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Message to Egypt

¹ The mournful, ^(C1)inspired oracle (^(F1)a burden to be carried) concerning ^(C2)Egypt:

Listen carefully, the LORD is ^(C3)riding on a swift cloud and is about to come to Egypt;
The ^(C4)idols of Egypt will tremble at His presence,
And the ^(C5)heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.

² "So I will provoke Egyptians against Egyptians;
And they will fight, ^(C1)each one against his brother and each one against his neighbor,
City against city, kingdom against kingdom.

³ "Then the spirit of the Egyptians will become exhausted within them and emptied out;
And I will confuse their strategy,
So that ^(C1)they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead,
And mediums and soothsayers.

⁴ "And I will hand over the Egyptians to a hard and ^(C1)cruel master,
And a mighty king will rule over them," declares the Lord GOD of hosts.

^5 (C1)The waters from the sea will dry up,
And the river will be parched and dry.

⁶ The ^(C1)canals will become foul-smelling,
The ^(C2)streams of Egypt will thin out and dry up,
^(C3)The reeds and the rushes will rot away.

⁷ The meadows by the ^(C1)Nile, by the edge of the Nile,
And all the sown fields of the Nile
Will become dry, be blown away, and be no more.

⁸ The ^(C1)fishermen will lament (cry out in grief),
And all those who cast a hook into the Nile will mourn,
And those who spread nets upon the waters will languish.

⁹ Moreover, those who make linen from combed flax
And those who weave white ^(C1)cloth will be ashamed.

¹⁰ Those who are the ^(C1)pillars and foundations of Egypt will be crushed;
And all those who work for wages will be grieved in soul.

¹¹ The princes of ^(F1)(C1)Zoan are complete fools;
The counsel of the Pharaoh's wisest advisors has become stupid.
How can you say to Pharaoh,
"I am a son of the ^(C2)wise, a son of ancient kings?"

¹² Where then are your wise men?
Please let them tell you,
And let them understand what the LORD of hosts
Has ^(C1)purposed against Egypt if they can.

¹³ The princes of Zoan have acted like fools,
The princes of ^(C1)Memphis are deluded and entertain false hope;
Those who are the ^(C2)cornerstone of her tribes
Have led Egypt astray.

¹⁴ The LORD has mixed a spirit of ^(C1)distortion within her;
Her leaders ^(C2)have caused Egypt to stagger in all that she does,
As a ^(C3)drunken man staggers in his vomit.

¹⁵ There will be no work for Egypt
^(C1)Which head or tail, high palm branch or low bulrush, may do.

¹⁶ In that day the Egyptians will become like helpless women, and they will tremble and ^(C1)be frightened because of the ^(C2)waving of the hand of the LORD of hosts, which He is going to wave over them.¹⁷ The land of Judah Assyria's ally will become a terror to the Egyptians; everyone to whom Judah is mentioned will be in dread of it, because of the ^(C1)purpose of the LORD of hosts which He is planning against Egypt.

¹⁸ In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of the Hebrews of Canaan and ^(C1)swear allegiance to the LORD of hosts. One of them will be called the City of ^(F1)Destruction.

¹⁹ In that day there will be an ^(C1)altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a ^(C2)memorial stone to the LORD near its border.²⁰ It will become a sign and a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the LORD because of oppressors, and He will send them a ^(C1)Savior, a ^(C2)Great Defender, and He will rescue them. ^(VR1)21 And so the LORD will make Himself known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know heed, honor, and cherish the LORD in that day. They will even worship with ^(C1)sacrifices of animals and offerings of produce; they will make a vow to the LORD and fulfill it.²² The LORD will strike Egypt, striking but ^(C1)healing it; so they will ^(C2)return to the LORD, and He will respond to them and heal them.

²³ In that day there will be a ^(C1)highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrians will come into Egypt and the Egyptians into Assyria; and the Egyptians will ^(C2)worship and serve the LORD with the Assyrians.

²⁴ In that day Israel will be the third party with Egypt and with Assyria in a Messianic league, a blessing in the midst of the earth,²⁵ whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, saying, "Blessed is ^(C1)Egypt My people, and Assyria ^(C2)the work of My hands, and Israel My heritage."