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¹ The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and cometh unto Egypt; and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at His presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt within it.² And I will spur Egypt against Egypt; and they shall fight every one against his brother, and everyone against his neighbour; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.³ And the spirit of Egypt shall be made empty within it; and I will make void the counsel thereof; and they shall seek unto the idols, and to the whisperers, and to the ghosts, and to the familiar spirits.⁴ And I will give over the Egyptians into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts.⁵ And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be drained dry,⁶ And the rivers shall become foul; the streams of Egypt shall be minished and dried up; the reeds and flags shall wither.⁷ The mosses by the Nile, by the brink of the Nile, and all that is sown by the Nile, shall become dry, be driven away, and be no more.⁸ The fishers also shall lament, and all they that cast angle into the Nile shall mourn, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish.⁹ Moreover they that work in combed flax, and they that weave cotton, shall be ashamed.¹⁰ And her foundations shall be crushed, all they that make dams shall be grieved in soul.¹¹ The princes of Zoan are utter fools; the wisest counsellors of Pharaoh are a senseless counsel; how can ye say unto Pharaoh: 'I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings'?¹² Where are they, then, thy wise men? And let them tell thee now; and let them know what the LORD of hosts hath purposed concerning Egypt.¹³ The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Noph are deceived; they have caused Egypt to go astray, that are the corner-stone of her tribes.¹⁴ The LORD hath mingled within her a spirit of dizziness; and they have caused Egypt to stagger in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit.¹⁵ Neither shall there be for Egypt any work, which head or tail, palm-branch or rush, may do.¹⁶ In that day shall Egypt be like unto women; and it shall tremble and fear because of the shaking of the hand of the LORD of hosts, which He shaketh over it.¹⁷ And the land of Judah shall become a terror unto Egypt, whensoever one maketh mention thereof to it; it shall be afraid, because of the purpose of the LORD of hosts, which He purposeth against it.

¹⁸ In that day there shall be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan, and swear to the LORD of hosts; one shall be called The city of destruction. ¹⁹ In that day shall there be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the LORD.²⁰ And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they shall cry unto the LORD because of the oppressors, and He will send them a saviour, and a defender, who will deliver them.²¹ And the LORD shall make Himself known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the LORD in that day; yea, they shall worship with sacrifice and offering, and shall vow a vow unto the LORD, and shall perform it.²² And the LORD will smite Egypt, smiting and healing; and they shall return unto the LORD, and He will be entreated of them, and will heal them. ²³ In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria; and the Egyptians shall worship with the Assyrians. ²⁴ In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth;²⁵ for that the LORD of hosts hath blessed him, saying: 'Blessed be Egypt My people and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel Mine inheritance.'