Isaiah 19:18-20

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 19:18-25

Out of the thick and threatening clouds of the foregoing prophecy the sun of comfort here breaks forth, and it is the sun of righteousness. Still God has mercy in store for Egypt, and he will show it, not so much by reviving their trade and replenishing their river again as by bringing the true religion among them, calling them to, and accepting them in, the worship of the one only living and true God; and these blessings of grace were much more valuable than all the blessings of nature... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 19:18

In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt ,.... Here opens a scene of mercy, a prophecy of good things to the Egyptians in future times; for this is not to be understood of the selfsame time, that the former calamities would come upon them; but of some time after that; and not of Egypt, spiritual or mystical, that is, Rome, or the antichristian jurisdiction, so called, Revelation 11:8 and of the five kingdoms that should revolt from it at the Reformation, as Cocceius thinks; who... read more

John Gill

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

In that day there shall be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt ,.... Josephus F3 Antiqu. l. 13. c. 3. sect. 1. 3. & de Bello Jud. l. 7. c. 10. sect. 2, 3, 4. , and other Jewish writers F4 T. Bab. Menachot, fol. 109. 2. , suppose this to be fulfilled when Onias, the son of Simeon the just, fled into Egypt, and obtained leave of Ptolemy king of Egypt, and Queen Cleopatra, to build a temple and an altar there, like those at Jerusalem, in order to draw the Jews... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 19:20

And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt ,.... This refers either to what goes before, that the altar and pillar were signs and witnesses that the Lord was believed in, professed, and worshipped there; or to what follows after, that the Lord's hearing the cries of men, and answering them, by sending a great Saviour to them, is a token and testimony for him of his great love unto them: for they shall cry unto the Lord because of the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 19:18

The city of destruction "The city of the sun" - החרס עיר ir hacheres . This passage is attended with much difficulty and obscurity. First, in regard to the true reading. It is well known that Onias applied it to his own views, either to procure from the king of Egypt permission to build his temple in the Hieropolitan Nome, or to gain credit and authority to it when built; from the notion which he industriously propagated, that Isaiah had in this place prophesied of the building of such a... read more

Adam Clarke

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

An altar to the Lord - צבאות tsebaoth , "of hosts," or Yehovah tsebaoth , is added by eight MSS. of good repute, and the Syriac Version. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 19:16-25

Mingled judgment and mercy. I. THE EFFECT OF JUDGMENT . The hind will be like timid and trembling women, for the mighty hand of Jehovah will be brandished aloft in judgment. Whenever it is felt that Divine power is working on the side of the foe, the most warlike nations lose heart. "God with us!"—a watchword that nerves the feeblest arm, and fills the faintest heart with courage. " God against us!"—the hand of the bravest hangs down, the knees of the stoutest tremble. Judah,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 19:18

In that day . Not really the day of vengeance, but that which, in the prophet's mind, is most closely connected with it—the day of restitution—whereof he has spoken perpetually ( Isaiah 1:25-27 ; Isaiah 2:2-4 ; Isaiah 4:2-6 ; Isaiah 6:13 , etc.). The two are parts of one scheme of things, and belong in the prophet's mind to one time. Shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan . It is quite true, as Mr. Cheyne remarks, that the Eastern Delta was from a very... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 19:18-22

THE TURNING OF EGYPT TO JEHOVAH . The chastisement of the Egyptians shall be followed, after a while, by a great change. Influences from Canaan shall penetrate Egypt ( Isaiah 19:18 ), an altar shall be raised in her midst to Jehovah ( Isaiah 19:19 ), and she herself shall cry to him for succor ( Isaiah 19:20 ) and be delivered ( Isaiah 19:20 ). Egypt shall even become a part of Jehovah's kingdom, shall "know him," and serve him with sacrifice and oblation ( Isaiah 19:21 ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 19:18-22

Smiting and healing. We may glean from these verses— I. THAT THE BLOWS WHICH WE SURFER IN OUR ORDINARY EXPERIENCE COME FROM THE HAND OF GOD . No doubt the various calamities by which Egypt was afflicted came to her in the ordinary ways, and appeared to her citizens as the result of common causes. They accounted for them by reference to general laws, to visible human powers, to known processes and current events. Yet we know them to have been distinctly and... read more

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