18. As I live, says the Kingwhose name is Lord of hosts,Like Tabor above mountains,like Carmel above the sea, he comes.
19. Pack your bags for exile,enthroned daughter Egypt;Memphis shall become a wasteland,an empty ruin.
20. Egypt is a beautiful heifer,a horsefly from the north keeps coming.
21. Even the mercenaries in her ranksare like fattened calves;They too turn and flee together—they do not stand their ground,For their day of ruin comes upon them,their time of punishment.
22. Her voice is like a snake!Yes, they come in force;They attack her with axes,like those who fell trees.
23. They cut down her forest—oracle of the Lord—impenetrable though it be;More numerous than locusts,they cannot be counted.
24. Shamed is daughter Egypt,handed over to a people from the north.
25. The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, has said: See! I will punish Amon of Thebes and Egypt, gods, kings, Pharaoh, and those who trust in him.
26. I will hand them over to those who seek their lives, to Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, and to his officers. But later, Egypt shall be inhabited again, as in days of old—oracle of the Lord.
27. But you, my servant Jacob, do not fear;do not be dismayed, Israel!Listen! I will deliver you from far-off lands;your offspring, from the land of their exile.Jacob shall again find rest,secure, with none to frighten him.
28. You, Jacob my servant, must not fear—oracle of the Lord—for I am with you;I will make an end of all the nationsto which I have driven you,But of you I will not make an end:I will chastise you as you deserve,I cannot let you go unpunished.