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An Oracle concerning Egypt

19

An oracle concerning Egypt.

 

See, the L ord is riding on a swift cloud

and comes to Egypt;

the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence,

and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.

2

I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians,

and they will fight, one against the other,

neighbor against neighbor,

city against city, kingdom against kingdom;

3

the spirit of the Egyptians within them will be emptied out,

and I will confound their plans;

they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead

and the ghosts and the familiar spirits;

4

I will deliver the Egyptians

into the hand of a hard master;

a fierce king will rule over them,

says the Sovereign, the L ord of hosts.

 

5

The waters of the Nile will be dried up,

and the river will be parched and dry;

6

its canals will become foul,

and the branches of Egypt’s Nile will diminish and dry up,

reeds and rushes will rot away.

7

There will be bare places by the Nile,

on the brink of the Nile;

and all that is sown by the Nile will dry up,

be driven away, and be no more.

8

Those who fish will mourn;

all who cast hooks in the Nile will lament,

and those who spread nets on the water will languish.

9

The workers in flax will be in despair,

and the carders and those at the loom will grow pale.

10

Its weavers will be dismayed,

and all who work for wages will be grieved.

 

11

The princes of Zoan are utterly foolish;

the wise counselors of Pharaoh give stupid counsel.

How can you say to Pharaoh,

“I am one of the sages,

a descendant of ancient kings”?

12

Where now are your sages?

Let them tell you and make known

what the L ord of hosts has planned against Egypt.

13

The princes of Zoan have become fools,

and the princes of Memphis are deluded;

those who are the cornerstones of its tribes

have led Egypt astray.

14

The L ord has poured into them

a spirit of confusion;

and they have made Egypt stagger in all its doings

as a drunkard staggers around in vomit.

15

Neither head nor tail, palm branch or reed,

will be able to do anything for Egypt.

 

16 On that day the Egyptians will be like women, and tremble with fear before the hand that the L ord of hosts raises against them. 17And the land of Judah will become a terror to the Egyptians; everyone to whom it is mentioned will fear because of the plan that the L ord of hosts is planning against them.

Egypt, Assyria, and Israel Blessed

18 On that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the L ord of hosts. One of these will be called the City of the Sun.

19 On that day there will be an altar to the L ord in the center of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the L ord at its border. 20It will be a sign and a witness to the L ord of hosts in the land of Egypt; when they cry to the L ord because of oppressors, he will send them a savior, and will defend and deliver them. 21The L ord will make himself known to the Egyptians; and the Egyptians will know the L ord on that day, and will worship with sacrifice and burnt offering, and they will make vows to the L ord and perform them. 22The L ord will strike Egypt, striking and healing; they will return to the L ord, and he will listen to their supplications and heal them.

23 On that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians.

24 On that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, 25whom the L ord of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my heritage.”

 


17. And the land of Judah shall be a terror to the Egyptians. Some explain it simply to mean, that the land of Judah will be an astonishment to the Egyptians as well as to other nations, and compare this passage with the saying which has formerly come under our observation, “You shall be an astonishment.” 4040    {Bogus footnote} But I think that the meaning of the Prophet here is different, for he intended to point out the reason why the Lord would make such a display against the Egyptians. It was because they had brought destruction on the Jews, for they had turned them aside from the confidence which they ought to have placed in God, as princes frequently solicit their neighbors, and offer them their aid, that they may afterwards make use of them for their own advantage. Now the Lord had forbidden them (Deuteronomy 17:16) to resort to the Egyptians for the purpose of asking assistance from them; but those wretched people, instead of obeying God, listened to the solicitation of unbelievers who made offers to them, and on this account they were justly punished.

But the Egyptians also, who had given occasion to their unbelief and distrust, did not pass unpunished, for they were so sharply chastised that whenever they remembered the Jews they were overwhelmed with terror. Hence we ought to draw a profitable doctrine, that they who have turned aside the Church from obeying and trusting in God, and who, by fear, or counsel, or any enticements, have given occasion for offense, will be severely punished. The meaning of the Prophet’s words is as if we should say, that the look of a woman will bring a blush on him who has seduced her, when the disgrace of the uncleanness shall have been laid open, and when God shall come forth as the avenger of conjugal fidelity.


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