Now, look! When you trust Egypt, you’re trusting a broken stick for a staff. If you lean on it, it stabs your hand and goes through it. This is what Pharaoh (the king of Egypt) is like for everyone who trusts him.
Pharaoh Necoh made him a prisoner at Riblah in the territory of Hamath during his reign in Jerusalem and fined the country 7,500 pounds of silver and 75 pounds of gold.
The leaders of Zoan are acting foolishly. The leaders of Memphis are led astray. The leaders who are the cornerstones of its tribes mislead the Egyptians.
We have rebelled and denied the Lord. We have turned away from our God. We have spoken about oppression and revolt. We have conceived and uttered lies in our hearts.
It will sweep through Judah. It will overflow and pass through; it will be neck-high. Its outspread wings will extend over your whole country, O Immanuel.
“Tell this in Egypt; announce this in Migdol. Make it known in Memphis and in Tahpanhes. Say, ‘Take your positions, and get ready. Swords will kill those around you.’
Pack your bags, inhabitants of Egypt, because you will be taken away as captives. Memphis will become a dreary wasteland, a pile of rubble where no one lives.
“Those who flee will stand exhausted in the shadow of Heshbon. A fire will come out of Heshbon and a flame from Sihon. It will burn the foreheads of the people of Moab and the skulls of those noisy people.
“ ‘This is what the Almighty Lord says: I will destroy the statues and put an end to the idols in Memphis. A prince will never rise again in Egypt. I will spread fear throughout Egypt.
Even if they escape without being destroyed, Egypt will capture them and Memphis will bury them. Weeds will grow over their silver treasures. Thorns will grow over their tents.
About the tribe of Gad he said, “Blessed is the one who gives the people of Gad more land. They wait there like a lion. They can tear off an arm or a head.
