| New King James Version | Berean Study Bible |
| 1The burden against Egypt. Behold, the LORD rides on a swift cloud, And will come into Egypt; The idols of Egypt will totter at His presence, And the heart of Egypt will melt in its midst. | 1This is the burden against 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. |
| 2“I will set Egyptians against Egyptians; Everyone will fight against his brother, And everyone against his neighbor, City against city, kingdom against kingdom. | 2“So I will incite Egyptian against Egyptian; brother will fight against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, and kingdom against kingdom. |
| 3The spirit of Egypt will fail in its midst; I will destroy their counsel, And they will consult the idols and the charmers, The mediums and the sorcerers. | 3Then 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. |
| 4And the Egyptians I will give Into the hand of a cruel master, And a fierce king will rule over them,” Says the Lord, the LORD of hosts. | 4I will deliver the Egyptians into the hands of harsh masters, and a fierce king will rule over them,” declares the Lord GOD of Hosts. |
| 5The waters will fail from the sea, And the river will be wasted and dried up. | 5The waters of the Nile will dry up, and the riverbed will be parched and empty. |
| 6The rivers will turn foul; The brooks of defense will be emptied and dried up; The reeds and rushes will wither. | 6The canals will stink; the streams of Egypt will trickle and dry up; the reeds and rushes will wither. |
| 7The papyrus reeds by the River, by the mouth of the River, And everything sown by the River, Will wither, be driven away, and be no more. | 7The 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. |
| 8The fishermen also will mourn; All those will lament who cast hooks into the River, And they will languish who spread nets on the waters. | 8Then the fishermen will mourn, all who cast a hook into the Nile will lament, and those who spread nets on the waters will pine away. |
| 9Moreover those who work in fine flax And those who weave fine fabric will be ashamed; | 9The workers in flax will be dismayed, and the weavers of fine linen will turn pale. |
| 10And its foundations will be broken. All who make wages will be troubled of soul. | 10The workers in cloth will be dejected, and all the hired workers will be sick at heart. |
| 11Surely the princes of Zoan are fools; Pharaoh’s wise counselors give foolish counsel. How do you say to Pharaoh, “I am the son of the wise, The son of ancient kings?” | 11The 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”? |
| 12Where are they? Where are your wise men? Let them tell you now, And let them know what the LORD of hosts has purposed against Egypt. | 12Where are your wise men now? Let them tell you and reveal what the LORD of Hosts has planned against Egypt. |
| 13The princes of Zoan have become fools; The princes of Noph are deceived; They have also deluded Egypt, Those who are the mainstay of its tribes. | 13The princes of Zoan have become fools; the princes of Memphis are deceived. The cornerstones of her tribes have led Egypt astray. |
| 14The LORD has mingled a perverse spirit in her midst; And they have caused Egypt to err in all her work, As a drunken man staggers in his vomit. | 14The LORD has poured into her a spirit of confusion. Egypt has been led astray in all she does, as a drunkard staggers through his own vomit. |
| 15Neither will there be any work for Egypt, Which the head or tail, Palm branch or bulrush, may do. | 15There is nothing Egypt can do—head or tail, palm or reed. |
| 16In that day Egypt will be like women, and will be afraid and fear because of the waving of the hand of the LORD of hosts, which He waves over it. | 16In that day the Egyptians will be like women. They will tremble with fear beneath the uplifted hand of the LORD of Hosts, when He brandishes it against them. |
| 17And the land of Judah will be a terror to Egypt; everyone who makes mention of it will be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of the LORD of hosts which He has determined against it. | 17The 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. |
| 18In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear by the LORD of hosts; one will be called the City of Destruction. | 18In 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. |
| 19In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the LORD at its border. | 19In 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. |
| 20And it will be for a sign and for a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the LORD because of the oppressors, and He will send them a Savior and a Mighty One, and He will deliver them. | 20It 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. |
| 21Then the LORD will be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know the LORD in that day, and will make sacrifice and offering; yes, they will make a vow to the LORD and perform it. | 21The 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. |
| 22And the LORD will strike Egypt, He will strike and heal it; they will return to the LORD, and He will be entreated by them and heal them. | 22And 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. |
| 23In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will serve with the Assyrians. | 23In 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. |
| 24In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria—a blessing in the midst of the land, | 24In that day Israel will join a three-party alliance with Egypt and Assyria—a blessing upon the earth. |
| 25whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.” | 25The LORD of Hosts will bless them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt My people, Assyria My handiwork, and Israel My inheritance.” |
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