1 The burden of Egypt. Behold, LORD rides upon a swift cloud, and comes to Egypt. And the idols of Egypt shall tremble at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.
2 And I will stir up the Egyptians against the Egyptians, and they shall fight each one against his brother, and each one against his neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom.
3 And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst of it, and I will destroy the counsel of it. And they shall seek for the idols, and for the charmers, and for those who have familiar spirits, and for the wizards.
4 And I will give over the Egyptians into the hand of a cruel lord. And a fierce king shall rule over them, says the Lord, LORD of hosts.
5 And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and become dry.
6 And the rivers shall become foul. The streams of Egypt shall be diminished and dried up. The reeds and flags shall wither away.
7 The meadows by the Nile, by the brink of the Nile, and all the sown fields of the Nile, shall become dry, be driven away, and be no more.
8 And the fishermen shall lament, and all those who cast a hook into the Nile shall mourn, and those who spread nets upon the waters shall languish.
9 Moreover those who work in combed flax, and those who weave white cloth, shall be confounded.
10 And the pillars [of Egypt] shall be broken in pieces. All those who work for hire [shall be] grieved in soul.
11 The rulers of Zoan are utterly foolish. The counsel of the wisest counselors of Pharaoh has become brutish. How will ye say to Pharaoh, I am the son of wise men, the son of ancient kings?
12 Where then are thy wise men? And let them tell thee now, and let them know what LORD of hosts has purposed concerning Egypt.
13 The rulers of Zoan have become fools. The rulers of Memphis are deceived. They have caused Egypt to go astray, the chief of her tribes.
14 LORD has mingled a spirit of perverseness in the midst of her, and they have caused Egypt to go astray in every work of it, as a drunken man staggers in his vomit.
15 Neither shall there be for Egypt any work, which head or tail, palm-branch or rush, may do.
16 In that day the Egyptians shall be like women, and they shall tremble and fear because of the shaking of the hand of LORD of hosts, which he shakes over them.
17 And the land of Judah shall become a terror to Egypt. Everyone to whom mention is made of it shall be afraid because of the purpose of LORD of hosts, which he purposes against it.
18 In that day there shall be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan, and swear to LORD of hosts. One shall be called The city of destruction.
19 In that day shall there be an altar to LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to LORD at the border of it.
20 And it shall be for a sign and for a witness to LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt. For they shall cry to LORD because of oppressors, and he will send them a savior, and a defender, and he will deliver them.
21 And LORD shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know LORD in that day. Yea, they shall worship with sacrifice and oblation, and shall vow a vow to LORD, and shall perform it.
22 And LORD will smite Egypt, smiting and healing, and they shall return to LORD. And he will be entreated by them, and will heal them.
23 In that day there shall be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria. And the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall worship with the Assyrians.