Isaiah 19:4 - Exposition

The Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord . It has been observed above that Piankhi will not answer to this description. It will, however, well suit Esarhaddon. Esarhaddon, soon after his accession, cut off the heads of Abdi-Milkut, King of Sidon, and of Sanduarri, King of Kundi, and hung them round the necks of two of their chief officers. In an expedition which he made into Arabia, he slew eight of the sovereigns, two of them being women. On conquering Egypt he treated it with extreme severity. Not only did he divide up the country into twenty governments, but he changed the names of the towns, and assigned to his twenty governors, as their main duty, that they were "to slay, plunder, and spoil" their subjects. He certainly well deserved the appellations of "a cruel lord," "a fierce king."