Egypt Will Be Punished
1 This is a message about Egypt:
The Lord comes to Egypt,
riding swiftly on a cloud.
The people are weak from fear.
Their idols tremble
as he approaches and says,
2 “I will punish Egypt
with civil war—
neighbors, cities, and kingdoms
will fight each other.
3 “Egypt will be discouraged
when I confuse their plans.
They will try to get advice
from their idols,
from the spirits of the dead,
and from fortunetellers.
4 I will put the Egyptians
under the power of a cruel,
heartless king.
I, the Lord All-Powerful,
have promised this.”
Trouble along the Nile
5 The Nile River will dry up
and become parched land.
6 Its streams will stink,
Egypt will have no water,
and the reeds and tall grass
will dry up.
7 Fields along the Nile
will be completely barren;
every plant will disappear.
8 Those who fish in the Nile
will be discouraged
and mourn.
9 None of the cloth makers
will know what to do,
and they will turn pale.
10 Weavers will be confused;
paid workers will cry and mourn.
Egypt's Helpless Leaders
11 The king's officials in Zoan
are foolish themselves
and give stupid advice.
How can they say to him,
“We are very wise,
and our families go back
to kings of long ago?”
12 Where are those wise men now?
If they can, let them say
what the Lord All-Powerful
intends for Egypt.
13 The royal officials in Zoan
and in Memphis
are foolish and deceived.
The leaders in every state
have given bad advice
to the nation.
14 The Lord has confused Egypt;
its leaders have made it stagger
and vomit like a drunkard.
15 No one in Egypt can do a thing,
no matter who they are.
16 When the Lord All-Powerful punishes Egypt with his mighty arm, the Egyptians will become terribly weak and will tremble with fear. 17 They will be so terrified of Judah that they will be frightened by the very mention of its name. This will happen because of what the Lord All-Powerful is planning against Egypt.
The Lord Will Bless Egypt, Assyria, and Israel
18 The time is coming when Hebrew will be spoken in five Egyptian cities, and their people will become followers of the Lord. One of these cities will be called City of the Sun.
19 In the heart of Egypt an altar will be set up for the Lord; at its border a shrine will be built to honor him. 20 These will remind the Egyptians that the Lord All-Powerful is with them. And when they are in trouble and ask for help, he will send someone to rescue them from their enemies. 21 The Lord will show the Egyptians who he is, and they will know and worship the Lord. They will bring him sacrifices and offerings, and they will keep their promises to him. 22 After the Lord has punished Egypt, the people will turn to him. Then he will answer their prayers, and the Egyptians will be healed.
23 At that time a good road will run from Egypt to Assyria. The Egyptians and the Assyrians will travel back and forth from Egypt to Assyria, and they will worship together. 24 Israel will join with these two countries. They will be a blessing to everyone on earth, 25 then the Lord All-Powerful will bless them by saying,
“The Egyptians are my people.
I created the Assyrians
and chose the Israelites.”
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.