Study Desk

The ^(C1)pronouncement concerning ^(C2)Egypt: Behold, the LORD is ^(C3)riding on a swift cloud and is about to come to Egypt; The ^(C4)idols of Egypt will tremble at His presence, And the ^(C5)heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.

"So I will incite Egyptians against Egyptians; And they will fight, ^(C1)each against his brother and each against his neighbor, City against city and kingdom against kingdom.

-"Then the spirit of the Egyptians will be demoralized within them; And I will confuse their strategy, So that ^(C1)they will resort to idols and ghosts of the dead, And to ^(F1)mediums and spiritists.

-"Furthermore, I will hand the Egyptians over to a ^(C1)cruel master, And a ^(F1)mighty king will rule over them," declares the Lord ^(F2)GOD of armies.

^(C1)The waters from the sea will dry up, And the river will be parched and dry.

The ^(F1)(C1)canals will emit a stench, The ^(F2)(C2)streams of Egypt will thin out and dry up; ^(C3)The reeds and rushes will rot away.

The bulrushes by the ^(C1)Nile, by the ^(F1)edge of the Nile And all the sown fields by the Nile Will become dry, be driven away, and be no more.

And the ^(C1)fishermen will grieve, And all those who cast a ^(F1)line into the Nile will mourn, And those who spread nets on the waters will dwindle away.

Moreover, the manufacturers of linen made from combed flax And the weavers of white ^(C1)cloth will be ^(F1)utterly dejected.

And ^(F1)the ^(C1)pillars of Egypt will be crushed; All the hired laborers will be grieved in soul.

The officials of ^(F1)(C1)Zoan are mere fools; The advice of Pharaoh's wisest advisers has become ^(F2)stupid. How can you say to Pharaoh, "I am a son of the ^(C2)wise, a son of ancient kings"?

Well then, where are your wise men? Please let them tell you, And let them ^(F1)understand what the LORD of armies Has ^(C1)planned against Egypt.

The officials of ^(F1)Zoan have turned out to be fools, The officials of ^(C1)Memphis are deluded; Those who are the ^(C2)cornerstone of her tribes Have ^(F2)led Egypt astray.

The LORD has mixed within her a spirit of ^(C1)distortion; ^(C2)They have led Egypt astray in all ^(F1)that it does, As a ^(C3)drunken person ^(F2)staggers in his vomit.

There will be no work for Egypt ^(C1)Which its head or tail, its palm branch or bulrush, may do.