A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Isaiah 19
Kuruvilla Thomas
Bangalore
Published on 9 September 2026 *
Introduction
This study treats Isaiah 19 as a cryptochiasmus in order to arrive at a coherent reconfiguration of the text ( see definition of cryptochiasmus in [1] ). If you wish to skip the technicalities of a chiastic parse, you may read starting from Section 4 of the Discussion section, which has the reconfigured text.
We show that Isaiah 19 prophesies Nebuchadnezzar's invasion of Egypt, and predicts that the Western Empire (USA, Western Europe, Canada...) will come under God's control at the start of Christ's reign over the world.
Discussion
1. Presuppositions
We base our parse of Isaiah 19 on the assumption that it refers to 3 periods:
- Nebuchadnezzar invades Egypt (c.568BC).
- The Temple at Jerusalem is destroyed (70AD) during the First Jewish–Roman War (66AD–73AD).
- The Western Empire comes under God's control at the start of Christ's reign over the world (from 2030AD).
2. Parsing the chiasmus
We will use the NIV Bible for this parse.
Parsing this chiasmus involves dividing portions of the text into the three categories above. We will call the time of Nebuchadnezzar's invasion of Egypt Period 1, the Destruction of Jerusalem Period 2 and the start of Christ's reign over the world Period 3.
We believe that the name "Egypt" refers to ancient Egypt in Period 1, and to the Western Empire in Period 3 (see details in our parse of Isaiah 18 [3]).
Categorizing Isaiah 19
vs 1b-3 belong to Period 3. When the Beast army comes against the New Israel, God comes down "in a swift cloud" to destroy it. The Lord stirs up internal conflicts in the nations of the Beast empire. Note that the Western Empire makes up a significant part of the Beast empire.
vs 4-8 belong to Period 1. Nebuchadnezzar takes control of Egypt, and at the same time a great drought devastates the land.
vs 9-10 belong to Period 2. Those who deal in fine linen lose their livelihood after the destruction of the temple at Jerusalem in 70AD. This is the only passage in the chapter that does not contain the name "Egypt" or a proper noun related to Egypt. We expect to see a Period about the First Jewish–Roman War in all cryptochiasmi.
vs 11-15 belong to Period 1. Ancient Egypt is cursed with poor advice from its counsellors.
vs 16-25 belongs to Period 3. God saves the Western Empire and takes control of it. We take the phrase "In that day", which can mean "at a later date", as denoting the start of this subunit. ( We see no reason for ancient Egypt to fear weak Judah, as in vs 17.)
Original text
We color-code the chiastic units of the original text (NIV) below for easy visual identification using: red for Period 1, blue for Period 2 and green for Period 3. We have retranslated parts of the text.
Isaiah 19 1b See, the Lord rides on a swift cloud and is coming against [a] Egypt. The idols of Egypt tremble before him, and the hearts of the Egyptians melt with fear.
2 “I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian— brother will fight against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom. 3 The Egyptians will lose heart when I [b] bring their plans to nothing; they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead, the mediums and the spiritists.
4 I will hand the Egyptians over to the power of a cruel master, and a fierce king will rule over them,” declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.
5 The waters of the river will dry up, and the riverbed will be parched and dry. 6 The canals will stink; the streams of Egypt will dwindle and dry up. The reeds and rushes will wither, 7 also the plants along the Nile, at the mouth of the river. Every sown field along the Nile will become parched, will blow away and be no more. 8 The fishermen will groan and lament, all who cast hooks into the Nile; those who throw nets on the water will pine away.
9 Those who work with combed flax will despair, the weavers of fine linen will lose hope. 10 The foundations of the trade will be broken. All the craftsmen will be sick at heart. [c]
11 The princes of Zoan are nothing but fools; the wise counselors of Pharaoh give foolish advice.[d] How can you say to Pharaoh, “I am a son of the wise,[e] a son [f] of the ancient kings”? 12 Where are your wise men now? Let them show you and make known what the Lord Almighty has planned against Egypt. 13 The princes of Zoan have been made fools, the princes of Memphis are turned delusional [g]; the cornerstones of her peoples have led Egypt astray. 14 The Lord has poured into them a spirit of distortion [h]; they make Egypt stagger in all that she does, as a drunkard staggers around in his vomit. 15 There is nothing Egypt can do— head or tail, palm branch or palm leaflet [i].
