And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof, all that make sluices and ponds for fish.
Parallel translations
- WEB The pillars will be broken in pieces. All those who work for hire will be grieved in soul.
- BSB The workers in cloth will be dejected, and all the hired workers will be sick at heart.
- NKJV And its foundations will be broken. All who make wages will be troubled of soul.
- NASB And the pillars of Egypt will be crushed; All the hired laborers will be grieved in soul.
- NLT They will be in despair, and all the workers will be sick at heart.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The foundations of Egypt's economy crumble and its wage-earners are crushed in spirit. It matters because it shows judgment reaching the social and economic structure itself.
Overview
The 'pillars' or foundations of society are broken, and those who labor for wages are left grieving. The collapse touches not only leaders and industries but the working people who depend on them. Isaiah portrays a comprehensive undoing of Egypt's stability. The verse underscores that when God judges a nation, its whole fabric is shaken.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Deut 11:10For the land, whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs:
- Exod 7:19And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone.
- Exod 8:5And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch forth thine hand with thy rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 19:10 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.