Isaiah 19:12

Isaiah 19:12 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Where are they? where are thy wise men? and let them tell thee now, and let them know what the Lord of hosts hath purposed upon Egypt.
• New International Version (NIV)Where are your wise men now? Let them show you and make known what the Lord Almighty has planned against Egypt.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Where then are your wise men? Let them tell you that they might know what the Lord of hosts has purposed against Egypt.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Where are they? Where are your wise men? Let them tell you now, And let them know what the Lord of hosts has purposed against Egypt.

Context of Isaiah 19:12

10They will be in despair, and all the workers will be sick at heart. 11What fools are the officials of Zoan! Their best counsel to the king of Egypt is stupid and wrong. Will they still boast to Pharaoh of their wisdom? Will they dare brag about all their wise ancestors? Where are your wise counselors, Pharaoh? Let them tell you what God plans, what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies is going to do to Egypt. 13The officials of Zoan are fools, and the officials of Memphis are deluded. The leaders of the people have led Egypt astray. 14The Lord has sent a spirit of foolishness on them, so all their suggestions are wrong. They cause Egypt to stagger like a drunk in his vomit.

Isaiah 19:12 word by word

אַיָּם֙ אֵפ֣וֹא חֲכָמֶ֔יךָ וְיַגִּ֥ידוּ נָ֖א לָ֑ךְ וְיֵ֣דְע֔וּ מַה־יָּעַ֛ץ יְהוָ֥ה צְבָא֖וֹת עַל־מִצְרָֽיִם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Whereאַי'ay · where?H335
• they? whereאֵפוֹ'êphô 'êphô' · thenH645
• thy wiseחָכָםchâkâm · wiseH2450
• and let them tellנָגַדnâgad · to tellH5046
• thee now, and let them knowיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• what the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• of hostsצָבָאtsâbâ' tsebâ'âh · HostsH6635
• hath purposedיָעַץyâ‛ats · to adviseH3289
• upon Egyptמִצְרַ֫יִםmitsrayim · EgyptH4714

Cross-references for Isaiah 19:12

• Isaiah 5:21What sorrow for those who are wise in their own eyes and think themselves so clever.
• Isaiah 47:10“You felt secure in your wickedness. ‘No one sees me,’ you said. But your ‘wisdom’ and ‘knowledge’ have led you astray, and you said, ‘I am the only one, and there is no other.’
• Judges 9:38Then Zebul turned on him and asked, “Now where is that big mouth of yours? Wasn’t it you that said, ‘Who is Abimelech, and why should we be his servants?’ The men you mocked are right outside the city! Go out and fight them!”
• Jeremiah 2:28But why not call on these gods you have made? When trouble comes, let them save you if they can! For you have as many gods as there are towns in Judah.
• 1 Corinthians 1:20So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish.
• Isaiah 40:13Who is able to advise the Spirit of the Lord? Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him?
• Isaiah 41:22“Let them try to tell us what happened long ago so that we may consider the evidence. Or let them tell us what the future holds, so we can know what’s going to happen.
• Isaiah 44:7Who is like me? Let him step forward and prove to you his power. Let him do as I have done since ancient times when I established a people and explained its future.
• Job 11:6If only he would tell you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom is not a simple matter. Listen! God is doubtless punishing you far less than you deserve!
• Romans 11:33Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!

Commentaries on Isaiah 19:12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12"Let them come" - Here too a word seems to have been left out of the text. After חכמיך chochameycha, thy wise men, two MSS., one ancient, add יבאו yibu, let them come; which, if we consider the form and construction of the sentence, has very much the appearance of being genuine: otherwise the connective conjunction at the beginning of the next member is not only superfluous but embarrassing. See also the Version of the Septuagint, in which the same…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12Where are they? - This whole verse is an appeal by the prophet to the king of Egypt respecting the counselors and soothsayers of his kingdom. The sense is, a time of distress and danger is evidently coming upon Egypt. They pretend to be wise; and there is now occasion for all their wisdom, and opportunity to evince it. Let them show it. Let them declare what is coming upon the nation, and take proper measures to meet and remove it; and they will then…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 12Where are your wise men now?: Compare 1 Corinthians 1:20.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. let them know--that is, How is it that, with all their boast of knowing the future [Diodorus, 1.81], they do not know what Jehovah of hosts ...Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 19:12

• Sorcery
• War

In the dictionaries

• Egypt
• Egypt, Egyptian
• Wise men
• Lord of Hosts
• Evil
• Ezekiel
• Isaiah
• Wisdom
• wise, wisdom

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