The Meaning of Isaiah 19:18 Explained

Isaiah 19:18

KJV: In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan, and swear to the LORD of hosts; one shall be called, The city of destruction.

YLT: In that day there are five cities in the land of Egypt, Speaking the lip of Canaan, And swearing to Jehovah of Hosts, 'The city of destruction,' is said of one.

Darby: In that day shall there be five cities in the land of Egypt speaking the language of Canaan, and swearing by Jehovah of hosts: one shall be called, The city of Heres.

ASV: In that day there shall be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan, and swear to Jehovah of hosts; one shall be called The city of destruction.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

In that day  shall five  cities  in the land  of Egypt  speak  the language  of Canaan,  and swear  to the LORD  of hosts;  one  shall be called,  The city  of destruction. 

What does Isaiah 19:18 Mean?

Verse Meaning

In that day, the populations of five Egyptian cities would speak Hebrew out of deference to the Jews and commitment to Yahweh. While five is not many, Isaiah evidently meant that as many as five (quite a few in view of Egypt"s previous massive idolatry), and perhaps more, would do so (cf. Genesis 11:1). One of these five would be called the City of Destruction (Heb. heres), perhaps because of the destruction that God would bring to Egypt. Another possibility is that "destruction" should read "sun" (Heb. heres with a het rather than a he). In this case the City of the Sun, On (Gr. Heliopolis), is in view. On was a center of the worship of the sun god in Egypt, so this may point to an end of idolatry there.

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 19

1  The confusion of Egypt
11  The foolishness of their princes
18  The calling of Egypt into the church
23  The covenant of Egypt, Assyria, and Israel

What do the individual words in Isaiah 19:18 mean?

In day that shall five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear by Yahweh of hosts the City of Destruction Will be called one -
בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֡וּא יִהְיוּ֩ חָמֵ֨שׁ עָרִ֜ים בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֗יִם מְדַבְּרוֹת֙ שְׂפַ֣ת כְּנַ֔עַן וְנִשְׁבָּע֖וֹת לַיהוָ֣ה צְבָא֑וֹת עִ֣יר הַהֶ֔רֶס יֵאָמֵ֖ר לְאֶחָֽת ס

בַּיּ֣וֹם  In  day 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
הַה֡וּא  that 
Parse: Article, Pronoun, third person masculine singular
Root: הוּא 
Sense: he, she, it.
חָמֵ֨שׁ  five 
Parse: Number, feminine singular
Root: חָמֵשׁ  
Sense: five.
עָרִ֜ים  cities 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural
Root: עִיר 
Sense: excitement, anguish.
בְּאֶ֣רֶץ  in  the  land 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
מִצְרַ֗יִם  of  Egypt 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: מִצְרַיִם  
Sense: a country at the northeastern section of Africa, adjacent to Palestine, and through which the Nile flows adj Egyptians = “double straits”.
מְדַבְּרוֹת֙  will  speak 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Participle, feminine plural
Root: דָּבַר 
Sense: to speak, declare, converse, command, promise, warn, threaten, sing.
שְׂפַ֣ת  the  language 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: שָׂפָה  
Sense: lip, language, speech, shore, bank, brink, brim, side, edge, border, binding.
כְּנַ֔עַן  of  Canaan 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: כְּנַעַן 
Sense: the 4th son of Ham and the progenitor of the Phoenicians and of the various nations who peopled the seacoast of Palestine.
וְנִשְׁבָּע֖וֹת  and  swear 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Nifal, Participle, feminine plural
Root: שָׁבַע  
Sense: to swear, adjure.
לַיהוָ֣ה  by  Yahweh 
Parse: Preposition-l, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
צְבָא֑וֹת  of  hosts 
Parse: Noun, common plural
Root: צָבָא 
Sense: that which goes forth, army, war, warfare, host.
עִ֣יר  the  City 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: עִיר 
Sense: excitement, anguish.
הַהֶ֔רֶס  of  Destruction 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: הֶרֶס  
Sense: overthrow, destruction.
יֵאָמֵ֖ר  Will  be  called 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
לְאֶחָֽת  one 
Parse: Preposition-l, Number, feminine singular
Root: אֶחָד  
Sense: one (number).
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation