¹⁹ But Egypt^(A) will be desolate,
    Edom^(B) a desert waste,
because of violence^(C) done to the people of Judah,
    in whose land they shed innocent blood.

See, the Lord rides on a swift cloud^(C)
    and is coming to Egypt.
The idols of Egypt tremble before him,
    and the hearts of the Egyptians melt^(D) with fear.

² “I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian—
    brother will fight against brother,^(E)
    neighbor against neighbor,
    city against city,
    kingdom against kingdom.^(F)
3 The Egyptians will lose heart,^(G)
    and I will bring their plans^(H) to nothing;^(I)
they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead,
    the mediums and the spiritists.^(J)
4 I will hand the Egyptians over
    to the power of a cruel master,
and a fierce king^(K) will rule over them,”
    declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.

⁵ The waters of the river will dry up,^(L)
    and the riverbed will be parched and dry.^(M)
6 The canals will stink;^(N)
    the streams of Egypt will dwindle and dry up.^(O)
The reeds^(P) and rushes will wither,^(Q)
7     also the plants^(R) along the Nile,
    at the mouth of the river.
Every sown field^(S) along the Nile
    will become parched, will blow away and be no more.^(T)
8 The fishermen^(U) will groan and lament,
    all who cast hooks^(V) into the Nile;
those who throw nets on the water
    will pine away.
⁹ Those who work with combed flax^(W) will despair,
    the weavers of fine linen^(X) will lose hope.
¹⁰ The workers in cloth will be dejected,
    and all the wage earners will be sick at heart.

¹¹ The officials of Zoan^(Y) are nothing but fools;
    the wise counselors^(Z) of Pharaoh give senseless advice.^(AA)
How can you say to Pharaoh,
    “I am one of the wise men,^(AB)
    a disciple of the ancient kings”?

¹² Where are your wise men^(AC) now?
    Let them show you and make known
what the Lord Almighty
    has planned^(AD) against Egypt.
¹³ The officials of Zoan^(AE) have become fools,
    the leaders of Memphis^(AF) are deceived;
the cornerstones^(AG) of her peoples
    have led Egypt astray.
¹⁴ The Lord has poured into them
    a spirit of dizziness;^(AH)
they make Egypt stagger in all that she does,
    as a drunkard staggers^(AI) around in his vomit.
¹⁵ There is nothing Egypt can do—
    head or tail, palm branch or reed.^(AJ)

³⁵ May the violence^(A) done to our flesh^[a] be on Babylon,”
    say the inhabitants of Zion.
“May our blood be on those who live in Babylonia,”
    says Jerusalem.^(B)

¹⁰ I will bring them back from Egypt
    and gather them from Assyria.^(A)
I will bring them to Gilead^(B) and Lebanon,
    and there will not be room^(C) enough for them.

¹⁰ Because of the violence^(A) against your brother Jacob,^(B)
    you will be covered with shame;
    you will be destroyed forever.^(C)
11 On the day you stood aloof
    while strangers carried off his wealth
and foreigners entered his gates
    and cast lots^(D) for Jerusalem,
    you were like one of them.^(E)
12 You should not gloat^(F) over your brother
    in the day of his misfortune,^(G)
nor rejoice^(H) over the people of Judah
    in the day of their destruction,^(I)
nor boast^(J) so much
    in the day of their trouble.^(K)
13 You should not march through the gates of my people
    in the day of their disaster,
nor gloat over them in their calamity^(L)
    in the day of their disaster,
nor seize their wealth
    in the day of their disaster.
¹⁴ You should not wait at the crossroads
    to cut down their fugitives,^(M)
nor hand over their survivors
    in the day of their trouble.

¹⁵ “The day of the Lord is near^(N)
    for all nations.
As you have done, it will be done to you;
    your deeds^(O) will return upon your own head.
¹⁶ Just as you drank^(P) on my holy hill,^(Q)
    so all the nations will drink^(R) continually;
they will drink and drink
    and be as if they had never been.^(S)

We have heard a message from the Lord:
    An envoy^(E) was sent to the nations to say,
“Rise, let us go against her for battle”^(F)—