CHAPTER 19
This is an oracle
concerning Egypt:
Behold,
the LORD
rides
on
a swift
cloud;
He is coming
to Egypt.
The idols
of Egypt
will tremble
before Him,
and the hearts
of the Egyptians
will melt
within them.
“So I will incite
Egyptian
against Egyptian;
brother
will fight
against brother,
neighbor
against neighbor,
city
against city,
and kingdom
against kingdom.
Then the spirit
of the Egyptians
will be emptied out
from among them,
and I will frustrate
their plans,
so that they will resort
to
idols
and
spirits of the dead,
to mediums
and
spiritists.
I will deliver
the Egyptians
into the hands
of harsh
masters,
and a fierce
king
will rule
over them,”
declares
the Lord
GOD
of Hosts.
The canals
will stink;
the streams
of Egypt
will trickle
and dry up;
the reeds
and rushes
will wither.
The bulrushes
by
the Nile,
by
the mouth
of the river,
and all
the fields sown
along the Nile,
will wither,
blow away,
and be no more.
Then the fishermen
will mourn,
all
who cast
hooks
into the Nile
will lament,
and those who spread
nets
on
the water
will grieve.
The princes
of Zoan
are mere
fools;
Pharaoh’s
wise
counselors
give senseless
advice.
How
can you say
to
Pharaoh,
“I
am one
of the wise,
a son
of eastern
kings”?
Where
are your wise men
now?
Let them tell you
and reveal
what
the LORD
of Hosts
has planned
against
Egypt.
The princes
of Zoan
have become fools;
the princes
of Memphis
are deceived.
The cornerstones
of her tribes
have led Egypt
astray.
The LORD
has poured
into her
a spirit
of confusion.
Egypt
has been led astray
in all
she does,
as a drunkard
staggers around
in his vomit.
In that
day
the Egyptians
will become
like women.
They will tremble
with fear
beneath
the uplifted
hand
of the LORD
of Hosts,
when He
brandishes
it
against them.
The land
of Judah
will bring terror
to Egypt;
whenever
Judah is mentioned,
Egypt will tremble
over
what the LORD
of Hosts
has planned
against it.
In that
day
five
cities
in the land
of Egypt
will speak
the language
of Canaan
and swear allegiance
to the LORD
of Hosts.
One of them
will be called
the City
of the Sun.
In that
day
there will be
an altar
to the LORD
in the center
of the land
of Egypt,
and a pillar
to the LORD
near
her border.
It will be
a sign
and a witness
to the LORD
of Hosts
in the land
of Egypt.
When
they cry out
to
the LORD
because of
their oppressors,
He will send
them a savior
and defender
to rescue them.
The LORD
will make Himself known
to Egypt,
and on that
day
Egypt
will acknowledge
the LORD.
They will worship
with sacrifices
and offerings;
they will make
vows
to the LORD
and fulfill them.
And the LORD
will strike
Egypt with a plague;
He will strike them
but heal them.
They will turn
to
the LORD,
and He will hear their prayers
and
heal them.
In that
day
there will be
a highway
from Egypt
to Assyria.
The Assyrians
will go
to Egypt,
and the Egyptians
to Assyria.
The Egyptians
and Assyrians
will worship together.
In that
day
Israel
will join
a three-party
alliance with Egypt
and Assyria—
a blessing
upon
the earth.
The LORD
of Hosts
will bless
them,
saying,
“Blessed be
Egypt
My people,
Assyria
My handiwork,
and Israel
My inheritance.”