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Isaiah 19:15
ESV And there will be nothing for Egypt that head or tail, palm branch or reed, may do.
NIV There is nothing Egypt can do-- head or tail, palm branch or reed.
NASB There will be no work for Egypt Which its head or tail, its palm branch or bulrush, may do.
CSB No head or tail, palm or reed, will be able to do anything for Egypt.
NLT There is nothing Egypt can do. All are helpless — the head and the tail, the noble palm branch and the lowly reed.
KJV Neither shall there be any work for Egypt, which the head or tail, branch or rush, may do.

What does Isaiah 19:15 mean?

This continues the prophet's wider message to the people of Judah. They should not turn to flawed nations for help. Why trust in this failing nation instead of trusting in their God, the Lord of hosts? In this oracle against Egypt (Isaiah 19:1), Isaiah has prophesied that the Lord's judgment will result in a divided nation full of hopeless people (Isaiah 19:2–3). The Nile will dry up, destroying the economy and leaving many destitute (Isaiah 19:5–9). The wise men of Egypt will become fools because the Lord will confuse their thinking (Isaiah 19:11–13). If Egypt were a man, Isaiah concluded, he would appear as a drunk staggering around in a pool of his own filth (Isaiah 19:14).

In a famous story by Charles Dickens, the character of Ebenezer Scrooge is shown a dire vision. That will be his fate if he does not change his ways. Isaiah is not Dickens, and Egypt is not like Scrooge. What Isaiah depicts is not a warning of what might be. This is an inescapable fate, which cannot now be changed. Egypt can do nothing to avoid this coming judgment.

The head and the palm branch represent the leaders and important people of the nation. The tail and reed represent the common folk. Nobody at any level of Egyptian society will be able to stop what is coming. The Lord has sealed their future judgment.

What comes next is a surprising change in tone (Isaiah 19:16). Though God planned judgment on Israel, as recorded by Isaiah, there will be a future time when the nation will come to faith in the Lord and be blessed.
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