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Jeremiah 43:10-13
Then tell them,‘ The LORD God of Israel who rules over all says,“ I will bring my servant King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I will set his throne over these stones which I have buried. He will pitch his royal tent over them.He will come and attack Egypt. Those who are destined to die of disease will die of disease. Those who are destined to be carried off into exile will be carried off into exile. Those who are destined to die in war will die in war.He will set fire to the temples of the gods of Egypt. He will burn their gods or carry them off as captives. He will pick Egypt clean like a shepherd picks the lice from his clothing. He will leave there unharmed.He will demolish the sacred pillars in the temple of the sun in Egypt and will burn down the temples of the gods of Egypt.”’”
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Jeremiah 44:30
I, the LORD, promise that I will hand Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt over to his enemies who are seeking to kill him. I will do that just as surely as I handed King Zedekiah of Judah over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, his enemy who was seeking to kill him.’”
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Isaiah 29:1-24
Ariel is as good as dead– Ariel, the town David besieged! Keep observing your annual rituals, celebrate your festivals on schedule.I will threaten Ariel, and she will mourn intensely and become like an altar hearth before me.I will lay siege to you on all sides; I will besiege you with troops; I will raise siege works against you.You will fall; while lying on the ground you will speak; from the dust where you lie, your words will be heard. Your voice will sound like a spirit speaking from the underworld; from the dust you will chirp as if muttering an incantation.But the horde of invaders will be like fine dust, the horde of tyrants like chaff that is blown away. It will happen suddenly, in a flash.Judgment will come from the LORD who commands armies, accompanied by thunder, earthquake, and a loud noise, by a strong gale, a windstorm, and a consuming flame of fire.It will be like a dream, a night vision. There will be a horde from all the nations that fight against Ariel, those who attack her and her stronghold and besiege her.It will be like a hungry man dreaming that he is eating, only to awaken and find that his stomach is empty. It will be like a thirsty man dreaming that he is drinking, only to awaken and find that he is still weak and his thirst unquenched. So it will be for the horde from all the nations that fight against Mount Zion.You will be shocked and amazed! You are totally blind! They are drunk, but not because of wine; they stagger, but not because of beer.For the LORD has poured out on you a strong urge to sleep deeply. He has shut your eyes( the prophets), and covered your heads( the seers).To you this entire prophetic revelation is like words in a sealed scroll. When they hand it to one who can read and say,“ Read this,” he responds,“ I can’t, because it is sealed.”Or when they hand the scroll to one who can’t read and say,“ Read this,” he says,“ I can’t read.”The sovereign master says,“ These people say they are loyal to me; they say wonderful things about me, but they are not really loyal to me. Their worship consists of nothing but man- made ritual.Therefore I will again do an amazing thing for these people– an absolutely extraordinary deed. Wise men will have nothing to say, the sages will have no explanations.”Those who try to hide their plans from the LORD are as good as dead, who do their work in secret and boast,“ Who sees us? Who knows what we’re doing?”Your thinking is perverse! Should the potter be regarded as clay? Should the thing made say about its maker,“ He didn’t make me”? Or should the pottery say about the potter,“ He doesn’t understand”?In just a very short time Lebanon will turn into an orchard, and the orchard will be considered a forest.At that time the deaf will be able to hear words read from a scroll, and the eyes of the blind will be able to see through deep darkness.The downtrodden will again rejoice in the LORD; the poor among humankind will take delight in the Holy One of Israel.For tyrants will disappear, those who taunt will vanish, and all those who love to do wrong will be eliminated–those who bear false testimony against a person, who entrap the one who arbitrates at the city gate and deprive the innocent of justice by making false charges.So this is what the LORD, the one who delivered Abraham, says to the family of Jacob:“ Jacob will no longer be ashamed; their faces will no longer show their embarrassment.For when they see their children, whom I will produce among them, they will honor my name. They will honor the Holy One of Jacob; they will respect the God of Israel.Those who stray morally will gain understanding; those who complain will acquire insight.
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Isaiah 19:1-25
Here is a message about Egypt: Look, the Lord rides on a swift- moving cloud and approaches Egypt. The idols of Egypt tremble before him; the Egyptians lose their courage.“ I will provoke civil strife in Egypt, brothers will fight with each other, as will neighbors, cities, and kingdoms.The Egyptians will panic, and I will confuse their strategy. They will seek guidance from the idols and from the spirits of the dead, from the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, and from the magicians.I will hand Egypt over to a harsh master; a powerful king will rule over them,” says the sovereign master, the LORD who commands armies.The water of the sea will be dried up, and the river will dry up and be empty.The canals will stink; the streams of Egypt will trickle and then dry up; the bulrushes and reeds will decay,along with the plants by the mouth of the river. All the cultivated land near the river will turn to dust and be blown away.The fishermen will mourn and lament, all those who cast a fishhook into the river, and those who spread out a net on the water’s surface will grieve.Those who make clothes from combed flax will be embarrassed; those who weave will turn pale.Those who make cloth will be demoralized; all the hired workers will be depressed.The officials of Zoan are nothing but fools; Pharaoh’s wise advisers give stupid advice. How dare you say to Pharaoh,“ I am one of the sages, one well-versed in the writings of the ancient kings?”But where, oh where, are your wise men? Let them tell you, let them find out what the LORD who commands armies has planned for Egypt.The officials of Zoan are fools, the officials of Memphis are misled; the rulers of her tribes lead Egypt astray.The LORD has made them undiscerning; they lead Egypt astray in all she does, so that she is like a drunk sliding around in his own vomit.Egypt will not be able to do a thing, head or tail, shoots and stalk.At that time the Egyptians will be like women. They will tremble and fear because the LORD who commands armies brandishes his fist against them.The land of Judah will humiliate Egypt. Everyone who hears about Judah will be afraid because of what the LORD who commands armies is planning to do to them.At that time five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the LORD who commands armies. One will be called the City of the Sun.At that time there will be an altar for the LORD in the middle of the land of Egypt, as well as a sacred pillar dedicated to the LORD at its border.It will become a visual reminder in the land of Egypt of the LORD who commands armies. When they cry out to the LORD because of oppressors, he will send them a deliverer and defender who will rescue them.The LORD will reveal himself to the Egyptians, and they will acknowledge the LORD’s authority at that time. They will present sacrifices and offerings; they will make vows to the LORD and fulfill them.The LORD will strike Egypt, striking and then healing them. They will turn to the LORD and he will listen to their prayers and heal them.At that time there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will visit Egypt, and the Egyptians will visit Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together.At that time Israel will be the third member of the group, along with Egypt and Assyria, and will be a recipient of blessing in the earth.The LORD who commands armies will pronounce a blessing over the earth, saying,“ Blessed be my people, Egypt, and the work of my hands, Assyria, and my special possession, Israel!”