Isaiah 19 · Verse 12

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.
Isaiah 19:12, King James Version

Isaiah 19:12 in other translations

BSBWhere are your wise men now? Let them tell you and reveal what the LORD of Hosts has planned against Egypt.
WEBWhere then are your wise men? Let them tell you now; and let them know what the LORD of Armies has purposed concerning Egypt.
ASVWhere then are thy wise men? and let them tell thee now; and let them know what Jehovah of hosts hath purposed concerning Egypt.
YLTWhere are they now, thy wise ones? Yea, let them tell to thee, I pray thee, And they know what Jehovah of Hosts hath counselled against Egypt!
DARBYWhere are they then, thy wise men? Let them now tell thee, and let them make known what Jehovah of hosts hath purposed upon Egypt.
BBEWhere, then, are your wise men? let them make clear to you, let them give you knowledge of the purpose of the Lord of armies for Egypt.
WebsterWhere 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.

What does Isaiah 19:12 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
12. let them know--that is, How is it that, with all their boast of knowing the future [Diodorus, 1.81], they do not know what Jehovah of hosts ...

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 12 "Let them come" - Here too a word seems to have been left out of the text. After חכמיך chochameycha, thy wise men, two MSS., one ancient, add יבאו yibu, let them come; which, if we consider the form and construction of the sentence, has very much the appearance of being genuine: otherwise the connective conjunction at the beginning of the next member is not only superfluous but embarrassing. See also the Version of the Septuagint, in which the same deficiency is manifest. Let them tell thee now "And let them declare" - For ידעו yidu, let them know, perhaps we ought to read יודיעו yodiu, let them make known. - Secker. The Septuagint and Vulgate favor this reading, ειπατωισαν, let them declare.

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 19:12 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.

אַיָּם֙'ai.Yamwhere [are]? theyH335
אֵפ֣וֹא'e.Fo'thenH645
חֲכָמֶ֔יךָcha.kha.Mei.khawise [people] yourH2450
וְיַגִּ֥ידוּve.ya.Gi.duso they may tellH5046
נָ֖אna'pleaseH4994
לָ֑ךְLakhto you
וְיֵ֣דְע֔וּve.Ye.de.'Uso they may knowH3045
מַה\־mah-what?H4100
יָּעַ֛ץya.'Atzhas he plannedH3289
יְהוָ֥הYah.wehYahwehH3068
צְבָא֖וֹתtze.va.'otof hostsH6635
עַל\־'al-onH5921
מִצְרָֽיִם\׃mitz.Ra.yimEgyptH4714

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

Cross references for Isaiah 19:12

  • 1 Corinthians 1:20

    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?

  • Isaiah 40:13-14

    Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being his counsellor hath taught him? With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?

  • Isaiah 44:7

    And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them shew unto them.

  • Isaiah 5:21

    Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!

  • Isaiah 47:10-13

    For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness: thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee; and thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me. Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know. Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail. Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee.

  • Jeremiah 2:28

    But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee? let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble: for according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah.

  • Romans 9:17

    For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.

  • Job 11:6-7

    And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is! Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth. Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?

  • Isaiah 41:22-23

    Let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come. Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together.

  • Romans 11:33-34

    O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?

  • Isaiah 14:24

    The Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:

  • Judges 9:38

    Then said Zebul unto him, Where is now thy mouth, wherewith thou saidst, Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him? is not this the people that thou hast despised? go out, I pray now, and fight with them.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
where are thy.
5:21; 47:10-13; Jud 9:38; Jer 2:28; 1Co 1:20
let them.
40:13,14; 41:22,23; 44:7; Job 11:6,7; Ro 11:33,34

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

Context

  • 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.

  • Isaiah 19:13

    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.

Read all of Isaiah 19

Isaiah 19:12 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
¿Dónde están ahora aquellos tus prudentes? Dígante ahora, ó hágante saber qué es lo que Jehová de los ejércitos ha determinado sobre Egipto.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Où sont-ils donc, tes sages? Qu’ils te déclarent, je te prie, et te fassent savoir ce que l’ Éternel des armées a résolu contre l’Égypte.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Wo sind sie denn, deine Weisen? mögen sie dir doch verkünden und erkennen, was Jehova der Heerscharen über Ägypten beschlossen hat.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Ubi nunc sunt sapientes tui? annuntient tibi, et indicent quid cogitaverit Dominus exercituum super Ægyptum.