Top of Page
Page Style
oracle concerning Egypt:
Look, the Lord rides on a swift cloud,
and is coming to Egypt.
The idols of Egypt will tremble at His presence,
and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.
2 “I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian—
each will fight against his own brother,
and each against his own neighbour,
city against city,
kingdom against kingdom.
3 The spirit of the Egyptians will fail,
and I will frustrate their plans;
they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead,
the mediums and the spiritists.
4 I will deliver the Egyptians
into the hands of a cruel master,
and a fierce king will rule over them,”
says the Lord God of Hosts.
5 The waters from the sea will dry up,
and the river will be parched and dry.
6 The canals will stink;
the streams of Egypt will dwindle,
and they will become parched.
The reeds and rushes will wither,
7the papyrus reeds by the Nile,
and at the mouth of the river.
All that is sown by the Nile will wither,
blow away, and then be no more.
8 The fishermen will mourn;
all who cast hooks into the Nile will lament,
and who spread nets on the waters will languish.
9 Those who work with flax will despair,
and the combers and weavers will grow pale.
10 Its weavers will be dejected,
and all who work for wages will be sick at heart.
11 The princes of Zoan are completely foolish;
the wise counsellors of Pharaoh give stupid counsel.
How can you say to Pharaoh,
“I am one of the wise men,
a disciple of ancient kings?”
12 Where are your wise men now?
Let them tell you and make known
what the Lord of Hosts
has planned against Egypt.
13 The princes of Zoan have become fools;
the princes of Memphis are deluded;
the cornerstones of her peoples
have led Egypt astray.
14 The Lord has mingled within them
a spirit of confusion;
they have made Egypt stagger in all she does,
as a drunkard staggers in his vomit.
15 No head or tail, palm branch or reed,
will be able to do anything for Egypt.
16 On that day Egypt will be like women. They will tremble with fear because of the uplifted hand of the Lord of Hosts, which He raises against them. 17 And the land of Judah will be a terror to the Egyptians; everyone to whom Judah is mentioned will be terrified, because of what the Lord of Hosts is planning against them.
18 On that day five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord of Hosts. One of them will be called the City of Destruction.
19 On that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the heart of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the Lord at its border. 20 It will be for a sign and a witness to the Lord of Hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the Lord because of oppressors, He will send them a saviour and leader, and he will deliver them. 21 Then the Lord will make Himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians will know the Lord on that day. They will make sacrifices and offerings, and they will make vows to the Lord and perform them. 22 The Lord will strike Egypt, striking and healing. Then they will return to the Lord, and He will listen to their supplications and heal them.
23 On that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrian will come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians.
24 On that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth. 25 The Lord of Hosts will bless them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.”