מַשָּׂא מִצְרָיִם הִנֵּה ה' רֹכֵב עַל עָב קַל וּבָא מִצְרַיִם וְנָעוּ אֱלִילֵי מִצְרַיִם מִפָּנָיו וּלְבַב מִצְרַיִם יִמַּס בְּקִרְבּוֹ

A prophecy of Egypt: Behold, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud, and is coming quickly to Egypt, as the events described in this prophecy will occur in the near future. The gods of Egypt will tremble from His presence, and the heart of Egypt will melt within it.

וְסִכְסַכְתִּי מִצְרַיִם בְּמִצְרַיִם וְנִלְחֲמוּ אִישׁ בְּאָחִיו וְאִישׁ בְּרֵעֵהוּ עִיר בְּעִיר מַמְלָכָה בְּמַמְלָכָה

On the political level, I will provoke Egypt against Egypt, and each man will fight against his brother and each man against his neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom.

וְנָבְקָה רוּחַ מִצְרַיִם בְּקִרְבּוֹ וַעֲצָתוֹ אֲבַלֵּעַ וְדָרְשׁוּ אֶל הָאֱלִילִים וְאֶל הָאִטִּים וְאֶל הָאֹבוֹת וְאֶל הַיִּדְּעֹנִים

Furthermore, the spirit of Egypt will be broken [novka] within it. Rav Yosef Caspi, understands the word novka to be related to the word bokek, meaning broken. Alternatively, Egypt will be emptied of its wisdom or that its goals and plans will be stymied. And I will thwart its counsel, so that it will not come to pass. They, the Egyptians, will seek the gods, the ghosts, or the magical forces that communicate through murmurs, the mediums, and the oracles, but they will receive no counsel from them.

וְסִכַּרְתִּי אֶת מִצְרַיִם בְּיַד אֲדֹנִים קָשֶׁה וּמֶלֶךְ עַז יִמְשָׁל בָּם נְאֻם הָאָדוֹן ה' צְבָאוֹת

I will deliver, or constrict and bring, the Egyptians into the hand of a harsh master [adonim]. This word appears here in the honorific plural form, masters, even though one master is meant. And a strong foreign king will rule over them – the utterance of the Master, the Lord of hosts.

וְנִשְּׁתוּ מַיִם מֵהַיָּם וְנָהָר יֶחֱרַב וְיָבֵשׁ

Water will disappear from the sea of Egypt, and the river will desiccate and become dry.

וְהֶאֶזְנִיחוּ נְהָרוֹת דָּלֲלוּ וְחָרְבוּ יְאֹרֵי מָצוֹר קוָסוּף קָמֵלוּ

The rivers will be abandoned, or will decrease; the streams of Egypt will be diminished and desiccated; the reeds and bulrushes that grow around them will also wither.

עָרוֹת עַל יְאוֹר עַל פִּי יְאוֹר וְכֹל מִזְרַע יְאוֹר יִיבַשׁ נִדַּף וְאֵינֶנּוּ

All that which is on the river and on the bank of the river will disintegrate and be drained, and all the vegetation that is sown near the Nile will dry out, be blown away, and be no more.

וְאָנוּ הַדַּיָּגִים וְאָבְלוּ כָּל מַשְׁלִיכֵי בַיְאוֹר חַכָּה וּפֹרְשֵׂי מִכְמֹרֶת עַל פְּנֵי מַיִם אֻמְלָלוּ

As a result of the drying out of the river, the fish will disappear. The fishermen will lament their loss, and all who cast a rod in the river will mourn; spreaders of large nets on the surface of the water will be miserable.

וּבֹשׁוּ עֹבְדֵי פִשְׁתִּים שְׂרִיקוֹת וְאֹרְגִים חוֹרָי

The workers of the combed flax, which will no longer grow, and the weavers of linen, who make types of cloth used, among other things, for fishermen’s nets, will be ashamed.

