19

Proclamation Against Egypt

¹The ⚓burden against Egypt.
Behold, the Lord⚓rides 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 will ⚓set Egyptians against Egyptians;
Everyone will fight against his brother,
And everyone against his neighbor,
City against city, kingdom against kingdom.
³The spirit of Egypt will fail in its midst;
I will destroy their counsel,
And they will ⚓consult the idols and the charmers,
The mediums and the sorcerers.
⁴And the Egyptians I will give
⚓Into the hand of a cruel master,
And a fierce king will rule over them,”
Says the Lord, the Lord of hosts.
⁵⚓The waters will fail from the sea,
And the river will be wasted and dried up.
⁶The rivers will turn foul;
The brooks ⚓of defense will be emptied and dried up;
The reeds and rushes will wither.
⁷The 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.
⁸The fishermen also will mourn;
All those will lament who cast hooks into the River,
And they will languish who spread nets on the waters.
⁹Moreover those who work in ⚓fine flax
And those who weave fine fabric will be ashamed;
¹⁰And its foundations will be broken.
All who make wages will be troubled of soul.
¹¹Surely the princes of ⚓Zoan are fools;
Pharaoh’s wise counselors give foolish counsel.
⚓How do you say to Pharaoh, “I am the son of the wise,
The son of ancient kings?”
¹²⚓Where are they?
Where are your wise men?
Let them tell you now,
And let them know what the Lord of hosts has ⚓purposed against Egypt.
¹³The princes of Zoan have become fools;
⚓The princes of Noph are deceived;
They have also deluded Egypt,
Those who are the mainstay of its tribes.
¹⁴The Lord has mingled ⚓a perverse spirit in her midst;
And they have caused Egypt to err in all her work,
As a drunken man staggers in his vomit.
¹⁵Neither will there be any work for Egypt,
Which ⚓the head or tail,
Palm branch or bulrush, may do.
¹⁶In that day Egypt will ⚓be like women, and will be afraid and fear because of the waving of the hand of the Lord of hosts, ⚓which He waves over it. ¹⁷And 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 the Lord of hosts which He has ⚓determined against it.

Egypt, Assyria, and Israel Blessed

¹⁸In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will ⚓speak the language of Canaan and ⚓swear by the Lord of hosts; one will be called the City of Destruction.
¹⁹In that day ⚓there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the ⚓Lord at its border. ²⁰And ⚓it will be for a sign and for a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the Lord because of the oppressors, and He will send them a ⚓Savior and a Mighty One, and He will deliver them. ²¹Then the Lord will be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will ⚓know the Lord in that day, and ⚓will make sacrifice and offering; yes, they will make a vow to the Lord and perform it. ²²And the Lord will strike Egypt, He will strike and ⚓heal it; they will return to the Lord, and He will be entreated by them and heal them.
²³In that day ⚓there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will ⚓serve with the Assyrians.
²⁴In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria—a blessing in the midst of the land, ²⁵whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria ⚓the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.”

19

A Prophecy Against Egypt

¹A prophecy against Egypt:
See, the Lord rides on a swift cloud
and is coming to 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.
³The Egyptians will lose heart,
and I will bring their plans to nothing;
they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead,
the mediums and the spiritists.
⁴I 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.

⁵The waters of the river will dry up,
and the riverbed will be parched and dry.
⁶The canals will stink;
the streams of Egypt will dwindle and dry up.
The reeds and rushes will wither,
⁷also 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.
⁸The fishermen will groan and lament,
all who cast hooks into the Nile;
those who throw nets on the water
will pine away.
⁹Those who work with combed flax will despair,
the weavers of fine linen will lose hope.
¹⁰The workers in cloth will be dejected,
and all the wage earners will be sick at heart.

¹¹The officials of Zoan are nothing but fools;
the wise counselors of Pharaoh give senseless advice.
How can you say to Pharaoh,
“I am one of the wise men,
a disciple of the ancient kings”?

¹²Where are your wise men now?
Let them show you and make known
what the Lord Almighty
has planned against Egypt.
¹³The officials of Zoan have become fools,
the leaders of Memphis are deceived;
the cornerstones of her peoples
have led Egypt astray.
¹⁴The Lord has poured into them
a spirit of dizziness;
they make Egypt stagger in all that she does,
as a drunkard staggers around in his vomit.
¹⁵There is nothing Egypt can do—
head or tail, palm branch or reed.
¹⁶In that day the Egyptians will become weaklings. They will shudder with fear at the uplifted hand that the Lord Almighty raises against them. ¹⁷And 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 is planning against them.
¹⁸In 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 the Sun.⚓
¹⁹In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the heart of Egypt, and a monument to the Lord at its border. ²⁰It 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 and defender, and he will rescue them. ²¹So the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and in that day they will acknowledge the Lord. They will worship with sacrifices and grain offerings; they will make vows to the Lord and keep them. ²²The Lord will strike Egypt with a plague; he will strike them and heal them. They will turn to the Lord, and he will respond to their pleas and heal them.
²³In 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. ²⁴In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing⚓ on the earth. ²⁵The Lord Almighty will bless them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance.”