And the pillars of Egypt will be crushed; All the hired laborers will be grieved in soul.
Parallel translations
- WEB The pillars will be broken in pieces. All those who work for hire will be grieved in soul.
- KJV And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof, all that make sluices and ponds for fish.
- 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.
- 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, where you go in to possess it, isn’t as the land of Egypt, that you came out of, where you sowed your seed, and watered it with your foot, as a garden of herbs;
- Exod 7:19Yahweh said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your rod, and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their streams, and over their pools, and over all their ponds of water, that they may become blood; and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.’”
- Exod 8:5Yahweh said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your rod over the rivers, over the streams, and over the pools, and cause frogs to come up on 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.