19 You daughter who dwells in Egypt, furnish yourself to go into captivity; for Memphis shall become a desolation, and shall be burnt up, without inhabitant.
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
The Prophet exults over the Egyptians, in order that he might more and more confirm his doctrine; for we have said, and experience teaches the same, that the unbelieving are but little moved when God summons them to his tribunal, and gives evidence of his vengeance; for they remain stupid, except their torpor is by force shaken from them. This is the reason why the Prophet sharply assails the wicked, even that they might awake from their drowsiness. Hence he says, Take to thee the furniture of transmigration, that is, prepare for thyself garments and other things for the purpose of removing. The Egyptians, having a fruitful land, remained quietly in their own country, and led, as it were, a sedentary life. Now the Prophet intimates that they were to move elsewhere; and he bids them to prepare for a long journey, or a long peregrination: Make to thee, then, furniture for transmigration; for Memphis shall be reduced to solitude, and laid waste without an inhabitant He mentions Memphis again, which, as we have said, was a very celebrated city and a royal residence. He says that it would be laid waste, and yet we know that the Pyramids there were reckoned among the wonders of the world. The city was populous, and had many advantages. The Prophet dooms it to desolation. If, then, such solitude awaited the most celebrated city, what was to become of the smaller towns? what was to become of the villages? We now, then, see what was the purpose of the Prophet, even to shew, that when Nebuchadnezzar made an irruption into Egypt, all things would be under his power, so that he would, at his pleasure, seize on, plunder, and lay waste the whole land. It now follows, --
Literally, "O thou inhabitant daughter of Egypt," an equivalent here for Egypt and its whole population.
Furnish thyself - literally, make for thee vessels of banishment, not merely the packages necessary, but their outfit generally.
Furnish thyself to go into captivity - The thing is unavoidable; prepare for this calamity.
O thou daughter dwelling in Egypt,.... That is, O ye inhabitants of Egypt, that have long dwelt there, in great security, enjoying great plenty, and who promised themselves a long continuance:
furnish thyself to go into captivity; or, "make", or "prepare for thyself vessels of captivity" (y); or such things as are proper for captives, as suitable clothes to travel in, shoes to walk in, scrip and staff, and the like; expect captivity, and prepare for it:
for Noph shall be waste and desolate without an inhabitant; the city Memphis, as the Targum, and all the versions: this is particularly mentioned, because it was a royal city, as Kimchi observes; and, though a very populous one, its destruction should be so general, that not an inhabitant should be left in it: the devastation of this city is put for that of all the rest, and as a sure token of it and the whole nation going into captivity.
(y) "vase vel instrumenta migrationis fac tibi", Piscator, Schmidt; "praepara", Vatablus; "pare", Junius & Tremellius.
furnish thyself--literally, "make for thyself vessels" (namely, to contain food and other necessaries for the journey) for captivity.
daughter--so in Jeremiah 46:11.
dwelling in Egypt--that is, the inhabitants of Egypt, the Egyptians, represented as the daughter of Egypt (Jeremiah 48:18; 2-Kings 19:21). "Dwelling" implies that they thought themselves to be securely fixed in their habitations beyond the reach of invasion.
*More commentary available at chapter level.