Esias 19

1 THE VISION OF EGYPT. Behold, the Lord sits on a swift cloud, and shall come to Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and their heart shall faint within them.

The word about Egypt. See, the Lord is seated on a quick-moving cloud, and is coming to Egypt: and the false gods of Egypt will be troubled at his coming, and the heart of Egypt will be turned to water.

2 And the Egyptians shall be stirred up against the Egyptians: and a man shall fight against his brother, and a man against his neighbour, city against city, and law against law.

And I will send the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they will be fighting every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; town against town, and kingdom against kingdom.

3 And the spirit of the Egyptians shall be troubled within them; and I will frustrate their counsel: and they shall enquire of their gods and their images, and them that speak out of the earth, and them that have in them a divining spirit.

And the spirit of Egypt will be troubled in her, and I will make her decisions without effect: and they will be turning to the false gods, and to those who make hollow sounds, and to those who have control of spirits, and to those who are wise in secret arts.

4 And I will deliver Egypt into the hands of men, of cruel lords; and cruel kings shall rule over them: thus says the Lord of hosts.

And I will give the Egyptians into the hand of a cruel lord; and a hard king will be their ruler, says the Lord, the Lord of armies.

5 And the Egyptians shall drink the water that is by the sea, but the river shall fail, and be dried up.

And the waters of the sea will be cut off, and the river will become dry and waste:

6 And the streams shall fail, and the canals of the river; and every reservoir of water shall be dried up, in every marsh also of reed and papyrus.

And the rivers will have an evil smell; the stream of Egypt will become small and dry: all the water-plants will come to nothing.

7 And all the green herbage round about the river, and everything sown by the side of the river, shall be blasted with the wind and dried up.

The grass-lands by the Nile, and everything planted by the Nile, will become dry, or taken away by the wind, and will come to an end.

8 And the fishermen shall groan, and all that cast a hook into the river shall groan; they also that cast nets, and the anglers shall mourn.

The fishermen will be sad, and all those who put fishing-lines into the Nile will be full of grief, and those whose nets are stretched out on the waters will have sorrow in their hearts.

9 And shame shall come upon them that work fine flax, and them that make fine linen.

And all the workers in linen thread, and those who make cotton cloth, will be put to shame.

10 And they that work at them shall be in pain, and all that make beer shall be grieved, and be pained in their souls.

And the makers of twisted thread will be crushed, and those who ... will be sad in heart.

11 And the princes of Tanis shall be fools: [as for] the king's wise counsellors, their counsel shall be turned into folly: how will you say to the king, we are sons of wise men, sons of ancient kings?

The chiefs of Zoan are completely foolish; the wisest guides of Pharaoh have become like beasts: how do you say to Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the offspring of early kings?

12 Where are now your wise men? and let them declare to you, and say, What has the Lord of hosts purposed upon Egypt?

Where, then, are your wise men? let them make clear to you, let them give you knowledge of the purpose of the Lord of armies for Egypt.

13 The princes of Tanis have failed, and the princes of Memphis are lifted up [with pride], and they shall cause Egypt to wander by tribes.

The chiefs of Zoan have become foolish, the chiefs of Noph are tricked, the heads of her tribes are the cause of Egypt's wandering out of the way.

14 For the Lord has prepared for them a spirit of error, and they have caused Egypt to err in all their works, as one staggers who is drunken and vomits also.

The Lord has sent among them a spirit of error: and by them Egypt is turned out of the right way in all her doings, as a man overcome by wine is uncertain in his steps.

15 And there shall be no work to the Egyptians, which shall make head or tail, or beginning or end.

And in Egypt there will be no work for any man, head or tail, high or low, to do.

16 But in that day the Egyptians shall be as women, in fear and in trembling because of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which he shall bring upon them.

In that day the Egyptians will be like women: and the land will be shaking with fear because of the waving of the Lord's hand stretched out over it.

17 And the land of the Jews shall be for a terror to the Egyptians: whoever shall name it to them, they shall fear, because of the counsel which the Lord of hosts has purposed concerning it.

And the land of Judah will become a cause of great fear to Egypt; whenever its name comes to mind, Egypt will be in fear before the Lord of armies because of his purpose against it.

18 In that day there shall be five cities in Egypt speaking the language of Chanaan, and swearing by the name of the Lord of hosts; one city shall be called the city of Asedec.

In that day there will be five towns in the land of Egypt using the language of Canaan, and making oaths to the Lord of armies; and one of them will be named, The Town of the Sun.

19 In that day there shall be an altar to the Lord in the land of the Egyptians, and a pillar to the Lord by its border.

In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the middle of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the Lord at the edge of the land.

20 And it shall be for a sign to the Lord for ever in the land of Egypt: for they shall presently cry to the Lord by reason of them that afflict them, and he shall send them a man who shall save them; he shall judge and save them.

And it will be a sign and a witness to the Lord of armies in the land of Egypt: when they are crying out to the Lord because of their cruel masters, then he will send them a saviour and a strong one to make them free.

21 And the Lord shall be known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day; and they shall offer sacrifices, and shall vow vows to the Lord, and pay [them].

And the Lord will give the knowledge of himself to Egypt, and the Egyptians will give honour to the Lord in that day; they will give him worship with offerings and meal offerings, and will take an oath to the Lord and give effect to it.

22 And the Lord shall strike the Egyptians with a stroke, and shall completely heal them: and they shall return to the Lord, and he shall hear them, and thoroughly heal them.

And the Lord will send punishment on Egypt, and will make them well again; and when they come back to the Lord he will give ear to their prayer and take away their disease.

23 In that day there shall be a way from Egypt to the Assyrians, and the Assyrians shall enter into Egypt, and the Egyptians shall go to the Assyrians, and the Egyptians shall serve the Assyrians.

In that day there will be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt will come into Assyria; and the Egyptians will give worship to the Lord together with the Assyrians.

24 In that day shall Israel be third with the Egyptians and the Assyrians, blessed in the land which the Lord of hosts has blessed,

In that day Israel will be the third together with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the earth:

25 saying, Blessed be my people that is in Egypt, and that is amongst the Assyrians, and Israel mine inheritance.

Because of the blessing of the Lord of armies which he has given them, saying, A blessing on Egypt my people, and on Assyria the work of my hands, and on Israel my heritage.