1. Here is a message about Egypt:Look, the Lord rides on a swift-moving cloudand approaches Egypt.The idols of Egypt tremble before him;the Egyptians lose their courage.
2. “I will provoke civil strife in Egypt,brothers will fight with each other,as will neighbors,cities, and kingdoms.
3. The Egyptians will panic,and I will confuse their strategy.They will seek guidance from the idols and from the spirits of the dead,from the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, and from the magicians.
4. I will hand Egypt over to a harsh master;a powerful king will rule over them,”says the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies.
5. The water of the sea will be dried up,and the river will dry up and be empty.
6. The canals will stink;the streams of Egypt will trickle and then dry up;the bulrushes and reeds will decay,
7. along with the plants by the mouth of the river.All the cultivated land near the riverwill turn to dust and be blown away.
8. The fishermen will mourn and lament,all those who cast a fishhook into the river,and those who spread out a net on the water’s surface will grieve.
9. Those who make clothes from combed flax will be embarrassed;those who weave will turn pale.