| New Living Translation | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 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. | 1An oracle against Egypt: Look, the LORD rides on a swift cloud and is coming to Egypt. Egypt's idols will tremble before Him, and Egypt's heart will melt within it. |
| 2“I will make Egyptian fight against Egyptian— brother against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, province against province. | 2I will provoke Egypt against Egypt; each will fight against his brother and each against his friend, city against city, kingdom against kingdom. |
| 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. | 3Egypt's spirit will be disturbed within it, and I will frustrate its plans. Then they will seek idols, ghosts, spirits of the dead, and spiritists. |
| 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. | 4I will deliver Egypt into the hands of harsh masters, and a strong king will rule it. This is the declaration of the Lord GOD of Hosts. |
| 5The waters of the Nile will fail to rise and flood the fields. The riverbed will be parched and dry. | 5The waters of the sea will dry up, and the river will be parched and dry. |
| 6The canals of the Nile will dry up, and the streams of Egypt will stink with rotting reeds and rushes. | 6The channels will stink; they will dwindle, and Egypt's canals will be parched. Reed and rush will die. |
| 7All the greenery along the riverbank and all the crops along the river will dry up and blow away. | 7The reeds by the Nile, by the mouth of the river, and all the cultivated areas of the Nile will wither, blow away, and vanish. |
| 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. | 8Then the fishermen will mourn. All those who cast hooks into the Nile will lament, and those who spread nets on the water will shrivel up. |
| 9There will be no flax for the harvesters, no thread for the weavers. | 9Those who work with flax will be dismayed; the combers and weavers will turn pale. |
| 10They will be in despair, and all the workers will be sick at heart. | 10Egypt's weavers will be dejected; all her wage earners will be demoralized. |
| 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? | 11The princes of Zoan are complete fools; Pharaoh's wisest advisers give stupid advice! How can you say to Pharaoh," I am one of the wise, a student of eastern kings"? |
| 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. | 12Where then are your wise men? Let them tell you and reveal what the LORD of Hosts has planned against Egypt. |
| 13The officials of Zoan are fools, and the officials of Memphis are deluded. The leaders of the people have led Egypt astray. | 13The princes of Zoan have been fools; the princes of Memphis are deceived. Her tribal chieftains have led Egypt astray. |
| 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. | 14The LORD has mixed within her a spirit of confusion. The leaders have made Egypt stagger in all she does, as a drunkard staggers in his vomit. |
| 15There is nothing Egypt can do. All are helpless— the head and the tail, the noble palm branch and the lowly reed. | 15No head or tail, palm or reed, will be able to do anything for Egypt. |
| 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. | 16On that day Egypt will be like women. She will tremble with fear because of the threatening hand of the LORD of Hosts when He raises it against her. |
| 17Just to speak the name of Israel will terrorize them, for the LORD of Heaven’s Armies has laid out his plans against them. | 17The land of Judah will terrify Egypt; whenever Judah is mentioned, Egypt will tremble because of what the LORD of Hosts has planned against it. |
| 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. | 18On that day five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear loyalty to the LORD of Hosts. One of the cities will be called the City of the Sun. |
| 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. | 19On that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the center of the land of Egypt and a pillar to the LORD near her border. |
| 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. | 20It will be a sign and witness to the LORD of Hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the LORD because of their oppressors, He will send them a savior and leader, and he will rescue them. |
| 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. | 21The LORD will make Himself known to Egypt, and Egypt will know the LORD on that day. They will offer sacrifices and offerings; they will make vows to the LORD and fulfill 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. | 22The LORD will strike Egypt, striking and healing. Then they will return to the LORD and He will hear their prayers and heal them. |
| 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. | 23On that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. Assyria will go to Egypt, Egypt to Assyria, and Egypt will worship with Assyria. |
| 24In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth. | 24On that day Israel will form a triple alliance with Egypt and Assyria--a blessing within the land. |
| 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!” | 25The LORD of Hosts will bless them, saying, "Egypt My people, Assyria My handiwork, and Israel My inheritance are blessed." |
| 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. | Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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