Oracle of Judgment on Egypt

19 An oracle of Egypt:

Look! Yahweh is riding on a swift cloud

and is coming to Egypt.

And the idols of Egypt will tremble in front of him,

and the heart of Egypt melts in his inner parts.

2 “And I will stir up ⌊Egyptians⌋a against ⌊Egyptians⌋,b

and each one will fight against his brother

and each one against his neighbor,

city against city, kingdom against kingdom.

3 And the spirit of ⌊the Egyptians⌋c will be disturbed in his midst,

and I will ⌊confuse⌋d his plans,e

and they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead,

and the ghosts and the spiritists.

4 And I will hand over ⌊the Egyptians⌋f into the hand of a hard master,

and a powerful king will rule over them,”

⌊declares⌋g the Lord Yahweh of hosts.

5 And the waters will be dried up from the sea,

and the river will be parched and dry.

6 And the rivers will become foul-smelling;

the branches of the Nile of Egypt will become little and dry up;

reed and rush will wither.

7 Bare places by the Nile will be dried up,

by the edge of the Nile and all the sown land of the Nile;

it will be driven about, and ⌊it will be no more⌋.h

8 And the fishers will mourn,

and all of those who cast fishhooksi in the Nile will lament,

and those who spread out fishing netsj on the ⌊surface⌋k of the water will languish.

9 And the workers of combed flax will be ashamed,

and those who weave white linen.

10 And her weavers will be crushed;

all the ⌊hired workers⌋l will be grieved of heart.

11 Surely the princes of Zoan are foolish;

the wise of the counselors of Pharaoh give senseless counsel.

How can you say to Pharaoh,

“I myself am a son of sages,

a ⌊descendant⌋m of ancient kings”?

12 Where are your sages then?

Now, let them tell you,

and let them know what Yahweh of hosts has planned against Egypt.

13 The princes of Zoan have become foolish;

the princes of Memphis are deceived;

the leaders of her tribes have led Egypt astray.

14 Yahweh has mixed a spirit of confusion into her midst,

and they have caused Egypt to stagger in all of its doings,

as ⌊when a drunkard staggers⌋n in his vomit.

15 And ⌊there will be nothing for Egypt to do⌋,o

head or tail, palm branch or reed.

The Future Blessing of Egypt, Assyria, and Egypt

16 On that day, Egypt will be like women, and will tremble and be afraid before the waving hand of Yahweh of hosts that he is waving against it. 17 And the land of Judah will become a terror to Egypt, everyone to whom one mentions it will be afraid in himself because of the plan of Yahweh of hosts that he is planning against him.

18 On that day, there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the ⌊language⌋p of Canaan and swear an oath to Yahweh of hosts. One will be called “City of the Sun.”

19 On that day, there will be an altar for Yahweh in the middle of the land of Egypt, and a stone pillar for Yahweh at her border. 20 And it will be a sign and a witness to Yahweh of hosts in the land of Egypt; when they cry out to Yahweh because of oppressors, he will send them a savior and a ⌊defender⌋,q and he will deliver them. 21 And Yahweh will make himself known to Egypt, and Egypt will know Yahweh on that day, and they will worship with sacrifice and offering, and they will make vowsr to Yahweh, and they will fulfill them. 22 And Yahweh will strike Egypt, striking and healing; and they will return to Yahweh, and he will respond to their prayer, and he will heal them.

23 On that day, there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria, and Egypt will worship together with Assyria.

24 On that day, Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, 25 whom Yahweh of hosts blessed, saying, “May Egypt my people be blessed, and Assyria, the work of my hands, and my inheritance, Israel.”