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Message to Egypt

¹ The ^(C1)pronouncement concerning ^(C2)Egypt:

Behold, 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 incite Egyptians against Egyptians;
And they will fight, ^(C1)each against his brother and each against his neighbor,
City against city and kingdom against kingdom.

³ "Then the spirit of the Egyptians will be demoralized within them;
And I will confuse their strategy,
So that ^(C1)they will resort to idols and ghosts of the dead,
And to ^(F1)mediums and spiritists.

⁴ "Furthermore, I will hand the Egyptians over to a ^(C1)cruel master,
And a ^(F1)mighty king will rule over them," declares the Lord ^(F2)GOD of armies.

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

⁶ The ^(F1)(C1)canals will emit a stench,
The ^(F2)(C2)streams of Egypt will thin out and dry up;
^(C3)The reeds and rushes will rot away.

⁷ The bulrushes by the ^(C1)Nile, by the ^(F1)edge of the Nile
And all the sown fields by the Nile
Will become dry, be driven away, and be no more.

⁸ And the ^(C1)fishermen will grieve,
And all those who cast a ^(F1)line into the Nile will mourn,
And those who spread nets on the waters will dwindle away.

⁹ Moreover, the manufacturers of linen made from combed flax
And the weavers of white ^(C1)cloth will be ^(F1)utterly dejected.

¹⁰ And ^(F1)the ^(C1)pillars of Egypt will be crushed;
All the hired laborers will be grieved in soul.

¹¹ The officials of ^(F1)(C1)Zoan are mere fools;
The advice of Pharaoh's wisest advisers has become ^(F2)stupid.
How can you say to Pharaoh,
"I am a son of the ^(C2)wise, a son of ancient kings"?

¹² Well then, where are your wise men?
Please let them tell you,
And let them ^(F1)understand what the LORD of armies
Has ^(C1)planned against Egypt.

¹³ The officials of ^(F1)Zoan have turned out to be fools,
The officials of ^(C1)Memphis are deluded;
Those who are the ^(C2)cornerstone of her tribes
Have ^(F2)led Egypt astray.

¹⁴ The LORD has mixed within her a spirit of ^(C1)distortion;
^(C2)They have led Egypt astray in all ^(F1)that it does,
As a ^(C3)drunken person ^(F2)staggers in his vomit.

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

¹⁶ On that day the Egyptians will become like women, and they will tremble and be in great ^(C1)fear because of the ^(C2)waving of the hand of the LORD of armies, which He is going to wave over them.¹⁷ The land of Judah will become a cause of shame to Egypt; everyone to whom it is mentioned will be in great fear because of the ^(C1)plan of the LORD of armies which He is making against them.

¹⁸ On that day five cities in the land of Egypt will be speaking the language of Canaan and ^(C1)swearing allegiance to the LORD of armies; one will be called the City of ^(F1)Destruction.

¹⁹ On 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 beside its border.²⁰ And it will become a sign and a witness to the LORD of armies in the land of Egypt; for they will cry out to the LORD because of oppressors, and He will send them a ^(C1)Savior and a ^(C2)Champion, and He will save them.²¹ So the LORD will make Himself known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know the LORD on that day. They will even worship with ^(C1)sacrifice and offering, and will make a vow to the LORD and perform it.²² And the LORD will strike Egypt, striking but ^(C1)healing; so they will ^(C2)return to the LORD, and He will respond to their pleas and heal them.

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

²⁴ On that day Israel will be the third party to Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth,²⁵ whom the LORD of armies has blessed, saying, "Blessed is ^(C1)Egypt My people, and Assyria ^(C2)the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance."