1. An oracle about Egypt.Look! The Lord is riding upon a swift cloud,and is coming to Egypt.Egypt’s idols will tremble before God;the Egyptians’ hearts will melt within them.
2. I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian,and they will fight,one against another,neighbor against neighbor,city against city,kingdom against kingdom.
3. Egypt’s spirit will fail from within;I will frustrate their plans.They will consult the idols and spiritsand ghosts and fortune-tellers.
4. I will hand Egypt over to a harsh master;a strong king will rule them, says the Lord God of heavenly forces.
5. The waters of the sea will dry up;the river will be parched and bare.
6. The rivers will stink;the streams will shrink and dry;reeds and rushes will decay.
7. Grass around the Nile, the grass at the mouth of the Nile,and all the sown land of the Nilewill dry up, blow away, and be no more.
8. Those who fish will lament;all who cast fishhooks in the Nile will mourn,and those who spread nets on the water will pine away.
9. Workers with flax will be dismayed;carders and weavers will grow pale.