[1] An oracle concerning Egypt. Behold, the LORD is riding on a swift cloud
and comes to Egypt; and the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence,
and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them. [2] And I will stir
up Egyptians against Egyptians, and they will fight, every man against his
brother and every man against his neighbor, city against city, kingdom
against kingdom; [3] and the spirit of the Egyptians within them will be
emptied out, and I will confound their plans; and they will consult the
idols and the sorcerers, and the mediums and the wizards; [4] and I will
give over the Egyptians into the hand of a hard master; and a fierce king
will rule over them, says the Lord, the LORD of hosts. [5] And the waters
of the Nile will be dried up, and the river will be parched and dry; [6]
and its canals will become foul, and the branches of Egypt's Nile will
diminish and dry up, reeds and rushes will rot away. [7] There will be bare
places by the Nile, on the brink of the Nile, and all that is sown by the
Nile will dry up, be driven away, and be no more. [8] The fishermen will
mourn and lament, all who cast hook in the Nile; and they will languish who
spread nets upon the water. [9] The workers in combed flax will be in
despair, and the weavers of white cotton. [10] Those who are the pillars of
the land will be crushed, and all who work for hire will be grieved. [11]
The princes of Zo'an are utterly foolish; the wise counselors of Pharaoh
give stupid counsel. How can you say to Pharaoh, "I am a son of the wise, a
son of ancient kings"? [12] Where then are your wise men? Let them tell you
and make known what the LORD of hosts has purposed against Egypt. [13] The
princes of Zo'an have become fools, and the princes of Memphis are deluded;
those who are the cornerstones of her tribes have led Egypt astray. [14]
The LORD has mingled within her a spirit of confusion; and they have made
Egypt stagger in all her doings as a drunken man staggers in his vomit.
[15] And there will be nothing for Egypt which head or tail, palm branch or
reed, may do. [16] In that day the Egyptians will be like women, and
tremble with fear before the hand which the LORD of hosts shakes over them.
[17] And the land of Judah will become a terror to the Egyptians; every one
to whom it is mentioned will fear because of the purpose which the LORD of
hosts has purposed against them. [18] In that day there will be five cities
in the land of Egypt which speak the language of Canaan and swear
allegiance to the LORD of hosts. One of these will be called the City of
the Sun. [19] In 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. [20] It will
be a sign and a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt; when
they cry to the LORD because of oppressors he will send them a savior, and
will defend and deliver them. [21] And the LORD will make himself known to
the Egyptians; and the Egyptians will know the LORD in that day and worship
with sacrifice and burnt offering, and they will make vows to the LORD and
perform them. [22] And the LORD will smite Egypt, smiting and healing, and
they will return to the LORD, and he will heed their supplications and heal
them. [23] In 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 worship with the Assyrians. [24] In that day Israel will be
the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth,
[25] whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, saying, "Blessed be Egypt my
people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my heritage."
