Isaiah 19:16

At that time ¹  the Egyptians ²  will be like women. ³  They will tremble and fear because the Lord who commands armies brandishes his fist against them. ⁴ 

Ps 48:6; Isa 10:32; Isa 11:15; Isa 30:17; Isa 30:30-32; Jer 30:5-7; Jer 50:37; Jer 51:30; Na 3:13; Zec 2:9

¹ tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV), likewise at the beginning of vv. 18 and 19.

² tn Heb “Egypt,” which stands by metonymy for the country’s inhabitants.

³ sn As the rest of the verse indicates, the point of the simile is that the Egyptians will be relatively weak physically and will wilt in fear before the Lord’s onslaught.

⁴ tn Heb “and he will tremble and be afraid because of the brandishing of the hand of the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts], which he brandishes against him.” Since according to the imagery here the Lord’s “hand” is raised as a weapon against the Egyptians, the term “fist” has been used in the translation.