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The burden against Egypt. Behold, the Lord rides on a swift cloud, And will come into Egypt; The idols of Egypt will totter at His presence, And the heart of Egypt will melt in its midst.
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"I will set Egyptians against Egyptians; Everyone will fight against his brother, And everyone against his neighbor, City against city, kingdom against kingdom.
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The spirit of Egypt will fail in its midst; I will destroy their counsel, And they will consult the idols and the charmers, The mediums and the sorcerers.
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And the Egyptians I will give Into the hand of a cruel master, And a fierce king will rule over them," Says the Lord, the Lord of hosts.
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The waters will fail from the sea, And the river will be wasted and dried up.
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The rivers will turn foul; The brooks of defense will be emptied and dried up; The reeds and rushes will wither.
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The papyrus reeds by the River, by the mouth of the River, And everything sown by the River, Will wither, be driven away, and be no more.
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The fishermen also will mourn; All those will lament who cast hooks into the River, And they will languish who spread nets on the waters.
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Moreover those who work in fine flax And those who weave fine fabric will be ashamed;
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And its foundations will be broken. All who make wages will be troubled of soul.
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Surely the princes of Zoan are fools; Pharaoh's wise counselors give foolish counsel. How do you say to Pharaoh, "I am the son of the wise, The son of ancient kings?"
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Where are they? Where are your wise men? Let them tell you now, And let them know what the Lord of hosts has purposed against Egypt.
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The princes of Zoan have become fools; The princes of Noph are deceived; They have also deluded Egypt, Those who are the mainstay of its tribes.
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The Lord has mingled a perverse spirit in her midst; And they have caused Egypt to err in all her work, As a drunken man staggers in his vomit.
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Neither will there be any work for Egypt, Which the head or tail, Palm branch or bulrush, may do.
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In that day Egypt will be like women, and will be afraid and fear because of the waving of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which He waves over it.
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And the land of Judah will be a terror to Egypt; everyone who makes mention of it will be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of the Lord of hosts which He has determined against it.
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In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear by the Lord of hosts; one will be called the City of Destruction.
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In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the Lord at its border.
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And it will be for a sign and for a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the Lord because of the oppressors, and He will send them a Savior and a Mighty One, and He will deliver them.