Isaiah 19:11 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 19:1-17

Though the land of Egypt had of old been a house of bondage to the people of God, where they had been ruled with rigour, yet among the unbelieving Jews there still remained much of the humour of their fathers, who said, Let us make us a captain and return into Egypt. Upon all occasions they trusted to Egypt for help (Isa. 30:2), and thither they fled, in disobedience to God's express command, when things were brought to the last extremity in their own country, Jer. 43:7. Rabshakeh upbraided... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 19:11

Surely the princes of Zoan are fools ,.... Zoan was a very ancient city of Egypt, it was built within seven years of Hebron in the land of Judah, Numbers 13:22 here it was that the Lord did those miracles, by the hands of Moses and Aaron, before Pharaoh and his people, in order to oblige him to let Israel go, Psalm 78:12 by which it appears that it was then the royal city, as it seems to have been now; since mention is made of the princes of it, who usually have their residence where... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 19:11

The counsel of the wise counselors of Pharaoh is become brutish "Have counseled a brutish counsel" - The sentence as it now stands in the Hebrew, is imperfect: it wants the verb. Archbishop Secker conjectures that the words פרעה יועצי yoatsey pharoh should be transposed; which would in some degree remove the difficulty. But it is to be observed, that the translator of the Vulgate seems to have found in his copy the verb יעצו yaatsu added after פרעה pharoh : Sapientes consiliarii... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 19:1-17

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... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 19:1-17

Egypt's punishment, a proof both of God's song-suffering and of His inexorable justice. The punishment of Egypt by the Assyrian conquest, on which the prophet enlarges in this chapter, may be regarded in a double light. I. AS STRONGLY EXHIBITING THE LONG - SUFFERING AND MERCY OF GOD . 1. Consider the long persistence of Egypt in sins of various kinds—idolatry, king-worship, practice of magic, kidnapping of slaves, cruel usage of captives, impurity, indecency;... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 19:11

Surely the princes of Zoan are fools . Zoan, or Tanis, which had been an insignificant city since the time of the shepherd-kings, came to the front once more at the time of the struggle between Egypt and Assyria. Esarhaddon made it the head of one of the petty kingdoms into which he divided Egypt. Early in the reign of his son it revolted, in conjunction with Sais and Mendes, but was ere long reduced to subjection by the Assyrians. Its king, Petu-bastes, was taken to Nineveh, and there... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 19:11-14

Leaders that mislead. The strong, energetic language of the prophet respecting the princes and counselors of Egypt express for us the vast injury which is wrought by untrustworthy teachers in every place and time, and the duty of the people to be on their guard against such seducers ( Isaiah 19:13 ). I. THE LEADERS THAT MISLEAD . ( Isaiah 19:10-13 .) These are: 1. In the nation , leading their fellow-countrymen into a false and spurious patriotism; into... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 19:11-15

The folly of statesmen. God hath made foolish the wisdom of this world, in Egypt as in other lands. And the marks and characters of folly are everywhere the same. I. THE SPIRIT OF BOASTING . The king and his priestly counselors possess sacred books, which they consult as a college in times of emergency. The priests boast of being "sons of the wise," and sons of ancient kings. The Pharaoh himself belonged to the royal stock. Boasting is ever a sign of weakness. The strong man... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 19:11

Surely the princes - The following verses, to Isaiah 19:16, are designed to describe further the calamities that were coming upon Egypt by a want of wisdom in their rulers. They would be unable to devise means to meet the impending calamities, and would actually increase the national misery by their unwise counsels. The word ‘princes’ here is taken evidently for the rulers or counselors of state.Of Zoan - The Vulgate, Septuagint, and Chaldee, render this ‘Tanis.’ Zoan was doubtless the Tans of... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Isaiah 19:11-15

Isaiah 19:11-15. Surely the princes of Zoan are fools, &c. Zoan was the chief city, in which the king and court frequently resided. In these verses the prophet describes “the immediate causes of these evils; 1st, The folly of the princes and rulers, who valued themselves upon their Wisdom , , 2 d, The cowardice and effeminacy of the people in general. Egypt would not have become a prey to so many foreign enemies, but through the excessive weakness of the Egyptians, both in counsel and... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 19:1-17

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 19:11

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 19:11

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 19:1-17

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 19:1-17

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 19:11

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 19:11-14

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 19:11-15

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 19:11

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Isaiah 19:11-15

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