Isaiah 19:14
in Isaiah 19The LORD has poured into her a spirit of confusion. Egypt has been led astray in all she does, as a drunkard staggers through his own vomit.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Jehovah hath mingled a spirit of perverseness in the midst of her; and they have caused Egypt to go astray in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit.
KJV
The Lord hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof: and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit.
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This verse in Isaiah 19
Commentary
12 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
HORSLEY translates, "with respect to all His (God's) work"; they misinterpreted God's dealings at every step. "Mingled" contains the same image as "drunken"; as one mixes spices with wine to make it intoxicating (Isa 5:22; Pr 9:2, 5), so Jehovah has poured among them a spirit of giddiness, so that they are as helpless as a "drunken man."
This site's exposition
a spirit of confusion
on Isaiah 19:14-15
"The LORD has poured into her a spirit of confusion", so that "Egypt has been led astray". Verse 15 closes with a proverb: "head or tail, palm or reed". John Gill notes that the same pairing of head and tail falls earlier at 9:14-15, naming ruler and prophet.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
(Verse 12 and following) How can you say to Pharaoh: I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings? Where are your wise men now? Let them tell you and make known what the Lord of hosts has planned against Egypt. The princes of Tanis have become foolish, the princes of Memphis are deluded; the leaders of Egypt have led it astray. The Lord has poured into them a spirit of confusion; they have made Egypt stagger in all its undertakings, as a drunkard staggers and vomits.
(Verse. 14, 15.) The Lord mixed in its midst the spirit of dizziness: and he caused Egypt to wander in all its work, like a drunkard and a vomiter: and Egypt will have no work that it does, bending and restraining head and tail. First let us speak about the interpretation, and afterwards we will discuss what is written. The spirit of dizziness can also be interpreted as the spirit of error. In addition, in what we have translated as bending and restraining, we can say bending and lascivious, so that we understand old man and child.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Second, the permission of God: the Lord has mingled, often said metaphorically, the spirit of giddiness, that is, the spirit of error, like one who suffers giddiness: the Lord has given a lying spirit in the mouth of all your prophets (1 Kgs 22:23).
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
That at length God's holy religion should be brought into Egypt, and set up there, in part by the Jews that should flee thither for refuge, but more fully by the preachers of the gospel of Christ, through whose ministry churches should be planted in Egypt in the says of the Messiah (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
): They have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof. Every step they took was a false step. They always mistook either the end or the means, and their counsels were all unsteady and uncertain, like the staggerings and stammerings of a drunken man in his vomit, who knows not what he says nor where he goes.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Mingled - Or, hath poured out or given them to drink. To err - In all their designs and undertakings. Staggereth - When he is so drunk, that he reels to and fro, and vomits up his drink.
The Lord hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof,....
One party shall be for a thing for no other reason than because the other is against it; that is a perverse spirit, which, if it mingle with the public counsels, tends directly to the ruin of the public interests.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
In the midst thereof - בקרבם bekirbam; so the Septuagint, and perhaps more correctly.” - Secker. So likewise the Chaldee.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The Lord hath mingled - The word מסך mâsak, “to mingle,” is used commonly to denote the act of mixing spices with wine to make it more intoxicating Pro 9:2, Pro 9:5; Isa 5:22. Here it means that Yahweh has poured out into the midst of them a spirit of giddiness; that is, has produced consternation among them. National commotions and calamities are often thus traced to the overruling providence of God (see the note at Isa 19:2; compare Isa 10:5-6). A perverse spirit - Hebrew, ‘A spirit of perverseness.’ The word rendered ‘perverse’ is derived from עוה ‛âvâh, “to be crooked or perverted.” Here it means, that their counsels were unwise, land such as tended to error and ruin. To err as a drunken man ... - This is a very striking figure. The whole nation was reeling to and fro, and unsettled in their counsels, as a man is who is so intoxicated as to reel and to vomit. Nothing could more strikingly express, first, the “fact” of their perverted counsels and plans, and secondly, God’s deep abhorrence of the course which they were pursuing.
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יְהוָ֛ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| מָסַ֥ךְ | masakh | he has mixed | H4537 → | |
| בְּקִרְבָּ֖הּ | bekirbah | in midst its | H7130 → | 227 times |
| ר֣וּחַ | ruach | a spirit of | H7307 → | 378 times |
| עִוְעִ֑ים | ʾivim | confusion<s> | H5773 → | |
| וְהִתְע֤וּ | vehitu | and they have misled | H8582 → | 50 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מִצְרַ֙יִם֙ | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| בְּכָֽל־ | bekhol | in every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מַעֲשֵׂ֔הוּ | maasehu | deed its | H4639 → | 236 times |
| כְּהִתָּע֥וֹת | kehitaot | as is made to stagger | H8582 → | 50 times |
| שִׁכּ֖וֹר | shikor | a drunkard | H7910 → | 13 times |
| בְּקִיאֽוֹ׃ | bekio | in vomit his | H6892 → |
יְהוָ֛הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
מָסַ֥ךְhe has mixed
masakhH4537 →
בְּקִרְבָּ֖הּin midst its
bekirbahH7130 →227 times
ר֣וּחַa spirit of
ruachH7307 →378 times
עִוְעִ֑יםconfusion<s>
ʾivimH5773 →
וְהִתְע֤וּand they have misled
vehituH8582 →50 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
מִצְרַ֙יִם֙Egypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
בְּכָֽל־in every
bekholH3605 →5413 times
מַעֲשֵׂ֔הוּdeed its
maasehuH4639 →236 times
כְּהִתָּע֥וֹתas is made to stagger
kehitaotH8582 →50 times
שִׁכּ֖וֹרa drunkard
shikorH7910 →13 times
בְּקִיאֽוֹ׃in vomit his
bekioH6892 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
2 Thessalonians 2:11For this reason God will send them a powerful delusion so that they believe the lie,
it leads to
- Romans 1:28
Furthermore, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, He gave them up to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.
- John 12:39–43
For this reason they were unable to believe. For again, Isaiah says:
- 1 Timothy 4:1
Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons,
- Matthew 24:11
and many false prophets will arise and mislead many.
- Psalms 81:11–12
But My people would not listen to Me, and Israel would not obey Me.
- Romans 1:28
Through
Job 12:25They grope in the darkness without light; He makes them stagger like drunkards.
it leads to
- Job 5:14
They encounter darkness by day and grope at noon as in the night.
- Psalms 107:27
They reeled and staggered like drunkards, and all their skill was useless.
- Job 5:14
Through
Jeremiah 25:27“Then you are to tell them that this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Drink, get drunk, and vomit. Fall down and never get up again, because of the…
it leads to
- Habakkuk 2:16
You will be filled with shame instead of glory. You too must drink and expose your uncircumcision! The cup in the LORD’s right hand will come around to you, and utter disgrace will cover…
- Habakkuk 2:16
Where this verse is studied
About Isaiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.