Isaiah 19:4
in Isaiah 19I will deliver the Egyptians into the hands of harsh masters, and a fierce king will rule over them,” declares the Lord GOD of Hosts.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And I will give over the Egyptians into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts.
KJV
And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts.
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This verse in Isaiah 19
Commentary
10 notes on this verse(Version 4) And I will deliver Egypt into the hand of cruel masters, and a strong king shall rule over them, says the Lord God of hosts. We follow a twofold interpretation: either of the Chaldean times, when Egypt was conquered by Nebuchadnezzar; or of the Roman empire, when Antony and Cleopatra were defeated, and Augustus Caesar subdued Egypt. It is testified by the whole Scripture that the Babylonians were cruel, who spared not even the little ones, but wounded them with their arrows, and showed no mercy to the pregnant women.
This site's exposition
a fierce king will rule over them
on Isaiah 19:4-6
Egypt is delivered "into the hands of harsh masters". The Nile, the river Egypt honored as a god, is judged: "The waters of the Nile will dry up". Delitzsch and Barnes note that the flood of the Nile carried the whole economy of Egypt, so its failure strikes the nation.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
And when they did this, the Lord delivered them into the hands of cruel masters, according to the apostle's saying: Whom I have delivered to Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme (1 Tim. 1:20); being oppressed by the harshest servitude, may they return to the most merciful Lord. And fittingly, he calls the cruel demons their masters, to whom nothing is more cruel. Also, the strong king, who is their Lord, clearly refers to the devil, whom the Lord also calls a fortune in the Gospel, by binding and oppressing whom, the vessels of his house are plundered.
The Medieval Church1 voice
And I will deliver Egypt. Here he describes the destruction itself; and first, as to the slavery of the people; second, as to the desolation of the land: and the water of the sea shall be dried up (Isa 19:5); third, as to the stupidity …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 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
And the Egyptians will I give over into the hands of a cruel lord,....
It is sad with a people when the powers that should be for edification are for destruction, and they are ruined by those by whom they should be ruled, when such as this is the manner of the king, as it is described ( in terrorem--in order to impress alarm ), 1 Sam. viii.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A cruel lord “Cruel lords” - Nebuchadnezzar in the first place, and afterwards the whole succession of Persian kings, who in general were hard masters, and grievously oppressed the country. Note, that for קשה kasheh, lord, a MS. reads קשים kashim, lords, agreeable to which is the rendering of the Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
cruel lord--"Sargon," in Hebrew it is lords; but plural is often used to express greatness, where, one alone is meant (Ge 39:2). The parallel word "king" (singular) proves it.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And the Egyptians - The Egyptian nation; the entire people, though divided into factions and contending with each other. Will I give over - Margin, ‘Shut up.’ The Hebrew word (סכר sākar) usually has the sense of shutting up, or closing. Here it means that these contentions would be “closed” or concluded by their being delivered to of a single master. The Septuagint renders it, Παραδώσω Paradōsō - ‘I will surrender.’ Into the hands of a cruel lord - Hebrew, ‘Lords of cruelty, or severity.’ The word rendered ‘lord,’ meaning master, is in the Hebrew in the plural number (אדנים 'ădônı̂y). It is, however, generally supposed that it is pluralis excellentiae - denoting majesty and dignity, and applicable to a “single” monarch. The connection requires this, for the state here described would be different from that where “many” rule, and it seems to suppose that “one” should succeed to the many who had been contending. In the parallel member, also, a name in the singular number is used - ‘a fierce king;’ and as this evidently denotes the same, it follows that the word here is used to denote a single monarch. The plural form is often thus used in the Hebrew (see Psa 7:10; Eze 29:3; Hos 12:1). God here claims jurisdiction over the nation, and says that “he” will do it - a most striking illustration of the power which he asserts over contending people to deliver them to whomsoever he will. Dr. Newton supposes that this was Nebuchadnezzar, or more properly Cambyses, by whom Egypt was made subject to the authority of Persia, and who was eminently a cruel man, a madman. But the more probable interpretation is that which refers it to Psammetichus. twelve kings were in contention, of whom he was one. He called in the aid of the Arabians, the pirates of Caria and Iona (Herodot. ii. 152; see the Analysis of the chapter; Diod. i. 66). […]
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְסִכַּרְתִּי֙ | vesikarti | and I will hand over | H5534 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מִצְרַ֔יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| בְּיַ֖ד | beyad | in [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| אֲדֹנִ֣ים | ʾadonim | a master<s> | H113 → | 333 times |
| קָשֶׁ֑ה | kasheh | cruel | H7186 → | 36 times |
| וּמֶ֤לֶךְ | umelekh | and a king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| עַז֙ | ʾaz | strong | H5794 → | 24 times |
| יִמְשָׁל־ | yimshol- | he will rule | H4910 → | 81 times |
| בָּ֔ם | bam | over them | ||
| נְאֻ֥ם | neum | [the] utterance of | H5002 → | 376 times |
| הָאָד֖וֹן | haadon | the lord | H113 → | 333 times |
| יְהוָ֥ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| צְבָאֽוֹת׃ | tzevaot | of hosts | H6635 → | 485 times |
וְסִכַּרְתִּי֙and I will hand over
vesikartiH5534 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
מִצְרַ֔יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
בְּיַ֖דin [the] hand of
beyadH3027 →1618 times
אֲדֹנִ֣יםa master<s>
ʾadonimH113 →333 times
קָשֶׁ֑הcruel
kashehH7186 →36 times
וּמֶ֤לֶךְand a king
umelekhH4428 →2525 times
עַז֙strong
ʾazH5794 →24 times
יִמְשָׁל־he will rule
yimshol-H4910 →81 times
בָּ֔םover them
bam
נְאֻ֥ם[the] utterance of
neumH5002 →376 times
הָאָד֖וֹןthe lord
haadonH113 →333 times
יְהוָ֥הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
צְבָאֽוֹת׃of hosts
tzevaotH6635 →485 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
Jeremiah 46:26I will deliver them into the hands of those who seek their lives—of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. But after this, Egypt will be inhabited as in days of old, declares the…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 32:11
For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘The sword of the king of Babylon will come against you!
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 44:30
This is what the LORD says: Behold, I will deliver Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hands of his enemies who seek his life, just as I delivered Zedekiah king of Judah into…
- Ezekiel 32:11
Through
Isaiah 19:2“So I will incite Egyptian against Egyptian; brother will fight against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.
it leads to
- Judges 7:22
And when the three hundred rams’ horns sounded, the LORD set all the men in the camp against one another with their swords. The army fled to Beth-shittah toward Zererah as far as the…
- 1 Samuel 14:20
Then Saul and all his troops assembled and marched to the battle, and they found the Philistines in total confusion, with each man wielding the sword against his neighbor.
- Matthew 10:36
A man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’
- Judges 7:22
Through
Ezekiel 29:19Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who will carry off its wealth, seize its spoil, and remove its plunder. This…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 30:24–25
I will strengthen the arms of Babylon’s king and place My sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, who will groan before him like a mortally wounded man.
- Jeremiah 43:10–13
Then tell them that this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I will set his throne over these…
- Ezekiel 30:24–25
Through
1 Samuel 23:7When Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah, he said, “God has delivered him into my hand, for he has trapped himself by entering a town with gates and bars.”
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 24:4–6
So David’s men said to him, “This is the day about which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do with him as you…
- 1 Samuel 24:4–6
Where this verse is studied
About Isaiah
This page draws on 9 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); 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.