Revised Version 1895
Isaiah 19:11
11The princes of Zoan are utterly foolish; the counsel of the wisest counsellors of Pharaoh is become brutish: how say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings?
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 they that work in combed flax, and they that weave white cloth, shall be ashamed. 10And her pillars shall be broken in pieces, all they that work for hire shall be grieved in soul. The princes of Zoan are utterly foolish; the counsel of the wisest counsellors of Pharaoh is become brutish: how say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings? 12Where then are thy wise men? and let them tell thee now; and let them know what the LORD of hosts hath purposed concerning Egypt. 13The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Noph are deceived; they have caused Egypt to go astray, that are the corner stone of her tribes.
Read all of Isaiah 19Isaiah 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
- princesשַׂרώar · rulerH8269
- Zoanצֹ֫עַןtsô‛an · ZoanH6814
- utterlyאַךְ'ak · surelyH389
- foolishאֱוִיל'ĕvîyl · fool(ish)H191
- counselעֵצָה‛êtsâh · counselH6098
- wisestחָכָםchâkâm · wiseH2450
- Pharaohפַּרְעֹהpar‛ôh · PharaohH6547
- howאֵיךְ'êyk 'êykâh 'êykâkâh · how?H349
- sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- sonבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
- kingsמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
Cross-references for Isaiah 19:11
- Isaiah 19:3And the spirit of Egypt shall be made void in the midst of it; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek unto the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards.
- Isaiah 29:14therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder: and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.
- Isaiah 44:25that frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish:
- Job 5:12He frustrateth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise.
- Job 12:17He leadeth counsellors away spoiled, and judges maketh he fools.
- Psalms 33:10The LORD bringeth the counsel of the nations to nought: he maketh the thoughts of the peoples to be of none effect.
- Jeremiah 49:7Of Edom. Thus saith the LORD of hosts: Is wisdom no more in Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished?
- Ezekiel 7:26Mischief shall come upon mischief, and rumour shall be upon rumour; and they shall seek a vision of the prophet; but the law shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the ancients.
- 1 Corinthians 1:19For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And the prudence of the prudent will I reject.
- Isaiah 30:4For his princes are at Zoan, and his ambassadors are come to Hanes.
- Numbers 13:22And they went up by the South, and came unto Hebron; and Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were there. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)
- Psalms 78:12Marvelous things did he in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.
- Ezekiel 30:14And I will make Pathros desolate, and will set a fire in Zoan, and will execute judgments in No.
- Psalms 73:22So brutish was I, and ignorant; I was as a beast before thee.
- Psalms 92:6A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this:
- Proverbs 30:2Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not 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
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
Revised Version 1895 — 1895 — Public Domain
Commentaries