Calvin’s CommentariesIsaiah 18
John Calvin
Read Isaiah 18 in the BibleIsaiah 18:2
Isaiah 18:3
Isaiah 18:4
Isaiah 18:5
Isaiah 18:6
Isaiah 18:7
1. The burden of Egypt. Behold, the Lord rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it. 1. Onus Ægypti. Ecce Iehova equitat super nubem celerem, et veniet in Ægyptum; et commovebuntur idola Ægypti a facie ejus, et cor Ægypti dissolvetur in medio ejus.
2. And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom. 2. Et committam Ægyptios cum Ægyptiis, pugnabit quisque tunc contra fratrem suum; quisque, inquam, contra proximum suum; civitas contra civitatem, et regnum contra regnum.
3. 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. 3. Et exinanietur spiritus Ægypti in medio ejus: et consilium ejus destruam, etiamsi quærant illod apud idola, apud magos, apud pythones, apud divinos.
4. And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts. 4. Et tradam Ægyptios in manum domini sævi, et rex fortis dominabitur eis, dicit Dominus Iehova exercituum.
5. And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up. 5. Tunc deficient aquæ a mari, et fluvius exsiccabitur atque arescet.
6. And they shall turn the rivers far away; and the brooks of defence shall be emptied and dried up: the reeds and flags shall wither. 6. Elongabuntur flumina; exhaurientur et siccabuntur rivi munitionis, arundo et carectum succidentur.
7. The paper reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and every thing sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and be no more 7. Herbæ ad rivum et super os rivi, et omnis sementis rivi arescet, et propelletur, ut non sit.
8. The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brooks shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the water shall languish. 8. Et moerebunt piscatores, et lugebunt omnes qui hamum projiciunt in rivum; qui expandunt rete super faciem aquarum debilitabuntur.
9. Moreover, they that work in fine flax, and they that weave networks, shall be confounded. 9. Qui in lino optimo operantur erubescent, et qui texunt plagas foratas, (vel, pellucidas.)
10. And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof, all that make sluices and ponds for fish. 10. Erunt enum retia ejus dissipata; et omnes architecti retis (vel, mercedis) tristes erunt anima.
11. Surely the princes of Zoan are fools, the counsel of the wise counsellors of Paroaoh is become brutish: how say ye unto Paraoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings? 11. Certe stulti principes Zoan; prudentum consiliariorum Pharaonis consilium unfatuatum est. Quomodo dicitis Pharaoni, Filius sapientum ego, et filius regum antiquorum?
12. 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. 12. Ubi nunc prudentes tui? ut annuntient tibi, aut etiam sciant quid decreverit Iehova exercituum super Ægyptum.
13. The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Noph are deceived; they have also seduced Egypt, even they that are the stay of the tribes thereof. 13. Infatuati sunt principes Zoan, decepti sunt principes Noph, seduxerunt Ægyptum angulus tribuum ejus.
14. The Lord hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof; and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit. 14. Iehova miscuit in medio ejus spiritum perversitatis; et seduxerunt Ægyptum in omni opere ejus, quemadmodum circumagitur ebrius in vomito suo.
15. Neither shall there be any work for Egypt, which the head or tail, branch or rush, may do. 15. Nec erit Ægypto opus quod faciat caput vel cauda, ramus aut juncus.
16. In that day shall Egypt be like unto women; and it shall be afraid and fear, because of the shaking of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which he shaketh over it. 16. In die illa erit Ægyptus instar mulierum; horrebit enim et pavebit a facie agitationis manus Iehovæ exercituum, quam agitabit ipse super eam.
17. And the land of Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt; every one that maketh mention thereof shall be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of the Lord of hosts, which he hath determined against it. 17. Et erit terra Iuda Ægyptiis in tremorem. Omnis qui recordatus fuerit illius pavebit super ipsam, propter consilium Iehovæ exercituum, quod decrevit super eam.
18. In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan, and swear to the Lord of hosts: one shall be called, The city of destruction. 18. In die illa erunt quinque civitates in terra Ægypti loquentes labio Canaan, et jurantes per Iehovam exercituum. Civitas desolationis una vocabitur.
19. In that day shall there be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the Lord. 19. In die illa erit altare Iehovæ in medio terræ Ægypti, statua item juxta terminum ejus Iehovæ.
20. And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt: for they shall cry unto the Lord because of the oppressors, and he shall send them a savior, and a great one, and he shall deliver them. 20. Eritque in signum et in testem Iehovæ exercituum, in terra Ægypti; quia clamabunt ad Iehovam propter oppressores, et mittet eis servatorem et principem, ut liberet eos.
21. And the Lord shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day, and shall do sacrifice and oblation; yea, they shall vow a vow unto the Lord, and perform it 21. Et cognoscetur Iehova ab Ægyptiis, cognoscent, inquam, Ægyptii Iehovam in illo die; et facient sacrificium et oblationem, vovebuntque vota Iehovæ et reddent.
22. And the Lord shall smite Egypt; he shall smite and heal it: and they shall return even to the Lord, and he shall be entreated of them, and shall heal them. 22. Itaque percutiet Iehova Ægyptum, percutiens et sanans; convertentur enim ad Iehovam, et exorabitur ab eis, et sanabit eos.
23. In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria; and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians. 23. In die illa erit via ab Ægypto in Assyriam; commeabunt Assyrii in Ægyptum, et Ægyptii in Assyriam; et colent Ægyptii Assyrios (vel, cum Assyriis.)
24. In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land: 24. In die illa erit Israel tertia cum Ægypto, et Assyria benedictio in medio terræ.
25. Whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance. 25. Quia benedicet illi Iehova exercituum, dicens: Benedictus populus meus Ægyptius, et opus manus meæ Assyrius, et hæreditas mea Israel.
Calvin’s Commentaries — John Calvin. Public domain
Isaiah 18:1