאֱלִיל'ĕlîyl · idolH457
• mediumsאוֹב'ôb · mediumH178
• and spiritistsיִדְּעֹנִיyidde‛ônîy · spiritistH3049

Cross-references for Isaiah 19:3

• Isaiah 19:1The pronouncement concerning Egypt: Behold, 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 the spirit would grow faint before Me, And the breath of those whom I have made.
• 1 Samuel 25:37But in the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him so that he became like a stone.
• Psalms 76:12He will cut off the spirit of princes; He is feared by the kings of the earth.
• Jeremiah 46:15Why have your powerful ones been cut down? They do not stand because the Lord has thrust them away.
• Ezekiel 21:7And when they say to you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you shall say, ‘Because of the news, for it is coming; and every heart will melt, all hands will go limp, every spirit will be disheartened, and all knees will drip with water. Behold, it is coming and it will happen,’ declares the Lord God.”
• Ezekiel 22:14Can your heart endure, or can your hands be strong for the days that I will deal with you? I, the Lord, have spoken and will act.
• Isaiah 14:27For the Lord of armies has planned, and who can frustrate it? And as for His stretched-out hand, who can turn it back?”
• 2 Samuel 15:31Now someone informed David, saying, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” And David said, “Lord, please make the advice of Ahithophel foolish.”
• 2 Samuel 17:14Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The advice of Hushai the Archite is better than the advice of Ahithophel.” For the Lord had ordained to foil the good advice of Ahithophel, in order for the Lord to bring disaster on Absalom.
• 2 Chronicles 25:16As he was talking with him, the king said to him, “Have we appointed you to be a royal counselor? Stop! Why should you be put to death?” Then the prophet stopped and said, “I know that God has planned to destroy you, because you have done this and have not listened to my counsel.”
• Job 5:12He frustrates the schemes of the shrewd, So that their hands cannot attain success.
• Proverbs 21:30There is no wisdom, no understanding, And no plan against the Lord.
• 1 Corinthians 3:19For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the sight of God. For it is written: “He is the one who catches the wise by their craftiness”;
• Psalms 107:27They reeled and staggered like a drunken person, And were at their wits’ end.
• Isaiah 8:19When they say to you, “Consult the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter,” should a people not consult their God? Should they consult the dead in 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