3. “But I tell you, hiding in Egypt will not help you. Pharaoh will not be able to protect you.
4. Your leaders have gone to Zoan, and your representatives have gone to Hanes.
5. But they will be disappointed. They are depending on a nation that cannot help them. Egypt is useless—it will not help. Egypt will bring nothing but shame and embarrassment.”
6. This is a message about the Negev animals: There is a dangerous place full of lions, adders, deadly snakes, and useless people. And there are people who load their wealth onto donkeys and their treasures on the backs of camels. They carry them to a people who cannot help.
7. That useless nation is Egypt. Egypt’s help is worth nothing, so I call Egypt the “Do-Nothing Dragon.”
8. Now write this on a sign so that all people can see it, and write this in a book. Write these things for a future time. This will be far, far in the future:
9. These people are like children who refuse to obey. They lie and refuse to listen to the Lord’S teachings.
10. They tell the prophets, “Don’t see dreams about things we should do. Don’t tell us the truth. Say nice things to us and make us feel good. See only good things for us.
11. Stop seeing things that will really happen. Get out of our way. Stop telling us about the Holy One of Israel.”
12. The Holy One of Israel says, “You people have refused to accept this message from me. You depend on fighting and lies to help you.
13. You are guilty of these things. So you are like a tall wall with cracks in it. That wall will fall and break into small pieces.
14. You will be like a large clay jar that breaks into many small, useless pieces. You cannot use them to get a hot coal from the fire or to get water from a pool in the ground.”
15. The Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, says, “If you come back to me you will be saved. Only by remaining calm and trusting in me can you be strong.” But you don’t want to do that.