Proclamation Against Egypt
1 Theburden against Egypt.
# Behold, theLordrides on a swift cloud,
And will come into Egypt;
# The idols of Egypt will totter at His presence,
And the heart of Egypt will melt in its midst.
2 “I willset Egyptians against Egyptians;
Everyone will fight against his brother,
And everyone against his neighbor,
City against city, kingdom against kingdom.
3 The spirit of Egypt will fail in its midst;
I will destroy their counsel,
# And they willconsult the idols and the charmers,
The mediums and the sorcerers.
4 And the Egyptians I will give
# Into the hand of a cruel master,
And a fierce king will rule over them,”
Says the Lord, theLordof hosts.
5 The waters will fail from the sea,
And the river will be wasted and dried up.
6 The rivers will turn foul;
# The brooksof defense will be emptied and dried up;
The reeds and rushes will wither.
7 The papyrus reeds by the River, by the mouth of the River,
And everything sown by the River,
Will wither, be driven away, and be no more.
8 The fishermen also will mourn;
All those will lament who cast hooks into the River,
And they will languish who spread nets on the waters.
9 Moreover those who work infine flax
And those who weave fine fabric will be ashamed;
10 And its foundations will be broken.
All who make wageswillbetroubled of soul.
11 Surely the princes ofZoanarefools;
Pharaoh’s wise counselors give foolish counsel.
# How do you say to Pharaoh, “Iamthe son of the wise,
The son of ancient kings?”
12 Wherearethey?
Where are your wise men?
Let them tell you now,
# And let them know what theLordof hosts haspurposed against Egypt.
13 The princes of Zoan have become fools;
# The princes of Noph are deceived;
They have also deluded Egypt,
Thosewhoarethe mainstay of its tribes.
14 TheLordhas mingleda perverse spirit in her midst;
And they have caused Egypt to err in all her work,
As a drunken man staggers in his vomit.
15 Neither will there beanywork for Egypt,
# Whichthe head or tail,
Palm branch or bulrush, may do.
16 In that day Egypt willbe like women, and will be afraid and fear because of the waving of the hand of theLordof hosts,which He waves over it.
17 And the land of Judah will be a terror to Egypt; everyone who makes mention of it will be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of theLordof hosts which He hasdetermined against it.
Egypt, Assyria, and Israel Blessed
18 In that day five cities in the land of Egypt willspeak the language of Canaan andswear by theLordof hosts; one will be called the City of Destruction.
19 In that daythere will be an altar to theLordin the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to theLordat its border.
20 Andit will be for a sign and for a witness to theLordof hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to theLordbecause of the oppressors, and He will send them aSavior and a Mighty One, and He will deliver them.
21 Then theLordwill be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians willknow theLordin that day, andwill make sacrifice and offering; yes, they will make a vow to theLordand performit.
22 And theLordwill strike Egypt, He will strike andhealit;they will return to theLord, and He will be entreated by them and heal them.
23 In that daythere will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians willserve with the Assyrians.
24 In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria—a blessing in the midst of the land,
25 whom theLordof hosts shall bless, saying, “BlessedisEgypt My people, and Assyriathe work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.”