4. And the Egyptians I will giveInto the hand of a cruel master,And a fierce king will rule over them,”Says the Lord, the Lord of hosts.
5. The waters will fail from the sea,And the river will be wasted and dried up.
6. The rivers will turn foul;The brooks of defense will be emptied and dried up;The reeds and rushes will wither.
7. The papyrus reeds by the River, by the mouth of the River,And everything sown by the River,Will wither, be driven away, and be no more.
8. The fishermen also will mourn;All those will lament who cast hooks into the River,And they will languish who spread nets on the waters.
9. Moreover those who work in fine flaxAnd those who weave fine fabric will be ashamed;
10. And its foundations will be broken.All who make wages will be troubled of soul.
11. Surely the princes of Zoan are fools;Pharaoh’s wise counselors give foolish counsel.How do you say to Pharaoh, “I am the son of the wise,The son of ancient kings?”
12. Where are they?Where are your wise men?Let them tell you now,And let them know what the Lord of hosts has purposed against Egypt.
13. The princes of Zoan have become fools;The princes of Noph are deceived;They have also deluded Egypt,Those who are the mainstay of its tribes.
14. The Lord has mingled a perverse spirit in her midst;And they have caused Egypt to err in all her work,As a drunken man staggers in his vomit.
15. Neither will there be any work for Egypt,Which the head or tail,Palm branch or bulrush, may do.
16. In that day Egypt will be like women, and will be afraid and fear because of the waving of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which He waves over it.
17. And the land of Judah will be a terror to Egypt; everyone who makes mention of it will be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of the Lord of hosts which He has determined against it.