Isaiah 19:14

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. 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 - referring to the anarchy arising from their internal feuds. Horsley translates, 'with respect to all His (God's) works;' they misinterpreted God's dealings at every step. "Mingled" contains the same image as "drunken:" as one mixes spices with wine to make it intoxicating (; ; ), so Yahweh has poured among them a spirit of giddiness, so that they are as helpless as a "drunken man....

14._The Lord hath mingled a spirit of perverseness. _Because it was a thing unexpected and incredible that the leaders of a sagacious and prudent nation would destroy the country by their stupidity, the Prophet therefore ascribes it to the judgment of God, that the Jews may not shut their eyes against an example so striking and remarkable, as irreligious men usually attribute the judgments of God to chance when anything new or unexpected has happened. The expression is metaphorical, as if one were to mix wine in a cup, that the Lord thus intoxicates the wise men of this world so that they are stunned and amazed, and can neither think nor act aright. The consequence is, that they deceive Egypt, because, first, they were themselves deceived. That the Egyptians suffer themselves to be imposed on, and cannot guard against the deception, is the judgment of the Lord. And yet Isaiah does not re...

1-17 God shall come into Egypt with his judgments. He will raise up the causes of their destruction from among themselves. When ungodly men escape danger, they are apt to think themselves secure; but evil pursues sinners, and will speedily overtake them, except they repent. The Egyptians will be given over into the hand of one who shall rule them with rigour, as was shortly after fulfilled. The Egyptians were renowned for wisdom and science; yet the Lord would give them up to their own perverse schemes, and to quarrel, till their land would be brought by their contests to become an object of contempt and pity. He renders sinners afraid of those whom they have despised and oppressed; and the Lord of hosts will make the workers of iniquity a terror to themselves, and to each other; and every object around a terror to them....

Verse Isaiah 19:14. _IN THE MIDST THEREOF_] בקרבם _bekirbam_; so the _Septuagint_, and perhaps more correctly." - _Secker_. So likewise the _Chaldee_....

THE LORD HATH MINGLED - The word מסך _mâsak_, “to mingle,” is used commonly to denote the act of mixing spices with wine to make it more intoxicating Proverbs 9:2, Proverbs 9:5; Isaiah 5:22. Here it means that Yahweh has poured out into the midst of them a spirit of giddiness; that is, has produced consternation among them. National commotions and calamities are often thus traced to the overruling providence of God (see the note at Isaiah 19:2; compare Isaiah 10:5)....

EXPOSITION ISAIAH 19:1 THE BURDEN OF EGYPT. It has been doubted whether this prophecy refers to the conquest of Egypt by Piankhi, as related in the monument which he set up at Napata, or to that by Esarhaddon, of which we gain our knowledge from the inscriptions of his son, Asshur-bani-pal. In the former case, we must suppose it written as early as B.C. 735; in the latter, its date might be as late as B.C. 690. The division of Egypt, "kingdom against kingdom," is a circumstance rather in favor of the earlier date; but the "cruel lord," and the mention of the "princes of Zoan and Noph," are decisive for the later. Piankhi is anything rather than a "cruel lord," being particularly mild and clement; Napata (Noph) is under him, and cannot be said to have been "deceived" or to have "seduced

THE LORD HATH MINGLED A PERVERSE SPIRIT IN THE MIDST THEREOF,.... A spirit of error, as the Targum, Septuagint, and Arabic versions; or of giddiness, as the Vulgate Latin: this he mingled in a cup for them, and poured it out, and gave them it to drink; and an intoxicating cup it was, such as men are made drunk with; to which the allusion is, as the last clause of the verse shows; so that the infatuation and want of wisdom in their counsels were from the Lord; who, because of the vain boasts of their wisdom in righteous judgment, gave them up to judicial blindness, stupidity, and folly: AND THEY HAVE CAUSED EGYPT TO ERR IN EVERY WORK THEREOF; both in religious and civil affairs, leading them into superstition and idolatry, to which they were of old inclined and addicted, and forming such schemes and projects, and putting them upon such works, as were very detrimental to the nation. Some...

CHAPTER 19 The Burden of Egypt 1. _The judgment announced (Isaiah 19:1)_ 2. _Egypt blest with Israel in the last days (Isaiah 19:16) _ Egypt has passed through many judgments. Hundreds of years after the divine predictions had been given the Word of the Lord was accomplished. The final judgment upon Egypt comes in that day when the Lord appears in visible glory. Egypt will come, like other nations, to the front once more at the close of the times of the Gentiles. But mercy is also in store for Egypt. Egypt will be called “His people.” When the Lord smites Egypt that land will return to Him. It will then be lifted out of the dust and receive a place of blessing only second to that which Israel will enjoy....

ISAIAH 19. ORACLE ON EGYPT. This is one of the most difficult Chapter s in the book. It falls into two sections, Isaiah 19:1 and Isaiah 19:18. If Isaiah 19:1 is in the main from Isaiah, it probably refers to an anticipated conquest of Egypt by Assyria. Three possibilities are then open: (_a_) the defeat of Egypt by Sargon at Raphia in 720 B.C. (pp. 59, 71); (_b_) the occasion which called forth the similar prophecy in Isaiah 20; (_c_) the early part of Sennacherib's reign, when Judah was planning an alliance with Egypt. It is true that no Assyrian king ruled over Egypt till 672, when Esarhaddon did so (p. 60). But it is better to regard the cruel lord and fierce king, into whose power Egypt is to be deliv

STAGGERETH. goeth astray, as in preceding clause....