Yahweh comes on a cloud in judgment on Egypt, especially on her religious system (19:1–4). With the collapse of her religion, Egypt’s social order falls apart. Egyptian will turn against Egyptian, city against city, and province against province. The hegemony of Pharaoh’s rule will be impotent in the face of these forces, and he must submit. The religious and political establishment thus abdicates to foreign rule and religious expressions.

In the second stanza (19:5–10), Isaiah portrays the end of Egypt’s economy. The Nile River and its many canals form the essential system of economic support in Egypt. Because of lack of water, the reeds, flax, and fish languish, and agriculture becomes impossible. Reeds were used for the production of papyrus, baskets, and simple artifacts. Flax was th…