God Will Punish Egypt
1 This is a message about Egypt.
The Lord is coming to Egypt, riding swiftly on a cloud. The Egyptian idols tremble before him, and the people of Egypt lose their courage. 2 The Lord says, “I will stir up civil war in Egypt and turn brother against brother and neighbor against neighbor. Rival cities will fight each other, and rival kings will struggle for power. 3 I am going to frustrate the plans of the Egyptians and destroy their morale. They will ask their idols to help them, and they will go and consult mediums and ask the spirits of the dead for advice. 4 I will hand the Egyptians over to a tyrant, to a cruel king who will rule them. I, the Lord Almighty, have spoken.”
5 The water will be low in the Nile, and the river will gradually dry up. 6 The channels of the river will stink as they slowly go dry. Reeds and rushes will wither, 7 and all the crops planted along the banks of the Nile will dry up and be blown away. 8 Everyone who earns a living by fishing in the Nile will groan and cry; their hooks and their nets will be useless. 9 Those who make linen cloth will be in despair; 10 weavers and skilled workers will be broken and depressed.
11 The leaders of the city of Zoan are fools! Egypt's wisest people give stupid advice! How do they dare to tell the king that they are successors to the ancient scholars and kings? 12 King of Egypt, where are those clever advisers of yours? Perhaps they can tell you what plans the Lord Almighty has for Egypt. 13 The leaders of Zoan and Memphis are fools. They were supposed to lead the nation, but they have misled it. 14 The Lord has made them give confusing advice. As a result, Egypt does everything wrong and staggers like a drunk slipping on his own vomit. 15 No one in Egypt, rich or poor, important or unknown, can offer help.
Egypt Will Worship the Lord
16 A time is coming when the people of Egypt will be as timid as women. They will tremble in terror when they see that the Lord Almighty has stretched out his hand to punish them. 17 The people of Egypt will be terrified of Judah every time they are reminded of the fate that the Lord Almighty has prepared for them.
18 When that time comes, the Hebrew language will be spoken in five Egyptian cities. The people there will take their oaths in the name of the Lord Almighty. One of the cities will be called, “City of the Sun.”
19 When that time comes, there will be an altar to the Lord in the land of Egypt and a stone pillar dedicated to him at the Egyptian border. 20 They will be symbols of the Lord Almighty's presence in Egypt. When the people there are oppressed and call out to the Lord for help, he will send someone to rescue them. 21 The Lord will reveal himself to the Egyptian people, and then they will acknowledge and worship him, and bring him sacrifices and offerings. They will make solemn promises to him and do what they promise. 22 The Lord will punish the Egyptians, but then he will heal them. They will turn to him, and he will hear their prayers and heal them.
23 When that time comes, there will be a highway between Egypt and Assyria. The people of these two countries will travel back and forth between them, and the two nations will worship together. 24 When that time comes, Israel will rank with Egypt and Assyria, and these three nations will be a blessing to all the world. 25 The Lord Almighty will bless them and say, “I will bless you, Egypt, my people; you, Assyria, whom I created; and you, Israel, my chosen people.”
1 The burden of Egypt. Beholde, the Lord rideth vpon a swift cloude, and shall come into Egypt, and the idoles of Egypt shall be moued at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the middes of her. 2 And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: so euery one shall fight against his brother, and euery one against his neighbour, citie against citie, and kingdome against kingdome. 3 And the spirite of Egypt shall faile in the middes of her, and I will destroy their counsell, and they shall seeke at the idoles, and at the sorcerers, and at them that haue spirits of diuination, and at the southsayers. 4 And I will deliuer the Egyptians into the hand of the cruell Lordes, and a mightie King shall rule ouer them, sayth the Lord God of hostes. 5 Then the waters of the sea shall faile, and the riuers shall be dryed vp, and wasted. 6 And the riuers shall goe farre away: the riuers of defence shalbe emptied and dryed vp: the reedes and flagges shall be cut downe. 7 The grasse in the riuer, and at the head of the riuers, and all that groweth by the riuer, shall wither, and be driuen away, and be no more. 8 The fishers also shall mourne, and all they that cast angle into the riuer, shall lament, and they that spread their nette vpon the waters, shall be weakened. 9 Moreouer, they that worke in flaxe of diuers sortes, shall be confounded, and they that weaue nettes. 10 For their nettes shalbe broken, and all they, that make pondes, shalbe heauie in heart. 11 Surely the princes of Zoan are fooles: the counsell of the wise counselers of Pharaoh is become foolish: how say ye vnto Pharaoh, I am the sonne of the wise? I am the sonne of the ancient Kings? 12 Where are nowe thy wise men, that they may tell thee, or may knowe what the Lord of hostes hath determined against Egypt? 13 The princes of Zoan are become fooles: the princes of Noph are deceiued, they haue deceiued Egypt, euen the corners of the tribes thereof. 14 The Lord hath mingled among them the spirite of errours: and they haue caused Egypt to erre in euery worke thereof, as a drunken man erreth in his vomite. 15 Neither shall there be any worke in Egypt, which the head may doe, nor the tayle, ye branch nor the rush. 16 In that day shall Egypt be like vnto women: for it shall be afraide and feare because of the moouing of the hand of the Lord of hostes, which he shaketh ouer it. 17 And the land of Iudah shall be a feare vnto Egypt: euery one that maketh mention of it, shalbe afraid thereat, because of ye counsell of the Lord of hostes, which he hath determined vpon it. 18 In that day shall fiue cities in the lande of Egypt speake the language of Canaan, and shall sweare by the Lord of hostes. one shall be called the citie of destruction. 19 In that day shall the altar of the Lord be in the middes of the land of Egypt, and a pillar by the border thereof vnto the Lord. 20 And it shall be for a signe and for a witnes vnto the Lord of hostes in the land of Egypt: for they shall crie vnto the Lord, because of the oppressers, and he shall send them a Sauiour and a great man, and shall deliuer them. 21 And the Lord shall be knowen of the Egyptians, and the Egyptians shall knowe the Lord in that day, and doe sacrifice and oblation, and shall vowe vowes vnto the Lord, and performe them. 22 So ye Lord shall smite Egypt, he shall smite and heale it: for he shall returne vnto ye Lord, and he shall be intreated of them and shall heale them. 23 In that day shall there be a path from Egypt to Asshur, and Asshur shall come into Egypt, and Egypt into Asshur: so the Egyptians shall worship with Asshur. 24 In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and Asshur, euen a blessing in the middes of the land. 25 For the Lord of hostes shall blesse it, saying, Blessed be my people Egypt and Asshur, the worke of mine hands, and Israel mine inheritance.