Egypt Will Prove Unreliable

30:1 “The rebellious1 children are as good as dead,”2 says the Lord,

“those who make plans without consulting me,3

who form alliances without consulting my Spirit,4

and thereby compound their sin.5

30:2 They travel down to Egypt

without seeking my will,6

seeking Pharaoh’s protection,

and looking for safety in Egypt’s protective shade.7

30:3 But Pharaoh’s protection will bring you nothing but shame,

and the safety of Egypt’s protective shade nothing but humiliation.

30:4 Though his8 officials are in Zoan

and his messengers arrive at Hanes,9

30:5 all will be put to shame10

because of a nation that cannot help them,

who cannot give them aid or help,

but only shame and disgrace.”

30:6 This is a message11 about the animals in the Negev:

Through a land of distress and danger,

inhabited by lionesses and roaring lions,12

by snakes and darting adders,13

they transport14 their wealth on the backs of donkeys,

their riches on the humps of camels,

to a nation that cannot help them.15

30:7 Egypt is totally incapable of helping.16

For this reason I call her

‘Proud one17 who is silenced.’ ”18

30:8 Now go, write it19 down on a tablet in their presence,20

inscribe it on a scroll,

so that it might be preserved for a future time

as an enduring witness.21

30:9 For these are rebellious people—

they are lying children,

children unwilling to obey the Lord’s law.22

30:10 They23 say to the visionaries, “See no more visions!”

and to the seers, “Don’t relate messages to us about what is right!24

Tell us nice things,

relate deceptive messages.25

30:11 Turn aside from the way,

stray off the path.26

Remove from our presence the Holy One of Israel.”27

30:12 For this reason this is what the Holy One of Israel says:

“You have rejected this message;28

you trust instead in your ability to oppress and trick,29

and rely on that kind of behavior.30

30:13 So this sin will become your downfall.

You will be like a high wall

that bulges and cracks and is ready to collapse;

it crumbles suddenly, in a flash.31

30:14 It shatters in pieces like a clay jar,

so shattered to bits that none of it can be salvaged.32

Among its fragments one cannot find a shard large enough33

to scoop a hot coal from a fire34

or to skim off water from a cistern.”35

30:15 For this is what the master, the Lord, the Holy One of Israel says:

“If you repented and patiently waited for me, you would be delivered;36

if you calmly trusted in me you would find strength,37

but you are unwilling.

30:16 You say, ‘No, we will flee on horses,’

so you will indeed flee.

You say, ‘We will ride on fast horses,’

so your pursuers will be fast.

30:17 One thousand will scurry at the battle cry of one enemy soldier;38

at the battle cry of five enemy soldiers you will all run away,39

until the remaining few are as isolated40

as a flagpole on a mountaintop

or a signal flag on a hill.”