| New Living Translation | Berean Study 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. | 1This is the burden against Egypt: Behold, the LORD rides on a swift cloud; He is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt will tremble before Him, and the hearts of the Egyptians will melt within them. |
| 2“I will make Egyptian fight against Egyptian— brother against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, province against province. | 2“So I will incite Egyptian against Egyptian; brother will fight against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, and 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. | 3Then the spirit of the Egyptians will be emptied out from among them, and I will frustrate their plans, so that they will resort to idols and spirits of the dead, to mediums 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 the Egyptians into the hands of harsh masters, and a fierce king will rule over them,” declares 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 Nile will dry up, and the riverbed will be parched and empty. |
| 6The canals of the Nile will dry up, and the streams of Egypt will stink with rotting reeds and rushes. | 6The canals will stink; the streams of Egypt will trickle and dry up; the reeds and rushes will wither. |
| 7All the greenery along the riverbank and all the crops along the river will dry up and blow away. | 7The bulrushes by the Nile, by the mouth of the river, and all the fields sown along the Nile, will wither, blow away, and be no more. |
| 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 who cast a hook into the Nile will lament, and those who spread nets on the waters will pine away. |
| 9There will be no flax for the harvesters, no thread for the weavers. | 9The workers in flax will be dismayed, and the weavers of fine linen will turn pale. |
| 10They will be in despair, and all the workers will be sick at heart. | 10The workers in cloth will be dejected, and all the hired workers will be sick at heart. |
| 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 mere fools; Pharaoh’s wise counselors give senseless advice. How can you say to Pharaoh, “I am one of the wise, a son 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 are your wise men now? 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 become fools; the princes of Memphis are deceived. The cornerstones of her tribes 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 poured into her a spirit of confusion. Egypt has been led astray in all she does, as a drunkard staggers through his own vomit. |
| 15There is nothing Egypt can do. All are helpless— the head and the tail, the noble palm branch and the lowly reed. | 15There is nothing Egypt can do—head or tail, palm or reed. |
| 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. | 16In that day the Egyptians will be like women. They will tremble with fear beneath the uplifted hand of the LORD of Hosts, when He brandishes it against them. |
| 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 bring terror to Egypt; whenever Judah is mentioned, Egypt will tremble over 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. | 18In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the LORD of Hosts. One of them 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. | 19In 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 a 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 defender to 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 on that day Egypt will acknowledge the LORD. They will worship with 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. | 22And the LORD will strike Egypt with a plague; He will strike them but heal them. They will turn 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. | 23In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt, and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. |
| 24In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth. | 24In that day Israel will join a three-party alliance with Egypt and Assyria—a blessing upon the earth. |
| 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, “Blessed be Egypt My people, Assyria My handiwork, and Israel My inheritance.” |
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