New King James Version
Isaiah 19:3
3The 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.
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 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
1The burden against Egypt. Behold, the Lord rides on a swift cloud, And will come into Egypt; The idols of Egypt will totter at His presence, And the heart of Egypt will melt in its midst. 2“I will set Egyptians against Egyptians; Everyone will fight against his brother, And everyone against his neighbor, City against city, kingdom against kingdom. 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. 4And the Egyptians I will give Into the hand of a cruel master, And a fierce king will rule over them,” Says the Lord, the Lord of hosts. 5The waters will fail from the sea, And the river will be wasted and dried up.
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 19:1The burden against Egypt. Behold, the Lord rides on a swift cloud, And will come into Egypt; The idols of Egypt will totter at His presence, And the heart of Egypt will melt in its midst.
- Isaiah 57:16For I will not contend forever, Nor will I always be angry; For the spirit would fail before Me, And the souls which I have made.
- 1 Samuel 25:37So it was, in the morning, when the wine had gone from Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became like a stone.
- Psalms 76:12He shall cut off the spirit of princes; He is awesome to the kings of the earth.
- Jeremiah 46:15Why are your valiant men swept away? They did not stand Because the Lord drove them away.
- Ezekiel 21:7And it shall be when they say to you, ‘Why are you sighing?’ that you shall answer, ‘Because of the news; when it comes, every heart will melt, all hands will be feeble, every spirit will faint, and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it is coming and shall be brought to pass,’ says the Lord God.”
- Ezekiel 22:14Can your heart endure, or can your hands remain strong, in the days when I shall deal with you? I, the Lord, have spoken, and 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 15:31Then someone told David, saying, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” And David said, “O Lord, I pray, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness!”
- 2 Samuel 17:14So 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 purposed to defeat the good advice of Ahithophel, to the intent that the Lord might bring disaster on Absalom.
- 2 Chronicles 25:16So it was, as he talked with him, that the king said to him, “Have we made you the king’s counselor? Cease! Why should you be killed?” Then the prophet ceased, and said, “I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not heeded my advice.”
- Job 5:12He frustrates the devices of the crafty, So that their hands cannot carry out their plans.
- Proverbs 21:30There is no wisdom or understanding Or counsel against the Lord.
- 1 Corinthians 3:19For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness”;
- Psalms 107:27They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, And are at their wits’ end.
- Isaiah 8:19And when they say to you, “Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,” should not a people seek their God? Should they seek 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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries