John Calvin Commentary Isaiah 19

l. The burden of Egypt. The Prophet here prophesies against Egypt, because it was a kind of refuge for the Jews whenever they saw any danger approaching them. For when they had forsaken God, to whom they should have turned, they thought that they had no help left for them but in the Egyptians.

It was therefore necessary for that kingdom to be overthrown, so that its wealth or its forces would no longer deceive the Jews. As long as Egypt was prosperous, the Jews thought that, because it was exceedingly populous and highly fortified, they were far removed from danger. Consequently, they despised God, or at least paid scarcely any regard to His promises.

This led to evil consequences in two respects: first, because when they should have relied on God alone, they were puffed up with that vain confidence in Egypt; and second, because whenever the Lord punished them, they defended themselves against His chastisements by the power of the Egyptians, as if by human resources they could make void His judgments, when they should have turned to God altogether.

On this subject Isaiah speaks more fully in a later portion of this book (Isaiah 30:2).

Behold, the Lord rideth on a swift cloud. This mode of expression is also found in other passages of Scripture, but in a general form (Psalms 104:3). The Prophet applies it to this prediction because the Egyptians thought that they were so well fortified on all sides that there was no way by which God could approach them.

He therefore ridicules their foolish confidence and exhibits the exalted power of God, when He rideth on a swift cloud, by which He will easily make a descent upon them, and neither walls nor bulwarks will hinder His progress.

Again, because in addition to earthly aid the Jews were also bewitched by a false religion, on this ground the Prophet also ridicules their madness, because God will dash to the ground all the assistance they expected to obtain from idols.

I pass by the foolish notion that many have entertained regarding the idols Christ overthrew in Egypt when He was carried there in infancy, for it does not deserve a refutation (Matthew 2:14). This passage has been perverted to prove it, and to prove many conjectures of the same kind.

But the Prophet’s meaning is totally different, for he speaks of the defeat of the Egyptians by the Assyrians and shows that it should be ascribed to God, and not, as irreligious men commonly do, to fortune. He shows it to be a judgment of God, by Whose hand all things are governed.

And the idols of Egypt shall be moved at His presence. He declares that the idols shall fall; that is, that they shall be of no avail to the Egyptians, though they rely on their assistance and think they are under their protection. No nation was ever so addicted to superstitions: they worshipped cats, oxen, and crocodiles, and even onions and plants of every sort, and there was nothing to which they did not ascribe some kind of divinity. He means that the power of all those false gods, whom the Egyptians had taken for their protectors, will be overthrown.

Having declared that the Egyptians rely in vain on their superstitions, he also casts down the pride they cherished regarding their earthly resources.

And the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of her. By the word heart he means courage. This courage sometimes fails even the bravest men, so that they do not attempt any action, even when their strength and forces are abundant. In this manner, he declares that they will be at war with God, who will melt their hearts within them before they are called to contend with their enemies.

Not only does he threaten that they will be terrified, but he also adds this will happen in the midst of the whole kingdom, where they had an exceedingly safe and peaceful dwelling because they were far removed from every attack.

It was the duty of all believers to consider this when war was waged against the Egyptians. We also should behold the same thing exemplified in all revolutions of kingdoms, which proceed solely from the hand of God.

If the heart melts, if strength fails in men who are usually brave and who had formerly displayed great courage, this should be ascribed to the vengeance of God.

And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians. Here he describes more particularly the calamity which the Lord had determined to bring on Egypt. By the expression, I will set, he means the internal struggles in which those who should be mutual defenders cut down one another; and no evil can be more destructive than this to a state or a people.

It was also important to convince the Jews that God, in whose hands are the hearts of men (Proverbs 21:1), could by His unseen influence inflame the Jews to mutual animosities, so that they might slay each other, even if they were victorious over foreign enemies.

Hence we learn that nations never rise in a seditious manner unless the Lord set them against each other, as when one brings forward gladiators to the place of combat.

He inflames their minds for battle and prompts them to slay each other by mutual wounds. Therefore, as we should reckon it an evidence of God’s favor when friendship is cherished among citizens, so we should ascribe it to His vengeance when they rage against and slay and injure one another.

And they shall fight every one against his brother. To heighten the picture, he adds what was still more monstrous: that those related to them by blood would take up arms to destroy each other. For if men are worse than beasts when, forgetting their common nature, they engage in battle, how much more shocking is it to nature that brothers or allies should fight with each other! But the more monstrous it is, the more we should acknowledge the judgment of God and His terrible vengeance.

City against city, and kingdom against kingdom. Isaiah appears to advance by degrees, for he mentions:

1. a brother;
2. a neighbor;
3. cities; and
4. kingdoms.

By kingdoms he means provinces, into which Egypt was divided, which the Greeks called νομοί (nomoi), the term by which the Greek translators have rendered it in this passage.

And the spirit of Egypt shall be emptied. As Isaiah had, a little before, deprived the Egyptians of courage, so he now takes away their understanding. Both of these are exceedingly necessary for the defense of kingdoms, for when these have been taken away, there is no possibility of transacting national affairs.

Now, the Egyptians had so high an opinion of their own wisdom that they considered themselves superior to other nations. It is well known that they haughtily despised all other nations as barbarians, as if there were no civilization, refinement, learning, or skill, except in Egypt alone.

They boasted that they were the inventors of learning, that philosophy and astronomy came from them, and, in short, that Egypt was the workshop of all the liberal arts.

Therefore, they would never have thought it possible that they would fail in wisdom and prudence. Unquestionably, if this prediction had come to their knowledge, they would have laughed at it in disdain. They would have thought that the waters of the sea would sooner be dried up, and everything be overturned, than that this would befall those who imagined that prudence was their birthright.

But Isaiah declares it boldly, for he did not speak from himself.

Again, since he had predicted that they would be deprived of courage (in which they excelled), the context requires us to understand that they would be struck with blindness, for both faculties of the soul depend entirely on the favor of God.

Consequently, רוח (rūăch) here means understanding and sagacity. This should be carefully observed, for many are mistaken about the meaning of this word.

When he immediately adds, I will destroy the counsel thereof, this is a stronger expression of the former statement, for it shows what is the cause of that emptiness: namely, that God will take and carry away their counsel.

Even though they seek it. This is spoken by anticipation, for he meets the objections of the Egyptians, who might have said, “Do we not have gods whom we can consult? Do we not have magicians, diviners, and soothsayers? Do you reckon those to be of no value?” He threatens that all these things will be of no avail to them, however much they may rely on them and be puffed up with the empty name of wisdom.

I will not spend much time on these names, though it is probable that Isaiah’s enumeration proceeds by gradual advancement. First, he mentions gods, next magicians, and afterwards diviners and fortune-tellers. They had their oracles, in which they placed the highest confidence. Next after them came the magicians, though these too had great influence.

In matters of lesser importance, they consulted the soothsayers. Superstitious people are so restless that nothing can satisfy them, for they are fickle and unsteady, and sometimes resort to one remedy and sometimes to another.

Indeed, Satan deceives them in such a way that at first he offers them the appearance of peace and quietness, which they think they have fully obtained. But afterwards, he shows them that they have not reached it, and distresses and harasses them more and more, compelling them to seek new grounds of confidence.

Thus, our minds cannot obtain rest and peace except in God alone.

And undoubtedly, the Prophet condemns those arts as contrary to reason, for God has revealed all that is necessary to be known through the arts and sciences that he intended to be used and of which he approves.

If anyone wishes to be wise in any other manner, they must have Satan for their teacher.

And I will deliver the Egyptians into the hand of a cruel master. He now shows what will happen to the Egyptians, after having lost courage and been deprived of understanding. Nothing will be left for them but to be reduced to slavery; for a nation lacking these must fall on its own, even if it were not violently attacked by any enemy. Therefore, God deprives those on whom he determines to take vengeance of such aids, and shuts them out from every method of upholding their liberty. Yet the Prophet threatens what is still more shocking: not only will the empire of which the Egyptians proudly boasted fall, but the inhabitants also will undergo hard bondage. Though the adjective קָשֶׁה (qāsheh), cruel, is in the singular number, yet he says in the plural number that they will be subject to lords, which is harder to endure than if there had been only one lord to whom they were subject.

And a powerful king shall rule over them. He means that the power of the tyrant to whom he will subject them will be so great that it will not be easy to restore them to liberty. Historians show that various changes occurred in many countries, which those who subdued them were unable to hold and retain; for to keep what has been obtained is often more difficult than to conquer.

But the Prophet intimates that this condition will not be easily changed, and that the bondage of the Egyptians will be of long duration, because no one will dare to challenge an extremely powerful conqueror. We may also understand the meaning to be that the princes of smaller nations will deal more gently with their people than more powerful monarchs, who, relying on their greatness, allow themselves to do whatever they please; for, considering their power to be unlimited, they set no bounds to their freedom of action and rush forward, without restraint, wherever their passions drive them.

Whether the one view or the other is adopted, it will amount to this: the Egyptians, who consider themselves to be the highest and most distinguished of all men, will fall under the power of another and will be oppressed by hard bondage—that is, by the bondage of a powerful king—whom no one will dare to oppose.

Hence we see how great is the folly of men who desire to have a powerful and wealthy king reigning over them, and how justly they are punished for their ambition, though this folly cannot be corrected by everyday experience, which is visible everywhere in the world.

France and Spain, at the present day, boast that they are governed by mighty princes, but feel to their cost how little advantage they derive from that which dazzles them with a false pretense of honor. But on this subject we have spoken previously in another place (Isaiah 8:6, 7).

Then the waters shall fail from the sea. He expands on the subject he had already begun: that the fortifications, by which the Egyptians thought they were admirably defended, will be of no use to them.

They considered themselves to be invincible because they were surrounded by the sea, the Nile, and fortifications. Indeed, historians tell us that it was difficult to enter their land, because the Nile’s mouths were such that they could easily prevent ships from landing.

They therefore boasted that their situation was excellent and that they were strongly fortified by nature, just as the inhabitants of Venice today think that, because they are surrounded by deep ditches, they are impregnable. But fortresses are useless when God has determined to punish us.

And the brooks of defence shall be emptied and dried up. What he adds about fortifications is consistent with what he had stated immediately before. He alludes to the embankments, which not only restrained the overflowing of the Nile but also protected the whole country; it is as if he had said that the embankments would not be needed because the Nile would be dried up.

Now, it is certain that the Nile was not actually dried up, and yet the Prophet did not foretell something that was not accomplished.

We must therefore recall what we have already said: because of our stupidity, these calamities are vividly represented to us, placing them, so to speak, before our very eyes. This is because we need a portrayal that is suited to impress our minds and to arouse us to consider God's judgments, which we otherwise despise.

We should observe the haughtiness of the Egyptians, whose resources were so various and abundant, and who thought it was impossible for them to be overtaken by such a calamity.