| New King James Version | New Living Translation |
| 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 message came to me concerning Egypt: Look! The LORD is advancing against Egypt, riding on a swift cloud. The idols of Egypt tremble. The hearts of the Egyptians melt with fear. |
| 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“I will make Egyptian fight against Egyptian— brother against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, province against province. |
| 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. | 3The Egyptians will lose heart, and I will confuse their plans. They will plead with their idols for wisdom and call on spirits, mediums, and those who consult the spirits of the dead. |
| 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 hand Egypt over to a hard, cruel master. A fierce king will rule them,” says the Lord, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. |
| 5The waters will fail from the sea, And the river will be wasted and dried up. | 5The waters of the Nile will fail to rise and flood the fields. The riverbed will be parched and dry. |
| 6The rivers will turn foul; The brooks of defense will be emptied and dried up; The reeds and rushes will wither. | 6The canals of the Nile will dry up, and the streams of Egypt will stink with rotting reeds and rushes. |
| 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. | 7All the greenery along the riverbank and all the crops along the river will dry up and blow away. |
| 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. | 8The fishermen will lament for lack of work. Those who cast hooks into the Nile will groan, and those who use nets will lose heart. |
| 9Moreover those who work in fine flax And those who weave fine fabric will be ashamed; | 9There will be no flax for the harvesters, no thread for the weavers. |
| 10And its foundations will be broken. All who make wages will be troubled of soul. | 10They will be in despair, and all the 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?” | 11What fools are the officials of Zoan! Their best counsel to the king of Egypt is stupid and wrong. Will they still boast to Pharaoh of their wisdom? Will they dare brag about all their wise ancestors? |
| 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 counselors, Pharaoh? Let them tell you what God plans, what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies is going to do to 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 officials of Zoan are fools, and the officials of Memphis are deluded. The leaders of the people 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 sent a spirit of foolishness on them, so all their suggestions are wrong. They cause Egypt to stagger like a drunk in his 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. All are helpless— the head and the tail, the noble palm branch and the lowly 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 as weak as women. They will cower in fear beneath the upraised fist of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. |
| 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. | 17Just to speak the name of Israel will terrorize them, for the LORD of Heaven’s Armies has laid out his plans against them. |
| 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 of Egypt’s cities will follow the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. They will even begin to speak Hebrew, the language of Canaan. One of these cities will be Heliopolis, 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 heart of Egypt, and there will be a monument to the LORD at its 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 that the LORD of Heaven’s Armies is worshiped in the land of Egypt. When the people cry to the LORD for help against those who oppress them, he will send them a savior who will 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 the Egyptians. Yes, they will know the LORD and will give their sacrifices and offerings to him. They will make a vow to the LORD and will keep it. |
| 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. | 22The LORD will strike Egypt, and then he will bring healing. For the Egyptians will turn to the LORD, and he will listen to their pleas 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 Egypt and Assyria will be connected by a highway. The Egyptians and Assyrians will move freely between their lands, and they will both worship God. |
| 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 be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of 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.” | 25For the LORD of Heaven’s Armies will say, “Blessed be Egypt, my people. Blessed be Assyria, the land I have made. Blessed be Israel, my special possession!” |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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