16 In that day the Egyptians will be like women, and tremble with [j] fear at the uplifted hand that the Lord Almighty raises against them. 17 And the land of Judah will bring terror to the Egyptians; everyone to whom Judah is mentioned will be terrified, because of what the Lord Almighty has planned for it [k].
18 In that day five cities in Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord Almighty. One of them will be called the City of Overthrow [l].
19 In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the heart of Egypt, and a monument to the Lord at its border. 20 It will be a sign and witness to the Lord Almighty in the land of Egypt.
When they cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior, a mighty one [m], and he will rescue them. 21 The [n] Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and in that day they will acknowledge the Lord. They will worship with sacrifices and [o] offerings; they will make vows to the Lord and keep them. 22 The Lord will strike Egypt [p]; he will strike them and heal them. They will return [q] to the Lord, and he will respond to their pleas and heal them.
23 In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. 24 In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing on the earth. 25 The Lord Almighty will bless them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance.”
Retranslation notes for Isaiah 19:
[a] vs 1 "against" instead of "to".
[b] vs 3 "heart when I" instead of "heart, and I will".
[c] vs 10 "The foundations of the trade will be broken. All the craftsmen will be sick at heart" instead of "The workers in cloth will be dejected, and all the wage earners will be sick at heart".
[d] vs 11 "The princes of Zoan are nothing but fools; the wise counselors of Pharaoh give foolish advice" instead of "The officials of Zoan are nothing but fools; the wise counselors of Pharaoh give senseless advice".
[e] vs 11 "a son of the wise" instead of "one of the wise men".
[f] vs 11 "son" instead of "disciple".
[g] vs 13 "The princes of Zoan have been made fools, the princes of Memphis are turned delusional" instead of "The officials of Zoan have become fools, the leaders of Memphis are deceived". Partly based on the Cambridge Bible commentary.
[h] vs 14 "distortion" instead of "dizziness". From the NASB.
[i] vs 15 "palm leaflet" instead of "reed". Assuming a parallel design in the idiom.
[j] vs 16 "be like women, and tremble with" instead of "become weaklings. They will shudder with", as in the Hebrew.
[k] vs 17 "has planned for it" instead of "is planning against them".
[l] vs 18 "Overthrow" instead of "the Sun", as in the Hebrew.
[m] vs 20 ", a mighty one" instead of "and defender". From the NKJV.
[n] vs 21 "The" instead of "So the".
[o] vs 21 removed the word "grain". Not specified in the Hebrew
[p] vs 22 removed the phrase "with a plague". Not in the Hebrew.
[q] vs 22 "return" instead of "turn".
3. Building the reconfigured text
From this parse, it appears that Isaiah 19 forms a cryptochiasmus as below:A1 Vs 1b-3 Period 3. God fights the army of the Western Empire
B1 Ch Vs 4-8 Period 1. Egypt suffers an invasion and a drought
X Vs 9-10 Period 2. The temple in Jerusalem is destroyed
B2 Vs 11-15 Period 1. Egypt is poorly advised
A2 Vs 16-25 Period 3. The Western Empire comes under God's control
We now reconfigure the passages in the right order based on the chiastic structure above and based on the ordering rules of a cryptochiasmus [1].
We lead with central pivot point 'X'. The corresponding subunits (for example, subunit A1 corresponds to A2) are placed contiguously to form units (for example, A1,A2 is a unit) so that we get a list of such units.
The sequence selected for rearrangement is:
X [A1,A2] [B1,B2] (1)
Translating (1) into verse numbers, we get:
vs 9-10 [vs 1b-3, vs 16-25] [vs 4-8, vs 11-15] (2)
We arrive at the reconfigured passage in the next section by rearranging the verses so they are in sequence (2).
4. Isaiah 19 Reconfigured
The Temple at Jerusalem is destroyed (70AD) during the First Jewish–Roman War (66AD–73AD) (vs 9-10)The Western Empire comes under God's control at the start of Christ's reign over the world (from 2030AD) (vs 1b-3, vs 16-25)
Chiasmus 1: God will come against the Beast army when it attacks the New Israel (vs 1b-3)
Chiasmus 2: The Western Empire will fear God and His nation, the New Israel (vs 16-20a)
Chiasmus 3: God makes Himself known to the Western Empire (vs 20b-22)
Chiasmus 4: Israel, the Western Empire and China will be the 3 great empires of the Millennial Reign (vs 23-25)
Nebuchadnezzar invades Egypt (c.568BC) (vs 4-8, vs 11-15)
Chiasmus 1: Egypt suffers an invasion and a drought (vs 4-8,11)
Chiasmus 2: God turns the wise-men of Egypt into fools (vs 12-15)
5. A Commentary on the Reconfigured Text
5.0 The Title of the Prophecy (vs 1a)
1a A prophecy against Egypt:
This prophecy predicts disaster for Egypt as punishment from God in Period 1. It also predicts that the "Egypt" of Period 3, the Western Empire, will be saved and be an empire under God during Christ's Millennial Reign.
