1 The oracle about Egypt. Look, the LORD rides on a swift cloud and comes to Egypt. The idols of Egypt shake before him, and Egypt's heart melts inside it.
2 "I will set Egyptian against Egyptian; brother will fight brother and neighbor fight neighbor, city against city and kingdom against kingdom.
3 Egypt's spirit will be drained within it, and I will throw its plans into confusion. They will consult the idols and the ghosts, the mediums and the spiritists.
4 I will give Egypt into the hands of a cruel master, and a powerful king will rule them," declares the Lord, the LORD of hosts.
5 The water of the sea will run dry, and the river will dry up and be parched.
6 The canals will reek, the channels of Egypt will shrink and dry out, and the reeds and rushes will rot away.
7 The bare places along the Nile, at the mouth of the Nile, and every field planted by the Nile will dry up, blow away and vanish.
8 The fishermen will moan and grieve, all who cast hooks in the Nile, and those who throw nets on the water will waste away.
9 Those who work combed flax will be dismayed, and the weavers of white linen too.
10 The pillars of the land will be crushed, and all the wage earners sick at heart.
11 The officials of Zoan are utter fools; the wisest of Pharaoh's advisers give stupid advice. How can you tell Pharaoh, "I am one of the wise, a descendant of ancient kings"?
12 Where are your wise men now? Let them tell you and make known what the LORD of hosts has planned against Egypt.
13 The officials of Zoan have turned into fools, the officials of Memphis are deluded; those who are the cornerstones of its tribes have sent Egypt astray.
14 The LORD has poured into her a spirit of dizziness, and they have made Egypt reel in all she does, like a drunk reeling in his vomit.
15 Nothing Egypt tries will succeed, whether head or tail, palm frond or bulrush.
16 On that day the Egyptians will be like women; they will shake with fear before the hand that the LORD of hosts raises against them.
17 The land of Judah will become a terror to Egypt; whoever hears it mentioned will be afraid because of what the LORD of hosts is planning against them.
18 On that day five cities in Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear loyalty to the LORD of hosts. One of them will be called the City of Destruction.
19 On that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the heart of Egypt and a sacred pillar to the LORD at its border.
20 It will serve as 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 who will fight for them and rescue them.
21 So the LORD will make himself known to Egypt, and on that day the Egyptians will know the LORD. They will worship him with sacrifices and grain offerings; they will make vows to the LORD and keep them.
22 The LORD will strike Egypt, strike and heal; they will turn back to the LORD, and he will listen to their prayers and heal them.
23 On that day a highway will run from Egypt to Assyria. Assyrians will come to Egypt and Egyptians to Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship together with the Assyrians.
24 On that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the middle of the earth,
25 for the LORD of hosts has blessed them, saying, "Blessed are Egypt my people, Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance."