Egypt Will Be Punished

1 This is a message about Egypt:

The Lord comes to Egypt,

riding swiftly on a cloud.

The people are weak from fear.

Their idols tremble

as he approaches and says,

2“I will punish Egypt

with civil war—

neighbors, cities, and kingdoms

will fight each other.

3“Egypt will be discouraged

when I confuse their plans.

They will try to get advice

from their idols,

from the spirits of the dead,

and from fortunetellers.

4I will put the Egyptians

under the power of a cruel,

heartless king.

I, the Lord All-Powerful,

have promised this.”

Trouble along the Nile

5The Nile River will dry up

and become parched land.

6Its streams will stink,

Egypt will have no water,

and the reeds and tall grass

will dry up.

7Fields along the Nile

will be completely barren;

every plant will disappear.

8Those who fish in the Nile

will be discouraged

and mourn.

9None of the cloth makers+

will know what to do,

and they will turn pale.+

10Weavers will be confused;

paid workers will cry and mourn.

Egypt's Helpless Leaders

11The king's officials in Zoan+

are foolish themselves

and give stupid advice.

How can they say to him,

“We are very wise,

and our families go back

to kings of long ago?”

12Where are those wise men now?

If they can, let them say

what the Lord All-Powerful

intends for Egypt.

13The royal officials in Zoan

and in Memphis

are foolish and deceived.

The leaders in every state

have given bad advice

to the nation.

14The Lord has confused Egypt;

its leaders have made it stagger

and vomit like a drunkard.

15No one in Egypt can do a thing,

no matter who they are.

16When the Lord All-Powerful punishes Egypt with his mighty arm, the Egyptians will become terribly weak and will tremble with fear. 17They will be so terrified of Judah that they will be frightened by the very mention of its name. This will happen because of what the Lord All-Powerful is planning against Egypt.

The Lord Will Bless Egypt, Assyria, and Israel

18The time is coming when Hebrew will be spoken in five Egyptian cities, and their people will become followers of the Lord. One of these cities will be called City of the Sun.+

19In the heart of Egypt an altar will be set up for the Lord; at its border a shrine will be built to honor him. 20These will remind the Egyptians that the Lord All-Powerful is with them. And when they are in trouble and ask for help, he will send someone to rescue them from their enemies. 21The Lord will show the Egyptians who he is, and they will know and worship the Lord. They will bring him sacrifices and offerings, and they will keep their promises to him. 22After the Lord has punished Egypt, the people will turn to him. Then he will answer their prayers, and the Egyptians will be healed.

23At that time a good road will run from Egypt to Assyria. The Egyptians and the Assyrians will travel back and forth from Egypt to Assyria, and they will worship together. 24Israel will join with these two countries. They will be a blessing to everyone on earth, 25then the Lord All-Powerful will bless them by saying,

“The Egyptians are my people.

I created the Assyrians

and chose the Israelites.”