Isaiah 19:22
in Isaiah 19And the LORD will strike Egypt with a plague; He will strike them but heal them. They will turn to the LORD, and He will hear their prayers and heal them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah will smite Egypt, smiting and healing; and they shall return unto Jehovah, and he will be entreated of them, and will heal them.
KJV
And the Lord shall smite Egypt: he shall smite and heal it: and they shall return even to the Lord, and he shall be intreated of them, and shall heal them.
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This verse in Isaiah 19
Commentary
11 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And the Lord shall smite Egypt - That is, in the manner described in the previous part of this prophecy Isa 19:2-10. And heal it - Or restore it to more than its former splendor and prosperity, as described in the previous verses Isa 19:18-20. He shall send it a saviour; he shall open new sources of prosperity; and he shall cause the true religion to flourish there. These advantages would be more than a compensation for all the calamities that he would bring upon it.
This site's exposition
an altar to the LORD
on Isaiah 19:19-22
There will be "an altar to the LORD in the center of the land of Egypt" as a sign. He will send "a savior and defender to rescue them", and Egypt will "acknowledge the LORD". Henry sets "He will strike them but heal them" beside the plagues of the Exodus.
This site's exposition
He will strike them but heal them
Job 5:18 says of God that He strikes and His hands also heal. Jerome sets the verse beside Hebrews 12:6, where the Lord disciplines the one He loves. The plague becomes the road back.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 22.) And the Lord will strike Egypt with a plague, and He will heal it. And they will turn to the Lord, and He will be appeased by them, and He will heal them. For whom the Lord loves, He chastises, and He punishes every son whom He receives. Persecution does not pertain to the denial of believers, but to their testing and reward.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Third, as to the remission of sins: and the Lord shall strike, first, through many punishments, and shall heal from sin: he wounds, and cures: he strikes, and his hands shall heal (Job 5:18).
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
But all these deliverances wrought for them, as those for Israel, were but figures of gospel salvation. Doubtless Jesus Christ is the Saviour and the great one here spoken of, whom God will send the glad tidings of to the Egyptians, and by whom he will deliver them out of the hands of their enemies, that they may serve him without fear, Luke i.
And the Lord shall smite Egypt,....
Rabshakeh upbraided Hezekiah with this, ch. xxxvi. While they kept up an alliance with Egypt, and it was a powerful ally, they stood not in awe of the judgments of God; for against them they depended upon Egypt to protect them. Nor did they depend upon the power of God when at anytime they were in distress; but Egypt was their confidence.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3515: “The Fruits of Grace” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
THIS is a very remarkable prophecy. Attempts have been made to explain it, as if it were already fulfilled. I believe all such attempts to be utter failures. This promise stands on record to be, fulfilled at some future day In those bright days for which some of us are looking, when the knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth, so the waters cover the sea, then shall this word to Egypt be verified; yea, and God shall be glorified both by Egypt and Assyria, as well as in the land of Israel.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Pentecost (Ac 2:4) was the counterpart of Babel: the separation of nations is not to hinder the unity of faith; the full realization of this is yet future (Zec 14:9; The next clause, "swear to the Lord of Hosts," agrees with this view; that is, bind themselves to Him by solemn covenant (Isa 45:23;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3515: “The Fruits of Grace” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
THIS is a very remarkable prophecy. Attempts have been made to explain it, as if it were already fulfilled. I believe all such attempts to be utter failures. This promise stands on record to be, fulfilled at some future day In those bright days for which some of us are looking, when the knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth, so the waters cover the sea, then shall this word to Egypt be verified; yea, and God shall be glorified both by Egypt and Assyria, as well as in the land of Israel. This ought to be an encouragement to carry on missionary operations with great vigour. Here is a distinct promise for Assyria and for Egypt. Let not the missionary be afraid, even if for thousands of years to come there should be little apparent success to the preaching of the gospel. If the Lord should tarry another six thousand years, ay, sixty thousand years—and he may—we are still to go on working, and still to go on labouring, looking for his coming, and expecting it, but not relaxing our efforts because he pleases to delay it, for the Lord has sworn that all flesh shall know his glory, and you may depend upon it, there is no spot of earth that shall be left to be Satan's dominion. It shall be conquered for Christ, and in truth he shall "see of the travail of his soul, and he shall be satisfied." It is most encouraging to find Egypt mentioned. You find it in one of the Psalms, "Princes shall come out of Egypt, and they shall come out of Ethiopia." Now this I believe to be the litera1 meaning of the passage. You must understand that the prophecy was given to the people of Israel, and it was given to them, as it were, to children that were using types and figures. It speaks in their language. Hence it speaks of altars, and pillars, and oblations, all of which are to be understood now in the spiritual sense.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְנָגַ֧ף | venagaf | and he will strike | H5062 → | |
| יְהוָ֛ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מִצְרַ֖יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| נָגֹ֣ף | nagof | striking | H5062 → | |
| וְרָפ֑וֹא | verafo' | and healing | H7495 → | 67 times |
| וְשָׁ֙בוּ֙ | veshavu | and they will turn | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וְנֶעְתַּ֥ר | vene'tar | and he will be entreated | H6279 → | |
| לָהֶ֖ם | lahem | by <the> them | ||
| וּרְפָאָֽם׃ | urefaam | and he will heal them | H7495 → | 67 times |
וְנָגַ֧ףand he will strike
venagafH5062 →
יְהוָ֛הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
מִצְרַ֖יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
נָגֹ֣ףstriking
nagofH5062 →
וְרָפ֑וֹאand healing
verafo'H7495 →67 times
וְשָׁ֙בוּ֙and they will turn
veshavuH7725 →1056 times
עַד־to
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וְנֶעְתַּ֥רand he will be entreated
vene'tarH6279 →
לָהֶ֖םby <the> them
lahem
וּרְפָאָֽם׃and he will heal them
urefaamH7495 →67 times
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
Deuteronomy 32:39See now that I am He; there is no God besides Me. I bring death and I give life; I wound and I heal, and there is no one who can deliver from My…
it leads to
- Hosea 6:1
Come, let us return to the LORD. For He has torn us to pieces, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bind up our wounds.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Samuel 2:6
The LORD brings death and gives life; He brings down to Sheol and raises up.
- Job 5:18
For He wounds, but He also binds; He strikes, but His hands also heal.
- Isaiah 45:5
I am the LORD, and there is no other; there is no God but Me. I will equip you for battle, though you have not known Me,
- Isaiah 45:22
Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.
- Hosea 6:1
Through
Hebrews 12:11No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields a harvest of righteousness and peace to those who have been trained by it.
it leads to
- Romans 5:3–5
Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
- 2 Corinthians 4:17
For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.
- Hebrews 12:5–6
And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not take lightly the discipline of the Lord, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you.
- Romans 5:3–5
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 Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3515: “The Fruits of Grace” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.