1Oracle on Egypt:

See, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud

on his way to Egypt;

The idols of Egypt tremble before him,

the hearts of the Egyptians melt within them.a

2I will stir up Egypt against Egypt:

brother will war against brother,

Neighbor against neighbor,

city against city, kingdom against kingdom.

3The courage of the Egyptians shall ebb away within them,

and I will bring their counsel to nought;

They shall consult idols and charmers, ghosts and clairvoyants.b

4I will deliver Egypt

into the power of a cruel master,

A harsh king* who shall rule over them—

oracle of the Lord, the Lord of hosts.c

5The waters shall be drained from the sea,

the river shall parch and dry up;d

6Its streams shall become foul,

and the canals of Egypt shall dwindle and parch.e

Reeds and rushes shall wither away,

7and bulrushes on the bank of the Nile;f

All the sown land along the Nile

shall dry up and blow away, and be no more.

8The fishermen shall mourn and lament,

all who cast hook in the Nile;

Those who spread their nets in the water

shall pine away.

9The linen-workers shall be disappointed,

the combers and weavers shall turn pale;g

10The spinners shall be crushed,

all the hired laborers shall be despondent.

11Utter fools are the princes of Zoan!*

the wisest of Pharaoh’s advisers give stupid counsel.

How can you say to Pharaoh,

“I am a descendant of wise men, of ancient kings”?

12Where then are your wise men?

Let them tell you and make known

What the Lord of hosts has planned

against Egypt.h

13The princes of Zoan have become fools,

the princes of Memphis have been deceived.

The chiefs of its tribes

have led Egypt astray.i

14The Lord has prepared among them

a spirit of dizziness,

And they have made Egypt stagger in whatever she does,

as a drunkard staggers in his vomit.j

15Egypt shall accomplish nothing—

neither head nor tail, palm branch nor reed,* shall accomplish anything.