The prophet continues his pronouncements against the nations.

Verse 11 makes reference to the “foolish” advisers of Pharaoh.

This might bring up an image of the priests in Pharaoh’s court in Moses’ day, when they were trying to replicate the plagues (Exodus ch. 7 & 8). If the reader is familiar with the JW Audio drama, one might even remember the dialogue in which a priest pressures Pharaoh after having set the Israelites free, and before pursuing them to the edge of the Red Sea. “What will they say in Assyria when they hear that Egypt is a nation unable to hold on to its slaves?” (https://www.jw.org/en/library/audio-bible-dramas/Jehovahs-Name-to-Be-Declared-in-All-the-Earth/ Time stamp 56:20)

The modern-day application for this verse is that we should be careful where we source advice from. For instance, I recently picked up a copy of the 1984 edition of “The Psychology of Winning” at the local Goodwill. I was still on the first page when the author cited O.J. Simpson as an example to follow. That has obviously not aged well.

In contrast, good advice is timeless.

Verses 20-23 make reference to a savior. Particularly, verse 22 reads, “Jehovah will strike Egypt, striking it and healing it…” If God wanted to heal “Egypt,” why would he strike it to begin with?

The book “Isaiah’s Prophecy I” explains that this actually applies to the “striking” of evil during Armageddon, and the ensuing healing via Christ’s millennial reign (https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1102000035 par. 34). As a result, “Egypt will serve God together with Assyria.” In other words, in paradise, all nations will be united under God.