Isaiah 19:4

4 I will hand the Egyptians over to the power of a cruel master, and a fierce king will rule over them,” declares the Lord, the LORD Almighty.

Isaiah 19:4 in Other Translations

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 and I will give over the Egyptians into the hand of a hard master, and a fierce king will rule over them, declares the Lord GOD of hosts.

4 I will hand Egypt over to a hard, cruel master. A fierce king will rule them,” says the Lord, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

4 But I'll turn the Egyptians over to a tyrant most cruel. I'll put them under the rule of a mean, merciless king." Decree of the Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies.

4 And I will give over the Egyptians into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts.

4 I will hand over the Egyptians to a harsh master. A strong king will rule them," declares the Almighty LORD of Armies.

4 I will deliver Egypt into the hands of harsh masters, and a strong king will rule it. [This is]*The bracketed text has been added for clarity. the declaration of the Lord God of Hosts.

4 I will hand the Egyptians over to a mean and unkind master. A powerful king will rule over them," announces the Lord. He is the LORD who rules over all.

Isaiah 19:4 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 19:4

And the Egyptians will I give over into the hands of a
cruel lord
Not of Sennacherib king of Assyria, which way go many interpreters, both Christian and Jewish, as Aben Ezra, Jarchi, and Kimchi; nor of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, as in ( Jeremiah 46:25 Jeremiah 46:26 ) but either of the twelve tyrants that rose up after the death of Sethon above mentioned; for the word is in the plural number, "lords", though the adjective rendered "cruel" is singular; or else Psammiticus, the father of Pharaohnecho, that slew Josiah; and who conquered the other eleven tyrants, and ruled alone, for the space of fifty four years, with great rigour; and the same is designed in the next clause: and a fierce king shall rule over them;
it is reported of Psammiticus, that he gave such offence to his subjects, that two hundred thousand of his soldiers left him, and went into Ethiopia ^F1. Vitringa interprets this of the Persian emperors, into whose hands Egypt fell, as Cambyses and Ochus; and who, according to historians, were very cruel princes. That there might be no doubt of the sure and certain accomplishment of this prophecy, it is added, saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts;
of the armies above and below; and who does what he pleases among the kings and kingdoms of the earth.

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FOOTNOTES:

F1 See Raleigh's History of the World, B. 2. c. 27. sect. 3. p. 357.

Isaiah 19:4 In-Context

2 “I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian— brother will fight against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom.

3 The Egyptians will lose heart, and I will bring their plans to nothing; they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead, the mediums and the spiritists.

4 I will hand the Egyptians over to the power of a cruel master, and a fierce king will rule over them,” declares the Lord, the LORD Almighty.

5 The waters of the river will dry up, and the riverbed will be parched and dry.

6 The canals will stink; the streams of Egypt will dwindle and dry up. The reeds and rushes will wither,

Cross References

• 1. Isaiah 20:4; Jeremiah 46:26; Ezekiel 29:19; Ezekiel 32:11