Threaten the beast who is among the cattails, the herd of bulls with the calves of the nations, until it humbles itself with pieces of silver. Scatter the people who find joy in war.
Mourn, you shepherds, and cry. Roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock. The time has come for you to be slaughtered. The time has come for you to be scattered, and you will break like fine pottery.
Egypt’s hired soldiers are like fattened calves. They will turn and run away together. They won’t stand their ground. The day of destruction is coming. At that time they will be punished.
Kill all their young bulls. Let them go to be slaughtered. How horrible it will be for them when their time has come, the time for them to be punished.
“Son of man, this is what the Almighty Lord says: Tell every kind of bird and every wild animal, ‘Assemble, and come together from all around for the sacrifice that I’m preparing for you. It will be a huge feast on the mountains of Israel. You can eat meat and drink blood there.
You can eat the meat of warriors and drink the blood of the princes of the earth. All of them will be killed like rams, lambs, goats, bulls and all the best animals of Bashan.
The God who brought them out of Egypt has the strength of a wild bull. He will devour nations that are his enemies, crush their bones, and pierce them with arrows.
They will be as majestic as a firstborn bull. Their horns will be like the horns of a wild ox. They will use them to push away nations including those at the ends of the earth. The tens of thousands from the tribe of Ephraim and the thousands from the tribe of Manasseh will be like this.”