| International Standard Version | New Living Translation |
| 1A message about Egypt: "Watch out! The LORD rides on a swift cloud, and is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt tremble before him, and the hearts of the Egyptians melt within them. | 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. |
| 2I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians, and everyone will fight against his brother, 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 spirits of the Egyptians within them will be drained of courage, and I will bring their plans to nothing. They will consult idols and spirits of the dead, and mediums and spiritists. | 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. |
| 4I will hand the Egyptians over to the power of a cruel master, and a fierce king will rule over them," declares the Lord GOD of the Heavenly Armies. | 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. |
| 5"The water sources of the Nile will be dried up, and the river will become dry and parched. | 5The waters of the Nile will fail to rise and flood the fields. The riverbed will be parched and dry. |
| 6The canals will stink, and the tributaries of Egypt will dwindle and dry up. Reeds and rushes will wither away. | 6The canals of the Nile will dry up, and the streams of Egypt will stink with rotting reeds and rushes. |
| 7And the bulrushes along the Nile, along the mouth of the Nile, will wither away. All the sown fields of the Nile will become parched, and they will be blown away; there will be nothing left. | 7All the greenery along the riverbank and all the crops along the river will dry up and blow away. |
| 8The fishermen will groan, and all who cast hooks into the Nile will lament; those who spread nets upon the water will become weaker and weaker. | 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. |
| 9The workers in combed flax and the weavers of white linen will be in despair. | 9There will be no flax for the harvesters, no thread for the weavers. |
| 10Egypt's workers in cloth will be crushed, and all who work for wages will be sick at heart." | 10They will be in despair, and all the workers will be sick at heart. |
| 11Zoan's princes are nothing but fools; the wisest advisors of Pharaoh give stupid advice. How can you say to Pharaoh, "I'm a descendant of wise men, a descendant 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 your wise men now? Let them tell you, let them make known what the LORD has planned 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, and the princes of Memphis deluded; the leaders of its tribes have led Egypt astray. | 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 mixed within them a spirit of confusion; so they make Egypt stagger in all that it does, like a drunkard staggers around 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. |
| 15As a result, there will be nothing for Egypt that head or tail, palm branch or reed, can do. | 15There is nothing Egypt can do. All are helpless— the head and the tail, the noble palm branch and the lowly reed. |
| 16At that time, the Egyptians will be like women—they will shudder and be afraid before the uplifted hand of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, when he brandishes his hand against her. | 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 become a terror to the Egyptians. Everyone to whom it is mentioned will be afraid, because of the uplifted hand of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies that is turning in their direction. | 17Just to speak the name of Israel will terrorize them, for the LORD of Heaven’s Armies has laid out his plans against them. |
| 18At that time, there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the LORD of the Heavenly Armies. One of them will be called the City of the Sun. | 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. |
| 19At that time, there will be an altar to the LORD of the Heavenly Armies in the heart of the land of Egypt, and a monument 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. |
| 20It will be a sign and a witness to the LORD of the Heavenly Armies in the land of Egypt; when they cry out to the LORD because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior, and he will come down and rescue 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. |
| 21So the LORD will make himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians will acknowledge the LORD. At that time, they will worship with sacrifices and offerings, and they will make vows to the LORD and carry them out. | 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. |
| 22The LORD will strike Egypt with a plague, striking but then healing. Then they will turn to the LORD, and he will respond to their pleas 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. |
| 23At that time, there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will come into Egypt, and the Egyptians into Assyria, and they will worship 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. |
| 24At that time, Israel will be in a triple alliance with Egypt and Assyria; they will be a blessing in the midst of the earth. | 24In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth. |
| 25The LORD of the Heavenly Armies has blessed them, saying, "Blessed be Egypt my people, 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: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. | 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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