In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear by the Lord of hosts; one will be called the City of Destruction.
Parallel translations
- WEB In that day, there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan, and swear to Yahweh of Armies. One will be called “The city of destruction.”
- KJV In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan, and swear to the LORD of hosts; one shall be called, The city of destruction.
- BSB In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the LORD of Hosts. One of them will be called the City of the Sun.
- NASB On that day five cities in the land of Egypt will be speaking the language of Canaan and swearing allegiance to the Lord of armies; one will be called the City of Destruction.
- NLT In that day five of Egypt’s cities will follow the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. They will even begin to speak Hebrew, the language of Canaan. One of these cities will be Heliopolis, the City of the Sun.
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
In that day cities in Egypt will speak the language of faith and swear allegiance to the LORD. It matters because it foretells Egyptians turning to the true God.
Overview
The oracle now turns remarkably hopeful: Egyptian cities will 'speak the language of Canaan' and swear loyalty to the LORD of Armies, signs of genuine conversion. The exact reading of 'the city of destruction' is debated among faithful interpreters, with some manuscripts reading 'city of the sun,' so caution is warranted on that detail. The main point is clear and glorious: former enemies of God's people are drawn to worship him. It anticipates the gospel's reach to the nations.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Zeph 3:9For then I will purify the lips of the peoples, that they may all call on Yahweh’s name, to serve him shoulder to shoulder.
- Zech 2:11Many nations shall join themselves to Yahweh in that day, and shall be my people; and I will dwell among you, and you shall know that Yahweh of Armies has sent me to you.
- Isa 19:21Yahweh will be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know Yahweh in that day. Yes, they will worship with sacrifice and offering, and will vow a vow to Yahweh, and will perform it.
- Jer 12:16It shall happen, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, ‘As Yahweh lives;’ even as they taught my people to swear by Baal; then shall they be built up in the middle of my people.
- Isa 11:11It will happen in that day that the Lord will set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
- Isa 45:23–24I have sworn by myself. The word has gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and will not be revoked, that to me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall take an oath.
- Isa 27:13It will happen in that day that a great trumpet will be blown; and those who were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and those who were outcasts in the land of Egypt, shall come; and they will worship Yahweh in the holy mountain at Jerusalem.
- Deut 10:20You shall fear Yahweh your God; you shall serve him; and you shall cling to him, and you shall swear by his name.
- Isa 2:11The lofty looks of man will be brought low, the haughtiness of men will be bowed down, and Yahweh alone will be exalted in that day.
- Isa 19:19In that day, there will be an altar to Yahweh in the middle of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to Yahweh at its border.
- Neh 10:29they joined with their brothers, their nobles, and entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in God’s law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of Yahweh our Lord, and his ordinances and his statutes;
- Ps 68:31Princes shall come out of Egypt. Ethiopia shall hurry to stretch out her hands to God.
- Gen 11:1The whole earth was of one language and of one speech.
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 19:18 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.