Isaiah 19 · Verse 11

Isaiah 19:11

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?
Isaiah 19:11, King James Version

Isaiah 19:11 in other translations

BSBThe princes of Zoan are mere fools; Pharaoh’s wise counselors give senseless advice. How can you say to Pharaoh, “I am one of the wise, a son of eastern kings”?
WEBThe princes of Zoan are utterly foolish. The counsel of the wisest counselors of Pharaoh has become stupid. How do you say to Pharaoh, “I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings”?
ASVThe 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?
YLTOnly, fools are the princes of Zoan, The counsel of the wise ones of the counsellors of Pharaoh hath become brutish. How say ye unto Pharaoh, ‘A son of the wise am I, a son of kings of antiquity?'
DARBYThey are but fools, the princes of Zoan, the wise counsellors of Pharaoh: their counsel is become senseless. How say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings?
BBEThe chiefs of Zoan are completely foolish; the wisest guides of Pharaoh have become like beasts: how do you say to Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the offspring of early kings?
WebsterSurely the princes of Zoan are fools, the counsel of the wise counselors of Pharaoh is become brutish: how say ye to Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings?

What does Isaiah 19:11 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
11. Zoan--The Greeks called it Tanis, a city of Lower Egypt, east of the Tanitic arms of the Nile, now San; it was one the Egyptian towns nearest to Palestine (Nu 13:22), the scene of Moses' miracles (Psa 78:12, 43). It, or else Memphis, was the capital under Sethos. I am ... son of the wise ... kings--Ye have no advice to suggest to Pharaoh in the crisis, notwithstanding that ye boast of descent from wise and royal ancestors. The priests were the usual "counsellors" of the Egyptian king. He was generally chosen from the priestly caste, or, if from the warrior caste, he was admitted into the sacred order, and was called a priest. The priests are, therefore, meant by the expression, "son of the wise, and of ancient kings"; this was their favorite boast (Herodotus, 2.141; compare Am 7:14; Ac 23:6; Php 3:5). "Pharaoh" was the common name of all the kings: Sethos, probably, is here meant.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 11 The counsel of the wise counselors of Pharaoh is become brutish "Have counseled a brutish counsel" - The sentence as it now stands in the Hebrew, is imperfect: it wants the verb. Archbishop Secker conjectures that the words יועצי פרעה yoatsey pharoh should be transposed; which would in some degree remove the difficulty. But it is to be observed, that the translator of the Vulgate seems to have found in his copy the verb יעצו yaatsu added after פרעה pharoh: Sapientes consiliarii Pharaonis dederunt consilium insipiens, "The wise counsellors of Pharaoh gave unwise counsel." This is probably the true reading: it is perfectly agreeable to the Hebrew idiom, makes the construction of the sentence clear, and renders the transposition of the words above mentioned unnecessary. - L.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Isaiah 19:1-17

Judgments upon Egypt. (Is. 19:1-17) Its deliverance, and the conversion of the people. (Is. 19:18-25) Verses 1-17 God shall come into Egypt with his judgments. He will raise up the causes of their destruction from among themselves. When ungodly men escape danger, they are apt to think themselves secure; but evil pursues sinners, and will speedily overtake them, except they repent. The Egyptians will be given over…

Read the full comment on Isaiah 19:1-17 →

Isaiah 19:11 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

אַךְ\־'akh-[are] onlyH389
אֱוִלִים֙'e.vi.LimfoolsH191
שָׂ֣רֵיSa.rei[the] officials ofH8269
צֹ֔עַןTzo.'anZoanH6814
חַכְמֵי֙chakh.Mei[the] wise [people] ofH2450
יֹעֲצֵ֣יyo.'a.Tzei[the] counselors ofH6098
פַרְעֹ֔הfar.'OhPharaohH6547
עֵצָ֖ה'e.TzahcounselH6098
נִבְעָרָ֑הniv.'a.RahfoolishH1197
אֵ֚יךְ'eikhhow?H349
תֹּאמְר֣וּto.me.Ruwill you sayH559
אֶל\־'el-toH413
פַּרְעֹ֔הpar.'OhPharaohH6547
בֶּן\־ben-[am] a son ofH1121
חֲכָמִ֥יםcha.kha.Mimwise [people]H2450
אֲנִ֖י'a.NiIH589
בֶּן\־ben-a son ofH1121
מַלְכֵי\־mal.khei-kings ofH4428
קֶֽדֶם\׃Ke.demancient timeH6924

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Isaiah 19:11

  • Numbers 13:22

    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.)

  • Isaiah 30:4

    For his princes were at Zoan, and his ambassadors came to Hanes.

  • Psalms 78:43

    How he had wrought his signs in Egypt, and his wonders in the field of Zoan:

  • Acts 7:22

    And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.

  • 1 Kings 4:30

    And Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt.

  • Genesis 41:38-39

    And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is? And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art:

  • Psalms 78:12

    Marvellous things did he in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.

  • Proverbs 30:2

    Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man.

  • Ezekiel 7:26

    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.

  • Psalms 92:6

    A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this.

  • Job 5:12-13

    He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise. He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong.

  • Psalms 33:10

    The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
the princes.
3,13; 29:14; 44:25; Job 5:12,13; 12:17; Ps 33:10; Jer 49:7; Eze 7:26
1Co 1:19,20
Zoan.
30:4; Nu 13:22; Ps 78:12,43; Eze 30:14
brutish.
Ps 73:22; 92:6; Pr 30:2; Jer 10:14,21
I am.
Ge 41:38,39; 1Ki 4:30; Ac 7:22

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Isaiah 19:10

    And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof, all that make sluices and ponds for fish.

  • Isaiah 19:11

    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?

  • Isaiah 19:12

    Where are they? where are thy wise men? and let them tell thee now, and let them know what the Lord of hosts hath purposed upon Egypt.

Read all of Isaiah 19

Isaiah 19:11 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Ciertamente son necios los príncipes de Zoán; el consejo de los prudentes consejeros de Faraón, se ha desvanecido. ¿Cómo diréis á Faraón: Yo soy hijo de los sabios, é hijo de los reyes antiguos?
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Ils ne sont que des fous, les princes de Tsoan, les sages conseillers du Pharaon; leur conseil est devenu stupide. Comment dites-vous au Pharaon: Je suis un fils des sages, le fils d’anciens rois?
German
Elberfelder 1871		Eitel Toren sind die Fürsten von Zoan, die weisen Räte des Pharao; ihr Ratschlag ist dumm geworden. Wie saget ihr zu dem Pharao: "Ich bin ein Sohn der Weisen, ein Sohn der Könige von ehemals?"
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Stulti principes Taneos, sapientes consiliarii Pharaonis dederunt consilium insipiens. Quomodo dicetis Pharaoni: Filius sapientium ego, filius regum antiquorum?