5.1 The Temple at Jerusalem is destroyed (70AD) during the First Jewish–Roman War (66AD–73AD) (vs 9-10)
This Period is arranged in the form of a single-unit chiasmus:A1 vs 9 The ceremonial garment industry is in despair
X 10a After the fall of Jerusalem, ceremonial garments are no longer required
A2 10b The ceremonial garment industry is in despair
We propose that this chiasmus is read from the centre, in the sequence: [X], [A1,A2].
Subunit A1: The ceremonial garment industry is in despair (vs 9)
9 Those who work with combed flax will despair, the weavers of fine linen will lose hope.
The craftsmen of Judea and the surrounding regions who specialised in fine linen work for temple priests are in despair, because there is no longer a demand for their products.
Pivot X: After the fall of Jerusalem, ceremonial garments are no longer required (10a)
10a The foundations of the trade will be broken.
The priestly class in Jerusalem required fine linen for their ceremonial garments (see Exodus 28), but with the destruction of the temple in 70AD and the Old Covenant no more in force, there is no longer a demand for this delicate, expensive clothing ("the foundations of the trade are broken"). After the Roman slaughter of the Judahites, only the Christian Judahites remained - those who had taken Jesus' advice to flee to the mountains [2].
Subunit A2: The ceremonial garment industry is in despair (vs 10b)
10b All the craftsmen will be sick at heart.
All the craftsmen who worked in the fine linen industry will now have to find another way to make a living.
5.2 The Western Empire comes under God's control at the start of Christ's reign over the world (from 2030AD) (vs 1b-3, vs 16-25)
"Egypt", in the prophecy of this Period, refers to the Western Empire (see parse of Isaiah 18 [3]), and we define the Western Empire to be Western Europe and its offshoots, like the USA and Australia (these nations make up the 6th king of Rev 17:10 and they will be a crucial part of the Beast empire of Rev. 13). Although these nations are considered Christian, their leadership consists of demon worshippers, and they are controlled by the Satanic bloodline families (see appendix in [6] for more on these bloodline families).
This Period is structured as a series of 4 chiasmi.
Chiasmus 1: God will come against the Beast army when it attacks the New Israel (vs 1b-3)
A1 vs 1b The forces of the Western Empire and their gods are in terror at God's wrath
X vs 2 God stirs up strife between the righteous and the wicked of the Western Empire
A2 vs 3 The forces of the Western Empire and their gods are in terror at God's wrath
We propose that this chiasmus is read in the sequence: [A1,A2] [X].
Subunit A1: The forces of the Western Empire and their gods are in terror at God's wrath (vs 1b)
1b See, the Lord rides on a swift cloud and is coming against Egypt. The idols of Egypt tremble before him, and the hearts of the Egyptians melt with fear.
When the Beast army attacks the New Israel (see Ezekiel 39, Rev 19:17-21), God will come against it; for this is one of the 3 great "Day's of the Lord" of Joel (see Joel 3:14), during which God Himself comes down to exhibit His wrath. The wicked warriors of the Western Empire and the fallen angels ("idols") that they worship, now tremble in fear before the mighty anger of God. Note that the "swift cloud" represents a mechanism for short-term travel between the spiritual and physical realms (see Psalm 104:3, see also Matt 24:30, Dan 7:13 ...). Note also that the armies of the Western Empire make up a significant part of the Beast military alliance.
Pivot X: God stirs up strife between the righteous and the wicked of the Western Empire (vs 2)
2 “I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian— brother will fight against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom.
After the Beast army is defeated (Unit A), God stirs up internal conflict between the peoples and the nations that make up the Western Empire. The righteous people of God in the Western Empire will battle the people of Satan, and the wicked will be destroyed (see also Rev 19:17,18,21).
Subunit A2: The forces of the Western Empire and their gods are in terror at God's wrath (vs 3)
3 The Egyptians will lose heart when I bring their plans to nothing; they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead, the mediums and the spiritists.
