1. A message about Egypt: Look, the Lord is coming on a fast cloud. He will enter Egypt, and all the false gods of Egypt will shake with fear. Egypt’s courage will melt away like hot wax.
2. The Lord says, “I will cause the Egyptians to fight against themselves. Men will fight their brothers. Neighbors will be against neighbors. Cities will be against cities. Kingdoms will be against kingdoms.
3. The Egyptians will be afraid and confused. They will ask their false gods and wise men what they should do. They will ask their wizards and magicians, but I will ruin their plans.”
4. The Lord GOD All-Powerful says, “I will give Egypt to a hard master. A powerful king will rule over the people.”
5. The water in the Nile River will dry up and disappear.
6. All the rivers will smell very bad. The canals in Egypt will be dry, and the water will be gone. All the water plants will rot.
7. All the plants along the riverbanks will die and blow away. Even the plants at the widest part of the river will dry up, blow away, and disappear.
8. The fishermen, all those who catch fish from the Nile River, will become sad and they will cry. They depend on the Nile River for their food, but it will be dry.
9. Those who make cloth from flax, who weave it into linen, will all be sad.
10. Those who weave cloth will be broken, and those who work for money will be depressed.
11. The leaders of the city of Zoan are fools. Pharaoh’s “wise advisors” give bad advice. They say they are wise. They say they are from the old family of the kings, but they are not as smart as they think.