1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who lean on horses and put their trust in chariots because there are so many of them and in horsemen because they are so strong, but do not turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel or consult the LORD!
2 Yet he too is wise and can bring disaster; he does not take back his words. He will rise up against the house of the wicked and against those who help evildoers.
3 The Egyptians are human, not God; their horses are flesh, not spirit. When the LORD stretches out his hand, the helper will trip and the one he helps will fall; they will all come to an end together.
4 For this is what the LORD told me: "As a lion, a young lion, growls over its prey, and though a whole band of shepherds is called out against it, it is not frightened by their shouts or cowed by their uproar, so the LORD of hosts will come down to do battle on Mount Zion and on its hill.
5 Like birds hovering overhead, the LORD of hosts will shield Jerusalem; he will shield it and rescue it, pass over it and set it free."
6 Turn back to the one against whom the children of Israel have rebelled so deeply.
7 For on that day every one of you will throw away the silver idols and gold idols that your sinful hands have made for you.
8 "Assyria will fall by a sword that is not of man; a sword not of mortals will devour him. He will run from the sword, and his young men will be put to forced labor.
9 His stronghold will collapse in terror, and his officers will panic at the sight of the banner," declares the LORD, whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.