The plans of the wicked in the Western Empire to defeat Israel and rule the world for Satan are thwarted by God. The wicked seek the help of the fallen angels ("idols") they worship, but these spiritual beings are unable to fight God's will; the wicked communicate with the spiritual world through witchcraft, necromancy, mediums, spiritists, all of which are expressly forbidden by God (Deut. 18:10-11).
Chiasmus 2: The Western Empire will fear God and His nation, the New Israel (vs 16-20a)
A1 vs 16 The leaders of the Western Empire will fear God
X vs 17-18 The Western Empire will fear God's nation, the New Israel
A2 vs 19-20a The leaders of the Western Empire will fear God
In that day... In Biblical prophecy, the phrase "in that day" can mean "at a later date". Some of the prophecies in this chiasmus and those that follow contain this phrase, indicating that they will be fulfilled well into the Millennial Reign.
Subunit A1: The leaders of the Western Empire will fear God (vs 16)
16 In that day the Egyptians will be like women, and tremble with fear at the uplifted hand that the Lord Almighty raises against them.
During Christ's reign over the world, leaders of the Western Empire will have a healthy fear of the Lord. They will obey God's commands for fear of incurring His wrath (for His hand is "uplifted" and can come down on them at any time).
Pivot X: The Western Empire will fear God's nation, the New Israel (vs 17-18)
17 And the land of Judah will bring terror to the Egyptians; everyone to whom Judah is mentioned will be terrified, because of what the Lord Almighty has planned for it.
The leaders of the once mighty Western Empire will fear God's nation, Israel; for Israel's leader, the coming Messiah, will rule the world for Christ with a "rod of iron" (see Psalm 2:9) ("what the Lord has planned for it [Israel]"). Note that "Judah", Isaiah's nation, represents the New Israel of the Millennial Reign.
18 In that day five cities in Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord Almighty. One of them will be called the City of Overthrow.
While most of the Israelites living in the Western Empire will move to the New Israel, a few Israelites will be sent to the Western Empire to help the Messiah govern it (see also Micah 5:5,6). They will gather in "five" cities ("five" may mean "a few") so that they can more easily preserve their religion and culture as the people of God (so that they figuratively "speak the language of Canaan", where "Canaan" refers to the New Israel). These "five" cities will effectively be colonies of the New Israel, and, like Israel, they will swear allegiance to God. It may be that these cities are spread out in the nations of the Western Empire - USA, Europe... - so that the coming Messiah may control these nations through these cities.
One of these cities will be called the "City of Overthrow", presumably for its role in delivering the Western Empire from the tyranny of Satan's people (see vs 20b below).
Subunit A2: The leaders of the Western Empire will fear God (vs 19-20a)
19 In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the heart of Egypt, and a monument to the Lord at its border. 20a It will be a sign and witness to the Lord Almighty in the land of Egypt.
The leadership and the people of the Western Empire will set up monuments that acknowledge the God of Israel (we believe vs 19 is a parallelism and so take "altar" to mean "memorial", as in Joshua 22:22-26). So instead of pagan, Satanic monuments, like the Statue of Liberty and the Washington Monument, the Western Empire will have symbols appropriate to a Christian people.
Chiasmus 3: God makes Himself known to the Western Empire (vs 20b-22)
A1 vs 20b God heals the Western Empire after the Beast's reign (2030AD)
X vs 21 God will make Himself known to the Western Empire (from 2030AD)
A2 vs 22 God heals the Western Empire after the Beast's reign (2030AD)
Subunit A1: God heals the Western Empire after the Beast's reign (2030AD) (vs 20b)
20b When they cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior, a mighty one, and he will rescue them.
After the people of Western Empire endure a period of tribulation during the reign of the Beast, God will send a mighty saviour, presumably the coming Messiah, to end the reign of the Beast and rescue the righteous of the Western Empire (see Rev 19:11-16).
Pivot X: God will make Himself known to the Western Empire (from 2030AD) (vs 21)
21 The Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and in that day they will acknowledge the Lord. They will worship with sacrifices and offerings; they will make vows to the Lord and keep them.
During the Millennial Reign ("in that day"), it will made be clear to the people of the Western Empire that the God of Israel is the One True God. They will worship God with sacrifices and offerings (but not the literal sacrifices and offerings on the altar, as in the Old Covenant) and will do according to His will (see also Rev. 18:7).
Subunit A2: God heals the Western Empire after the Beast's reign (2030AD) (vs 22)
22 The Lord will strike Egypt; he will strike them and heal them. They will return to the Lord, and he will respond to their pleas and heal them.
