Isaiah 19:11

King James Version with Strong's Numbers

Surely the princes of Zoan are fools, the counsel of the wise counsellors of Pharaoh is become brutish: how say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings?

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

אַךְ־אֱוִלִים֙ שָׂ֣רֵי צֹ֔עַן חַכְמֵי֙ יֹעֲצֵ֣י פַרְעֹ֔ה עֵצָ֖ה נִבְעָרָ֑ה אֵ֚יךְ תֹּאמְר֣וּ אֶל־פַּרְעֹ֔ה בֶּן־חֲכָמִ֥ים אֲנִ֖י בֶּן־מַלְכֵי־קֶֽדֶם׃

Transliteration

Surely-ʾĕwîlîm śārê Ṣōʿan ḥaḵmê yōʿăṣê Parʿōh ʿēṣāh niḇʿārāh how tōʾmĕrû to-Parʿōh ben-ḥăḵāmîm ʾănî ben-malḵê-qeḏem

Grammar Details

• *ʾĕwîlîm*: adjective, masculine plural - foolish
• *śārê*: noun, masculine plural construct - princes/officials of
• *Ṣōʿan*: proper noun - Zoan (city in Egypt)
• *ḥaḵmê*: adjective, masculine plural construct - wise men of
• *yōʿăṣê*: participle, qal, masculine plural construct - counselors of
• *Parʿōh*: proper noun - Pharaoh
• *ʿēṣāh*: noun, feminine singular - counsel/advice
• *niḇʿārāh*: verb, niphal participle, feminine singular - brutish/stupid/senseless
• *tōʾmĕrû*: verb, qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine plural - you say
• *ben*: noun, masculine singular construct - son of
• *ḥăḵāmîm*: adjective, masculine plural - wise men
• *ʾănî*: pronoun, 1st person singular - I
• *malḵê*: noun, masculine plural construct - kings of
• *qeḏem*: noun, masculine singular - ancient times/east

Word Meanings

• *ʾĕwîlîm*: foolish/fools/stupid
• *śārê*: princes/officials/nobles/chiefs
• *ḥaḵmê*: wise men of/sages of
• *yōʿăṣê*: counselors of/advisors of
• *ʿēṣāh*: counsel/advice/plan/wisdom
• *niḇʿārāh*: brutish/stupid/senseless/foolish
• *ben*: son of/descendant of
• *ḥăḵāmîm*: wise men/sages/scholars
• *qeḏem*: ancient times/antiquity/east/former times

Referenced Verses

• Num 13:22 : 22 And they ascended by the south, and came unto Hebron; where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were.(Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)
• 1 Kgs 4:30 : 30 And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt.
• Ps 78:43 : 43 How he had wrought{H8804)} his signs in Egypt, and his wonders in the field of Zoan:
• Isa 30:4 : 4 For his princes were at Zoan, and his ambassadors came to Hanes.
• Acts 7:22 : 22 And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.
• Gen 41:38-39 : 38 And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is? 39 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art:
• Ps 78:12 : 12 Marvellous things did{H8804)} he in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.
• 1 Cor 1:19-20 : 19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. 20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
• Isa 44:25 : 25 That frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish;
• Jer 10:14 : 14 Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.
• Jer 10:21 : 21 For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the LORD: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.
• Jer 49:7 : 7 Concerning Edom, thus saith the LORD of hosts; Is wisdom no more in Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished?
• Ezek 7:26 : 26 Mischief shall come upon mischief, and rumour shall be upon rumour; then shall they seek a vision of the prophet; but the law shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the ancients.
• Ezek 30:14 : 14 And I will make Pathros desolate, and will set fire in Zoan, and will execute judgments in No.
• Ps 92:6 : 6 A brutish man knoweth{H8799)} not; neither doth a fool understand{H8799)} this.
• Prov 30:2 : 2 Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man.
• Isa 19:3 : 3 And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards.
• Isa 19:13 : 13 The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Noph are deceived; they have also seduced Egypt, even they that are the stay of the tribes thereof.
• Isa 29:14 : 14 Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.
• Job 5:12-13 : 12 He disappointeth 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 froward is carried headlong.
• Job 12:17 : 17 He leadeth counsellors away spoiled, and maketh the judges fools.
• Ps 33:10 : 10 The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect.
• Ps 73:22 : 22 So foolish was I, and ignorant{H8799)}: I was as a beast before thee.