וְהָיוּ שָׁתֹתֶיהָ מְדֻכָּאִים כָּל עֹשֵׂי שֶׂכֶר אַגְמֵי נָפֶשׁ

Its, Egypt’s, foundations will be crushed, with all those who make dams and pools to store water that provide life, meaning for people’s livelihoods. Alternatively, this means standing pools, or pools containing living creatures. Some explain the verse as a play on words: All who are currently makers of dams and pools for the soul [agmei nefesh] will become depressed souls [agumei nefesh], which is spelled and pronounced similarly.

אַךְ אֱוִלִים שָׂרֵי צֹעַן חַכְמֵי יֹעֲצֵי פַרְעֹה עֵצָה נִבְעָרָה אֵיךְ תֹּאמְרוּ אֶל פַּרְעֹה בֶּן חֲכָמִים אֲנִי בֶּן מַלְכֵי קֶדֶם!

The princes of Tzo’an, the capital of Egypt, are mere fools, while the wise of the counselors of Pharaoh give him senseless and illogical counsel; how can you say to Pharaoh to say about himself: I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings? Pharaoh did not represent himself merely as a king, but a kind of god who was, among other things, the god of wisdom. This notion of the god-king was accepted by the Egyptians.

— אַיָּם אֵפוֹא חֲכָמֶיךָ וְיַגִּידוּ נָא לָךְ וְיֵדְעוּ מַה יָּעַץ ה' צְבָאוֹת עַל מִצְרָיִם

If in fact Pharaoh and his counselors are so wise, where are they, then, your wise men? Let them tell you now; and let them know what the Lord of hosts devised for the future of Egypt.

נוֹאֲלוּ שָׂרֵי צֹעַן נִשְּׁאוּ שָׂרֵי נֹף הִתְעוּ אֶת מִצְרַיִם פִּנַּת שְׁבָטֶיהָ

The princes of Tzo’an became fools and they have no solutions. The princes of Nof, another major Egyptian city, were beguiled and distracted; instead of helping Egypt, they led Egypt astray, by misleading the cornerstone of her tribes, the officers appointed over the tribes of Egypt.

ה' מָסַךְ בְּקִרְבָּהּ רוּחַ עִוְעִים וְהִתְעוּ אֶת מִצְרַיִם בְּכָל מַעֲשֵׂהוּ כְּהִתָּעוֹת שִׁכּוֹר בְּקִיאוֹ

All this has come about because the Lord poured in its midst a spirit of confusion, delusions, and they, the aforementioned officials, led Egypt astray in all its actions. The wisdom that Egypt ascribes to itself will disappear, and instead the Egyptians will repeatedly fall victim to their previous mistakes, as a drunk staggers and wallows in his own vomit.

וְלֹא יִהְיֶה לְמִצְרַיִם מַעֲשֶׂה אֲשֶׁר יַעֲשֶׂה רֹאשׁ וְזָנָב כִּפָּה וְאַגְמוֹן

Egypt will not have any action that it can perform, head and tail, a properly and viably planned action with a clear beginning and end. The Egyptians will be unable to distinguish between treetop and reed, between important matters and trivial ones.

בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יִהְיֶה מִצְרַיִם כַּנָּשִׁים וְחָרַד וּפָחַד מִפְּנֵי תְּנוּפַת יַד ה' צְבָאוֹת אֲשֶׁר הוּא מֵנִיף עָלָיו

On that day, the warriors of Egypt will be like women, terrified by the ongoing catastrophe, and trembling and fearing from the wave of the hand of the Lord of hosts that He waves over it.

וְהָיְתָה אַדְמַת יְהוּדָה לְמִצְרַיִם לְחָגָּא כֹּל אֲשֶׁר יַזְכִּיר אֹתָהּ אֵלָיו יִפְחָד מִפְּנֵי עֲצַת ה' צְבָאוֹת אֲשֶׁר הוּא יוֹעֵץ עָלָיו

The land of Judah will become a terror for Egypt. Judah, which in Isaiah’s time was a small state, will threaten Egypt in the future. Anyone who mentions it, the name of Judah, to himself, will fear, because of the ominous devising of the Lord of hosts that He devises against it, Egypt.

בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יִהְיוּ חָמֵשׁ עָרִים בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם מְדַבְּרוֹת שְׂפַת כְּנַעַן וְנִשְׁבָּעוֹת לַה' צְבָאוֹת עִיר הַהֶרֶס יֵאָמֵר לְאֶחָת

On that day, when Egypt will collapse, many changes will occur there: There will be five cities in the land of Egypt speaking the language of Canaan and taking oaths to the Lord of hosts. The inhabitants of those cities will speak Hebrew and believe in the God of Israel, because there the Israelites will be the rulers and those who set the cultural tone; some will even settle in those cities. Of one of those places it will be said: The city of destruction [heres].thers explain that this means the city of the sun, ḥeres. Indeed, there was a city in Egypt known by this name.

בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יִהְיֶה מִזְבֵּחַ לַה' בְּתוֹךְ אֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם וּמַצֵּבָה אֵצֶל גְּבוּלָהּ לַה'

On that day, there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a monument to the Lord at its border.

וְהָיָה לְאוֹת וּלְעֵד לַה' צְבָאוֹת בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם; כִּי יִצְעֲקוּ אֶל ה' מִפְּנֵי לֹחֲצִים וְיִשְׁלַח לָהֶם מוֹשִׁיעַ וָרָב וְהִצִּילָם

And it, referring either to the structure mentioned in the previous verse or the matter stated below, will be a sign and a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt, as they will cry out to the Lord due to oppressors, and He will send them a savior and a leader [rav], a great person, or one who will fight [yariv] on their behalf, and he will deliver them.

וְנוֹדַע ה' לְמִצְרַיִם וְיָדְעוּ מִצְרַיִם אֶת ה' בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא וְעָבְדוּ זֶבַח וּמִנְחָה וְנָדְרוּ נֵדֶר לַה' וְשִׁלֵּמוּ

The Lord will become known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know the Lord on that day; they will worship Him with a feast offering and a meal offering, and will take a vow to the Lord and fulfill it.

וְנָגַף ה' אֶת מִצְרַיִם נָגֹף וְרָפוֹא וְשָׁבוּ עַד ה' וְנֶעְתַּר לָהֶם וּרְפָאָם

The Lord will afflict Egypt; He will keep afflicting and healing them. The purpose of the repeated strikes is to correct their behaviors, not to destroy them. They will return to the Lord, and He will acquiesce to them and heal them.

בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא תִּהְיֶה מְסִלָּה מִמִּצְרַיִם אַשּׁוּרָה וּבָא אַשּׁוּר בְּמִצְרַיִם וּמִצְרַיִם בְּאַשּׁוּר וְעָבְדוּ מִצְרַיִם אֶת אַשּׁוּר

On that day, there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt and Egypt into Assyria, and Egypt will serve the Lord together with Assyria.

בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יִהְיֶה יִשְׂרָאֵל שְׁלִישִׁיָּה לְמִצְרַיִם וּלְאַשּׁוּר בְּרָכָה בְּקֶרֶב הָאָרֶץ

On that day, after the Assyrians conquer Egypt, and after Assyria and Egypt have both accepted upon themselves the yoke of the kingdom of God, Israel will be a triad with Egypt and with Assyria. Together they will form an alliance of three forces, which will be a blessing in the midst of the land

אֲשֶׁר בֵּרֲכוֹ ה' צְבָאוֹת לֵאמֹר בָּרוּךְ עַמִּי מִצְרַיִם וּמַעֲשֵׂה יָדַי אַשּׁוּר וְנַחֲלָתִי יִשְׂרָאֵל

that the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying: Blessed is My people Egypt, Assyria is the work of My hands, and My inheritance is Israel. In that new world order, peace will reign among these three kingdoms.