-
Jeremiah 43:10-13
Then say to the people of Judah,‘ This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: I will certainly bring my servant Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, here to Egypt. I will set his throne over these stones that I have hidden. He will spread his royal canopy over them.And when he comes, he will destroy the land of Egypt. He will bring death to those destined for death, captivity to those destined for captivity, and war to those destined for war.He will set fire to the temples of Egypt’s gods; he will burn the temples and carry the idols away as plunder. He will pick clean the land of Egypt as a shepherd picks fleas from his cloak. And he himself will leave unharmed.He will break down the sacred pillars standing in the temple of the sun in Egypt, and he will burn down the temples of Egypt’s gods.’”
-
Jeremiah 44:30
This is what the Lord says:‘ I will turn Pharaoh Hophra, king of Egypt, over to his enemies who want to kill him, just as I turned King Zedekiah of Judah over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.’”
-
Isaiah 29:1-24
“ What sorrow awaits Ariel, the City of David. Year after year you celebrate your feasts.Yet I will bring disaster upon you, and there will be much weeping and sorrow. For Jerusalem will become what her name Ariel means— an altar covered with blood.I will be your enemy, surrounding Jerusalem and attacking its walls. I will build siege towers and destroy it.Then deep from the earth you will speak; from low in the dust your words will come. Your voice will whisper from the ground like a ghost conjured up from the grave.“ But suddenly, your ruthless enemies will be crushed like the finest of dust. Your many attackers will be driven away like chaff before the wind. Suddenly, in an instant,I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, will act for you with thunder and earthquake and great noise, with whirlwind and storm and consuming fire.All the nations fighting against Jerusalem will vanish like a dream! Those who are attacking her walls will vanish like a vision in the night.A hungry person dreams of eating but wakes up still hungry. A thirsty person dreams of drinking but is still faint from thirst when morning comes. So it will be with your enemies, with those who attack Mount Zion.”Are you amazed and incredulous? Don’t you believe it? Then go ahead and be blind. You are stupid, but not from wine! You stagger, but not from liquor!For the Lord has poured out on you a spirit of deep sleep. He has closed the eyes of your prophets and visionaries.All the future events in this vision are like a sealed book to them. When you give it to those who can read, they will say,“ We can’t read it because it is sealed.”When you give it to those who cannot read, they will say,“ We don’t know how to read.”And so the Lord says,“ These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man made rules learned by rote.Because of this, I will once again astound these hypocrites with amazing wonders. The wisdom of the wise will pass away, and the intelligence of the intelligent will disappear.”What sorrow awaits those who try to hide their plans from the Lord, who do their evil deeds in the dark!“ The Lord can’t see us,” they say.“ He doesn’t know what’s going on!”How foolish can you be? He is the Potter, and he is certainly greater than you, the clay! Should the created thing say of the one who made it,“ He didn’t make me”? Does a jar ever say,“ The potter who made me is stupid”?Soon— and it will not be very long— the forests of Lebanon will become a fertile field, and the fertile field will yield bountiful crops.In that day the deaf will hear words read from a book, and the blind will see through the gloom and darkness.The humble will be filled with fresh joy from the Lord. The poor will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.The scoffer will be gone, the arrogant will disappear, and those who plot evil will be killed.Those who convict the innocent by their false testimony will disappear. A similar fate awaits those who use trickery to pervert justice and who tell lies to destroy the innocent.That is why the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, says to the people of Israel,“ My people will no longer be ashamed or turn pale with fear.For when they see their many children and all the blessings I have given them, they will recognize the holiness of the Holy One of Jacob. They will stand in awe of the God of Israel.Then the wayward will gain understanding, and complainers will accept instruction.
-
Isaiah 19:1-25
This message came to me concerning Egypt: Look! The Lord is advancing against Egypt, riding on a swift cloud. The idols of Egypt tremble. The hearts of the Egyptians melt with fear.“ I will make Egyptian fight against Egyptian— brother against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, province against province.The Egyptians will lose heart, and I will confuse their plans. They will plead with their idols for wisdom and call on spirits, mediums, and those who consult the spirits of the dead.I will hand Egypt over to a hard, cruel master. A fierce king will rule them,” says the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.The waters of the Nile will fail to rise and flood the fields. The riverbed will be parched and dry.The canals of the Nile will dry up, and the streams of Egypt will stink with rotting reeds and rushes.All the greenery along the riverbank and all the crops along the river will dry up and blow away.The fishermen will lament for lack of work. Those who cast hooks into the Nile will groan, and those who use nets will lose heart.There will be no flax for the harvesters, no thread for the weavers.They will be in despair, and all the workers will be sick at heart.What fools are the officials of Zoan! Their best counsel to the king of Egypt is stupid and wrong. Will they still boast to Pharaoh of their wisdom? Will they dare brag about all their wise ancestors?Where are your wise counselors, Pharaoh? Let them tell you what God plans, what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies is going to do to Egypt.The officials of Zoan are fools, and the officials of Memphis are deluded. The leaders of the people have led Egypt astray.The Lord has sent a spirit of foolishness on them, so all their suggestions are wrong. They cause Egypt to stagger like a drunk in his vomit.There is nothing Egypt can do. All are helpless— the head and the tail, the noble palm branch and the lowly reed.In that day the Egyptians will be as weak as women. They will cower in fear beneath the upraised fist of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.Just to speak the name of Israel will terrorize them, for the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has laid out his plans against them.In that day five of Egypt’s cities will follow the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. They will even begin to speak Hebrew, the language of Canaan. One of these cities will be Heliopolis, the City of the Sun.In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the heart of Egypt, and there will be a monument to the Lord at its border.It will be a sign and a witness that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies is worshiped in the land of Egypt. When the people cry to the Lord for help against those who oppress them, he will send them a savior who will rescue them.The Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians. Yes, they will know the Lord and will give their sacrifices and offerings to him. They will make a vow to the Lord and will keep it.The Lord will strike Egypt, and then he will bring healing. For the Egyptians will turn to the Lord, and he will listen to their pleas and heal them.In that day Egypt and Assyria will be connected by a highway. The Egyptians and Assyrians will move freely between their lands, and they will both worship God.In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth.For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will say,“ Blessed be Egypt, my people. Blessed be Assyria, the land I have made. Blessed be Israel, my special possession!”
