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Selected Verse: Isaiah 19:3 - King James
| Verse |
Translation |
Text |
| Isa 19:3 |
King James |
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. |
Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse
| A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882] |
spirit--wisdom, for which Egypt was famed (Isa 31:2; Kg1 4:30; Act 7:22); answering to "counsel" in the parallel clause.
fail--literally, "be poured out," that is, be made void (Jer 19:7). They shall "seek" help from sources that can afford none, "charmers," &c. (Isa 8:19).
charmers--literally, "those making a faint sound"; the soothsayers imitated the faint sound which was attributed to the spirits of the dead (see on Isa 8:19). |
| Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834] |
And the spirit of Egypt - (see Isa 19:1). They shall be exhausted with their long internal contentions and strifes; and seeing no prospect of deliverance, and anxious that the turmoils should end, they shall seek counsel and refuge in their gods and necromancers, but in vain.
Shall fail - (נבקה nâbeqâh). Margin, 'Be emptied.' The word means, literally, "to pour out, empty, depopulate." Here it means that they would become disheartened and discouraged.
And I will destroy - Margin, as the Hebrew, 'I will swallow up.' So the word is used in Psa 107:27, 'All their wisdom is destroyed' (Hebrew, 'swallowed up. ')
And they shall seek to the idols - According to Herodotus (ii. 152), Psammetichus had consulted the oracle of Latona at Butos, and received for answer that the sea should avenge his cause by producing brazen men. Some time after, a body of Ionians and Carians were compelled by stress of weather to touch at Egypt, and landed there, clad in brass armor. Some Egyptians, alarmed at their appearance, came to Psammetichus, and described them as brazen men who had risen from the sea, and were plundering the country. He instantly supposed that this was the accomplishment of the oracle, and entered into an alliance with the strangers, and by their aid was enabled to obtain the victory over his foes. Compare the different accounts of Diodorus in the Analysis of this chapter. The whole history of Egypt shows how much they were accustomed to consult their idols (see Herodot. ii. 54ff, 82, 83, 139, 152). Herodotus says (ii. 83), that the art of divination in Egypt was confined to certain of their deities. There were in that country the oracles of Hercules, of Apollo, of Mars, of Diana, and of Jupiter; but the oracle of Latona in Butos was held in greater veneration than any of the rest.
And to the charmers - (אטים 'ı̂ṭı̂ym). This word occurs nowhere else. The root אטט 'âṭaṭ, in Arabic, means "to mutter, to make a gentle noise;" and this word probably denotes conjurors, diviners (see the note at Isa 8:19). The Septuagint renders it, 'Their idols.'
And to them that have familiar spirits - (see the note at Isa 8:19). The Septuagint renders this, 'Those who speak from the ground.'
And to the wizards - Septuagint - Ἐγγαστριμύθους Engastrimuthous - 'Ventriloquists.' The Hebrew word means a wise man, a soothsayer, a magician (ידענים yı̂dı̂‛onı̂ym from ידע yâda‛ "to know;" see Lev 19:31; Lev 20:6; Deu 18:11). This fake science abounded in Egypt, and in most Oriental countries. |
| Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65] |
| The spirit - Their courage. |
| Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826 |
| They shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards - And thei schul asken their symulacres, and their debynouris, and their devyl clepers, and their devyl sacristers. - Old Bible. The import of the original words has already been given where they occur in the Pentateuch. See Deu 18:10, etc. |
19 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?
19 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?
7 And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place; and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hands of them that seek their lives: and their carcases will I give to be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth.
22 And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.
30 And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt.
2 Yet he also is wise, and will bring evil, and will not call back his words: but will arise against the house of the evildoers, and against the help of them that work iniquity.
11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
6 And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.
31 Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.
19 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?
19 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?
27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits' end.
1 The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.
10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,