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.
• 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.
• 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

1A prophecy against Egypt: See, the Lord rides on a swift cloud and is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt tremble before him, and the hearts of the Egyptians melt with fear. 2“I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian— brother will fight against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom. 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. 4I will hand the Egyptians over to the power of a cruel master, and a fierce king will rule over them,” declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty. 5The waters of the river will dry up, and the riverbed 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

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 19:1A prophecy against Egypt: See, the Lord rides on a swift cloud and is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt tremble before him, and the hearts of the Egyptians melt with fear.
• Isaiah 57:16I will not accuse them forever, nor will I always be angry, for then they would faint away because of me— the very people I have created.
• 1 Samuel 25:37Then in the morning, when Nabal was sober, his wife told him all these things, and his heart failed him and he became like a stone.
• Psalms 76:12He breaks the spirit of rulers; he is feared by the kings of the earth.
• Jeremiah 46:15Why will your warriors be laid low? They cannot stand, for the Lord will push them down.
• Ezekiel 21:7And when they ask you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you shall say, ‘Because of the news that is coming. Every heart will melt with fear and every hand go limp; every spirit will become faint and every leg will be wet with urine.’ It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign Lord.”
• Ezekiel 22:14Will your courage endure or your hands be strong in the day I deal with you? I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it.
• Isaiah 14:27For the Lord Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?
• 2 Samuel 15:31Now David had been told, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” So David prayed, “Lord, turn Ahithophel’s counsel into foolishness.”
• 2 Samuel 17:14Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The advice of Hushai the Arkite is better than that of Ahithophel.” For the Lord had determined to frustrate the good advice of Ahithophel in order to bring disaster on Absalom.
• 2 Chronicles 25:16While he was still speaking, the king said to him, “Have we appointed you an adviser to the king? Stop! Why 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 thwarts the plans of the crafty, so that their hands achieve no success.
• Proverbs 21:30There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord.
• 1 Corinthians 3:19For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”;
• Psalms 107:27They reeled and staggered like drunkards; they were at their wits’ end.
• Isaiah 8:19When someone tells you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult 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

• 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