Isaiah 19:22

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. -Suffering shall lead to repentance. Struck with "terror" and "afraid" (Isaiah 19:17), because of Yahweh's judgments, Egypt shall be converted to Him; nay, even Assyria shall join in serving Him; so that Israel, Assyria, and Egypt, once mutual foes, shall be bound together by the tie of a common faith as one people. So a similar issue from other prophecies (Isaiah 18:7; Isaiah 23:18). Verse 18. IN THAT DAY SHALL FIVE CITIES IN THE LAND OF EGYPT - i:e., several cities; as in...

22._Therefore Jehovah will smite Egypt. _From what has been already said the Prophet draws the conclusion, that the chastisement which he has mentioned will be advantageous to the Egyptians, because it will be a preparation for their conversion; (49) as if he had said, that it will be for the good of Egypt that the Lord will punish her. Those who translate the words, “he will strike with a wound that may be healed,” misinterpret this passage, and greatly weaken the Prophet’s meaning; for it means that the wounds will be advantageous to them, and that by means of these wounds the Lord will bring them back. Hence we ought to conclude, that we must not refuse to be chastised by God, for it is done for our benefit. (Proverbs 3:11; Hebrews 12:5.) Exemption from punishment would cherish a disposi

18-25 The words, "In that day," do not always refer to the passage just before. At a time which was to come, the Egyptians shall speak the holy language, the Scripture language; not only understand it, but use it. Converting grace, by changing the heart, changes the language; for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. So many Jews shall come to Egypt, that they shall soon fill five cities. Where the sun was worshipped, a place infamous for idolatry, even there shall be a wonderful reformation. Christ, the great Altar, who sanctifies every gift, shall be owned, and the gospel sacrifices of prayer and praise shall be offered up. Let the broken-hearted and afflicted, whom the Lord has wounded, and thus taught to return to, and call upon him, take courage; for He will heal their souls, and turn their sorrowing supplications into joyful praises. The Gentile nations shall not onl...

AND THE LORD SHALL SMITE EGYPT - That is, in the manner described in the previous part of this prophecy Isaiah 19:2. AND HEAL IT - Or restore it to more than its former splendor and prosperity, as described in the previous verses Isaiah 19:18. He shall send it a saviour; he shall open new sources of prosperity; and he shall cause the true religion to flourish there. These advantages would be more than a compensation for all the calamities that he would bring upon it. AND THEY SHALL RETURN ... - These calamities shall be the means of their conversion to Yahweh....

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

AND THE LORD SHALL SMITE EGYPT,.... By one afflictive providence or another, which shall awaken them to a sense of sin and duty; or smite their consciences with convictions of sin, through the ministry of the word by his spirits: HE SHALL SMITE AND HEAL [IT]; or "smiting and healing" f; as he smites he shall heal, by an application of pardoning grace and mercy, by sprinkling the blood of Christ on their wounded consciences, and by pouring in the oil and wine of divine love into the wounds made by sin: AND THEY SHALL RETURN, [EVEN] TO THE LORD: by faith and repentance; or to his worship, as the Targum; by an obedience to his will, and shall cleave unto him: AND HE SHALL BE ENTREATED OF THEM, AND HE SHALL HEAL THEM; when wounded with a sense of sin, and pricked to the heart, they shall cry unto him, and entreat his pardoning grace and mercy, which, being applied to them, heals; for heal...

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....

Five cities in Egypt will speak Hebrew and swear fealty to Yahweh. One shall be called city of the sun. There will be an altar to Yahweh in Egypt, and an obelisk to Him at its border, which shall witness for Him; and He will send a deliverer from their oppressors, so that they will worship Him with the animal and vegetable offerings and perform vows to Him. Then He will treat them as He had often treated Israel, smiting them for transgression, and healing them when they repented after their chastisement. Then a highway will lead from Egypt through Palestine to Assyria, that there may be free intercourse between them; for not only Egypt but also Assyria will serve Yahweh, and Israel will be united with these two empires as the third member of the league. ISAIAH 19:18. Herodotus reckons the cities of Egypt as 20,000. Five is thus a very small proportion. These cities are apparently inha

he _shall smite and heal it_ lit. "with a smiting and a healing," i.e. He will smite only in order to heal (Hosea 6:1). _be intreated_ hear their supplications (_Niph. tolerativum_)....

FOR THEY SHALL CRY UNTO THE LORD— The prophet here sets forth the causes of this happy change in Egypt, with its immediate effects. The _impulsive_ cause he shews to be their cry to Jehovah, on account of their oppressors; the _instrumental_ some _Saviour_ or avenger; some _great one_ so called, who should deliver them from their oppression, Isaiah 19:20. The immediate effects are said to be, _first,_ true faith, to be produced or confirmed in the Egyptians by this means, Isaiah 19:21.; _secondly,_ the _healing of them,_ as to their external state, and the restoration of their government, Isaiah 19:22. Here it is plainly foretold, that a _great_ prince, _sent by God_ from a fore