| New American Standard Bible 1995 | New Living Translation |
| 1The oracle concerning Egypt. Behold, the LORD is riding on a swift cloud and is about to come to Egypt; The idols of Egypt will tremble at His presence, And the heart of the Egyptians will 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. |
| 2"So I will incite Egyptians against Egyptians; And they will each fight against his brother and each against his neighbor, City against city and kingdom against kingdom. | 2“I will make Egyptian fight against Egyptian— brother against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, province against province. |
| 3"Then the spirit of the Egyptians will be demoralized within them; And I will confound their strategy, So that they will resort to idols and ghosts of the dead And to 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. |
| 4"Moreover, I will deliver the Egyptians into the hand of a cruel master, And a mighty king will rule over them," declares the Lord GOD 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 from the sea will dry up, And the river will be parched and dry. | 5The waters of the Nile will fail to rise and flood the fields. The riverbed will be parched and dry. |
| 6The canals will emit a stench, The streams of Egypt will thin out and dry up; The reeds and rushes will rot away. | 6The canals of the Nile will dry up, and the streams of Egypt will stink with rotting reeds and rushes. |
| 7The bulrushes by the Nile, by the edge of the Nile And all the sown fields by the Nile Will become dry, 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. |
| 8And the fishermen will lament, And all those who cast a line into the Nile will mourn, And those who spread nets on the waters will pine away. | 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, the manufacturers of linen made from combed flax And the weavers of white cloth will be utterly dejected. | 9There will be no flax for the harvesters, no thread for the weavers. |
| 10And the pillars of Egypt will be crushed; All the hired laborers will be grieved in soul. | 10They will be in despair, and all the workers will be sick at heart. |
| 11The princes of Zoan are mere fools; The advice of Pharaoh's wisest advisers has become stupid. How can you men say to Pharaoh, "I am a son of the wise, a 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? |
| 12Well then, where are your wise men? Please let them tell you, And let them understand 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 acted foolishly, The princes of Memphis are deluded; Those who are the cornerstone of her 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 her a spirit of distortion; They have led Egypt astray in all that it does, 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. |
| 15There will be no work for Egypt Which its head or tail, its 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 the Egyptians will become like women, and they will tremble and be in dread because of the waving of the hand of the LORD of hosts, which He is going to wave over them. | 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. |
| 17The land of Judah will become a terror to Egypt; everyone to whom it is mentioned will be in dread of it, because of the purpose of the LORD of hosts which He is purposing against them. | 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 be speaking the language of Canaan and swearing allegiance to 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 near 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 become a sign and a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the LORD because of oppressors, and He will send them a Savior and a Champion, 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. |
| 21Thus the LORD will make Himself known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know the LORD in that day. They will even worship with sacrifice and offering, and 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. |
| 22The LORD will strike Egypt, striking but healing; so they will return to the LORD, and He will respond to them and will 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 Assyrians will come into Egypt and the Egyptians into Assyria, and the Egyptians 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. |
| 24In that day Israel will be the third party with Egypt and Assyria, 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. |
| 25whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, 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!” |
| New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org | 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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