The Lord strikes the Western Empire primarily to purge it of its wickedness, particularly when the Beast empire comes against the New Israel (see vs 1b-3 above Rev 19:17-21); but He will later restore the Western Empire. Many people in the Western Empire had fallen away from the faith under the influence of wicked leaders; now they return to their God, they seek His mercy and He will heal them.
Chiasmus 4: Israel, the Western Empire and China will be the 3 great empires of the Millennial Reign (vs 23-25)
A1 vs 23 Israel, The Western Empire and China will worship God and will be blessed by Him
X vs 24 These 3 nations will be a blessing to the world
A2 vs 25 Israel, The Western Empire and China will worship God and will be blessed by Him
We propose that this chiasmus is read in the sequence: [A1,A2] [X].
Subunit A1: Israel, The Western Empire and China will worship God and will be blessed by Him (vs 23)
23 In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together.
During Christ's Millennial Reign ("In that day"), the two great Japhetic powers, the Western Empire ("Egypt") and China ("Assyria"), that had previously been the two strongest nations of the Beast empire, will now unite under God (there will be a "highway" between them) and worship Him together.
Pivot X: These 3 nations will be a blessing to the world (vs 24)
24 In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing on the earth.
The New Israel, the Western Empire ("Egypt") and China ("Assyria") - will be blessed nations under God, and they will be in turn, a blessing to the rest of the world during the Millennial Reign.
Subunit A2: Israel, The Western Empire and China will worship God and will be blessed by Him (vs 25)
25 The Lord Almighty will bless them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance.”
These three nations will be blessed by God during the Millennial Reign:
The Western Empire has been a great bastion of Christianity from the time that Paul and others preached the gospel among its people (Romans 1:14-15), and it has played a vital role in promoting Christianity around the world; so the righteous of the Western Empire have been God's people from the time of Christ ("Egypt" my people). However the Satanic bloodlines that made this part of the world their home from the time of the Alexander, have parasitically used these nations for their evil purposes. At the time of the Millennial Reign, with Satan and his acolytes defeated, the peoples of the Western Empire will form a blessed, fruitful nation under God (see also Isaiah 18:7).
China is called "Assyria", because, just as Satan ruled the world from Assyria at the time of the prophecy, the fallen angels will operate from China during the Millennial Reign (Satan will be imprisoned at this time - Rev 20:1-3). The people of the Babylonian bloodlines (see appendix in [6]) will move into China at the start of the Millennial Reign (China is the 7th king of Rev 17:10); Magog (another name for China) and its leader (Gog) will lead attacks on the Israelites during (Ezekiel 38) and after (Rev 20:7-9) the Millennial Reign. However, the righteous in China will have dominant control over the nation, and they will be a blessing to the world during the Millennial Reign. Around the time of the start of the Millennial Reign, China will have one of the largest and fastest growing Christian populations in the world ("Assyria my handiwork"). ( Note that "Assyria" here refers to China during the Millennial Reign, but in other prophecies it refers to the Beast empire at the start of the Millennial Reign - see for ex. Micah 5:5.)
The Northern Tribes, who make up the majority of the population of Israel, had been cursed with spiritual blindness for the waywardness of their forefathers (Isaiah 29:9,10), but they will once again turn back to their God at the time of the Millennial Reign (Ezekiel 37:13-14). The New Israel will now be "God's portion" (as in Exodus 19:5) in the fullest sense and will remain faithful to God till the end. God and Christ will rule the world through this New Israel ("Israel my inheritance").
5.3 Nebuchadnezzar invades Egypt (c.568BC) (vs 4-8, vs 11-15)
The passages of this Period predict a time of great tribulation for Egypt, primarily in the form of an invasion by Nebuchadnezzar and a drought, as detailed in Ezekiel 30:10-12 (see also Eze. 29:17-20, Jer. 44:11-12). One fragmentary Babylonian text implies that Babylonia invaded Egypt around 568/567BC, and this is supported by Josephus (Antiquities X, ix.7).
This Period is structured as a series of 2 chiasmi.
Chiasmus 1: Egypt suffers an invasion and a drought (vs 4-8,11)
A1 vs 4 Egypt is invaded by a cruel tyrant, because its counsellors give foolish advice
X vs 5-8 Egypt suffers a severe drought
A2 vs 11 Egypt is invaded by a cruel tyrant, because its counsellors give foolish advice
Subunit A1: Egypt is invaded by a cruel tyrant, because its counsellors give foolish advice (vs 4)
4 I will hand the Egyptians over to the power of a cruel master, and a fierce king will rule over them,” declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.
