Isaiah 19:3

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst of it; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek unto the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

וְנָבְקָ֤ה רֽוּחַ־מִצְרַ֙יִם֙ בְּקִרְבּ֔וֹ וַעֲצָת֖וֹ אֲבַלֵּ֑עַ וְדָרְשׁ֤וּ אֶל־הָֽאֱלִילִים֙ וְאֶל־הָ֣אִטִּ֔ים וְאֶל־הָאֹב֖וֹת וְאֶל־הַיִּדְּעֹנִֽים׃

Transliteration

And-nāḇqāh rûaḥ-Miṣrayim in-qirbô and-ʿăṣātô ʾăḇallēaʿ and-dārĕšû to-the-ʾĕlîlîm and-to-the-ʾiṭṭîm and-to-the-ʾōḇôṯ and-to-the-yiddĕʿōnîm

Grammar Details

• *nāḇqāh*: verb, niphal perfect, 3rd person feminine singular - will be emptied/confused
• *rûaḥ*: noun, feminine singular construct - spirit of
• *Miṣrayim*: proper noun, masculine dual/plural - Egypt
• *qirbô*: noun, masculine singular with 3rd person masculine singular suffix - its midst
• *ʿăṣātô*: noun, feminine singular with 3rd person masculine singular suffix - his counsel/plan
• *ʾăḇallēaʿ*: verb, piel imperfect, 1st person singular - I will confound/swallow up
• *dārĕšû*: verb, qal perfect, 3rd person plural - they will seek/inquire
• *ʾĕlîlîm*: noun, masculine plural - idols
• *ʾiṭṭîm*: noun, masculine plural - charmers/necromancers
• *ʾōḇôṯ*: noun, masculine plural - mediums/those with familiar spirits
• *yiddĕʿōnîm*: noun, masculine plural - wizards/soothsayers

Word Meanings

• *nāḇqāh*: will be emptied/confused/poured out/wasted away
• *rûaḥ*: spirit/wind/breath/mind/courage
• *ʿăṣātô*: his counsel/plan/advice/wisdom
• *ʾăḇallēaʿ*: I will confound/swallow up/frustrate/ruin
• *dārĕšû*: they will seek/inquire/consult/resort to
• *ʾĕlîlîm*: idols/worthless things/vain things
• *ʾiṭṭîm*: charmers/necromancers/whisperers/murmurers
• *ʾōḇôṯ*: mediums/those with familiar spirits/ghost-conjurers
• *yiddĕʿōnîm*: wizards/soothsayers/fortune-tellers/those who claim supernatural knowledge

Referenced Verses

• Isa 8:19 : 19 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits and unto the wizards, that chirp and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? on behalf of the living [should they seek] unto the dead?
• Dan 2:2 : 2 Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the enchanters, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king.
• 1 Chr 10:13 : 13 So Saul died for his trespass which he committed against Jehovah, because of the word of Jehovah, which he kept not; and also for that he asked counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire [thereby],
• 2 Chr 25:16-20 : 16 And it came to pass, as he talked with him, that [the king] said unto him, Have we made thee of the king's counsel? forbear; why shouldest thou be smitten? Then the prophet forbare, and said, I know that God hath determined to destroy thee, because thou hast done this, and hast not hearkened unto my counsel. 17 Then Amaziah king of Judah took advice, and sent to Joash, the son of Jehoahaz the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us look one another in the face. 18 And Joash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son to wife: and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trod down the thistle. 19 Thou sayest, Lo, thou hast smitten Edom; and thy heart lifteth thee up to boast: abide now at home; why shouldest thou meddle to [thy] hurt, that thou shouldest fall, even thou, and Judah with thee? 20 But Amaziah would not hear; for it was of God, that he might deliver them into the hand [of their enemies], because they had sought after the gods of Edom.
• Job 5:12-13 : 12 He frustrateth the devices of the crafty, So that their hands cannot perform their enterprise. 13 He taketh the wise in their own craftiness; And the counsel of the cunning is carried headlong.
• Ps 76:12 : 12 He will cut off the spirit of princes: He is terrible to the kings of the earth.
• Ps 107:27 : 27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, And are at their wits' end.
• Prov 21:30 : 30 There is no wisdom nor understanding Nor counsel against Jehovah.
• 1 Sam 25:37 : 37 And it came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out of Nabal, that his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone.
• 2 Sam 15:31 : 31 And one told David, saying, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, O Jehovah, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.
• 2 Sam 17:14 : 14 And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel. For Jehovah had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that Jehovah might bring evil upon Absalom.
• 2 Sam 17:23 : 23 And when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his ass, and arose, and gat him home, unto his city, and set his house in order, and hanged himself; and he died, and was buried in the sepulchre of his father.
• Isa 14:27 : 27 For Jehovah of hosts hath purposed, and who shall annul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?
• Isa 15:2 : 2 They are gone up to Bayith, and to Dibon, to the high places, to weep: Moab waileth over Nebo, and over Medeba; on all their heads is baldness, every beard is cut off.
• Isa 19:1 : 1 The burden of Egypt. Behold, Jehovah rideth upon a swift cloud, and cometh unto Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall tremble at his presence; and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.
• Isa 19:11-13 : 11 The princes of Zoan are utterly foolish; the counsel of the wisest counsellors of Pharaoh is become brutish: how say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings? 12 Where then are thy wise men? and let them tell thee now; and let them know what Jehovah of hosts hath purposed concerning Egypt. 13 The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Memphis are deceived; they have caused Egypt to go astray, that are the corner-stone of her tribes.
• Isa 44:25 : 25 that frustrateth the signs of the liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish;
• Isa 47:12 : 12 Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast labored from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail.
• Isa 57:16 : 16 For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth; for the spirit would faint before me, and the souls that I have made.
• Jer 46:15 : 15 Why are thy strong ones swept away? they stood not, because Jehovah did drive them.
• Ezek 21:7 : 7 And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou? that thou shalt say, Because of the tidings, for it cometh; and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water: behold, it cometh, and it shall be done, saith the Lord Jehovah.
• Ezek 22:14 : 14 Can thy heart endure, or can thy hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with thee? I, Jehovah, have spoken it, and will do it.
• Dan 4:6-7 : 6 Therefore made I a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known unto me the interpretation of the dream. 7 Then came in the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers; and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known unto me the interpretation thereof.
• Dan 5:7 : 7 The king cried aloud to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. The king spake and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and show me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.
• 1 Cor 3:19-20 : 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He that taketh the wise in their craftiness: 20 and again, The Lord knoweth the reasonings of the wise that they are vain.