God hands over Egypt to the cruel king Nebuchadnezzar, who was known for his excessive brutality towards the people he subjugated (see Ezekiel 30:10,11, Ezekiel 32:11-13, Ezekiel 29:17-21).
Pivot X: Egypt suffers a severe drought (vs 5-8)
5 The waters of the river will dry up, and the riverbed will be parched and dry. 6 The canals will stink; the streams of Egypt will dwindle and dry up. The reeds and rushes will wither, 7 also the plants along the Nile, at the mouth of the river. Every sown field along the Nile will become parched, will blow away and be no more. 8 The fishermen will groan and lament, all who cast hooks into the Nile; those who throw nets on the water will pine away.
Around the time of Nebuchadnezzar's attack, Egypt was also punished by a calamitous drought that devastated the land and its economy (see Ezekiel 30:10-12, Jer 44:13, Ezekiel 32:14).
Subunit A2: Egypt is invaded by a cruel tyrant, because its counsellors give foolish advice (vs 11)
11 The princes of Zoan are nothing but fools; the wise counselors of Pharaoh give foolish advice. How can you say to Pharaoh, “I am a son of the wise, a son of the ancient kings”?
God punished Egypt with these calamities, presumably because its counsellors ignored God's orders and warnings, and instead gave bad advice to the Pharaoh. The counsellors (the priest-princes of Egyptian gods) of Zoan (one of the capitals - Isaiah 30:4) who advised the Pharaoh came from strong Satanic bloodline families ("son of ancient kings"); these families had access to great knowledge and power through the spiritual strength of their bloodlines, their Satan worship and sorcery. But after the counsellors gave Pharaoh this bad advice that resulted in Egypt's devastation, God asks them how they can continue to call themselves "wise advisors" and boast about their spiritually powerful bloodlines ("son of the ancient kings").
Chiasmus 2: God turns the wise-men of Egypt into fools (vs 12-15)
A1 vs 12 Egypt has no good counsel
X vs 13-14 God has poured a spirit of confusion into Egypt's counsellors
A2 vs 15 Egypt has no good counsel
We propose that this chiasmus is read from the centre, in the sequence: [X], [A1,A2].
Subunit A1: Egypt has no good counsel (vs 12)
12 Where are your wise men now? Let them show you and make known what the Lord Almighty has planned against Egypt.
God now speaks to Pharaoh and sarcastically asks about his wise men and their ability to predict the future. These counsellors ("wise men") can make limited predictions based on information given to them by the fallen angels they worship, but they cannot correctly prophesy about this period, as they know nothing about God's consequential plans against the nation.
Pivot X: God has poured a spirit of confusion into Egypt's counsellors (vs 13-14)
13 The princes of Zoan have been made fools, the princes of Memphis are turned delusional; the cornerstones of her peoples have led Egypt astray. 14 The Lord has poured into them a spirit of distortion; they make Egypt stagger in all that she does, as a drunkard staggers around in his vomit.
The counsellors of Egypt belong to the highest royal-priestly tribe ("cornerstones of her peoples", "princes") and channel the wisdom of their gods to advise the Egyptians from the capitals of Zoan and Memphis. But because of their disobedience, God has confused their minds (through "a spirit of distortion"), so that their advise leaves Egypt as hopelessly incapable as an extremely inebriated person ("staggers around in his vomit") (cf. Isaiah 28:8).
Subunit A2: Egypt has no good counsel (vs 15)
15 There is nothing Egypt can do— head or tail, palm branch or palm leaflet.
God Himself answers the rhetorical question of Subunit A1 above. There is no class of advisors who can give wise counsel to Egypt. The "head or tail, palm branch or palm leaflet" refers to various types of Egyptian advisors (cf. Isaiah 9:14).
Conclusion
With this chiastic reconfiguration of the text, we have shown that Isaiah 19 contains prophecies on three distinct Periods. Egypt's defeat and loss of regional power due to the foolishness of its leaders in Period 1 is a type of the Western Empire's loss of superpower status because of the wickedness of its leaders in Period 3. Also, the destruction of the industries that catered to priests in Period 2 is a type of the destruction of the businesses that cater to the wealthy Satan worshippers of Period 3 (see also Rev 18:11-20).
References
[1] A Definition of Cryptochiasmus[2] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of "The 70 Weeks Of Daniel"
[3] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Isaiah 18
[4] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Isaiah 23
[5] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Revelation 4-22, Part 2
[6] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Daniel 8
* First version published on November 3 2021.