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Proverbs 22

Amplified Bible, 2015 (AMP)

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¹ The fishermen will lament (cry out in grief), And all those who cast a hook into the Nile will mourn, And those who spread nets upon the waters will languish.

² Moreover, those who make linen from combed flax And those who weave white cloth will be ashamed.

³ [Those who are] the pillars and foundations of Egypt will be crushed; And all those who work for wages will be grieved in soul.

⁴ The princes of[2] Zoan are complete fools; The counsel of the Pharaoh's wisest advisors has become stupid. How can you say to Pharaoh, "I am a son of the wise, a son of ancient kings?"

⁵ Where then are your wise men? Please let them tell you, And let them understand what the LORD of hosts Has purposed against Egypt [if they can].

⁶ The princes of Zoan have acted like fools, The princes of Memphis are deluded [and entertain false hope]; Those who are the cornerstone of her tribes Have led Egypt astray.

⁷ The LORD has mixed a spirit of distortion within her; Her leaders have caused Egypt to stagger in all that she does, As a drunken man staggers in his vomit.

⁸ There will be no work for Egypt Which head or tail, [high] palm branch or [low] bulrush, may do.

⁹ In that day the Egyptians will become like [helpless] women, and they will tremble and be frightened because of the waving of the hand of the LORD of hosts, which He is going to wave over them.

¹⁰ The land of Judah [Assyria's ally] will become a terror to the Egyptians; everyone to whom Judah is mentioned will be in dread of it, because of the purpose of the LORD of hosts which He is planning against Egypt.

¹¹ In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of [the Hebrews of] Canaan and swear allegiance to the LORD of hosts. One [of them] will be called the City of[3] Destruction.

¹² In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a memorial stone to the LORD near its border.

¹³ It will become a sign and a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the LORD because of oppressors, and He will send them a Savior, a [Great] Defender, and He will rescue them.

¹⁴ And so the LORD will make Himself known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know [heed, honor, and cherish] the LORD in that day. They will even worship with sacrifices [of animals] and offerings [of produce]; they will make a vow to the LORD and fulfill it.

¹⁵ The LORD will strike Egypt, striking but healing it; so they will return to the LORD, and He will respond to them and heal them.

¹⁶ In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrians will come into Egypt and the Egyptians into Assyria; and the Egyptians will worship and serve [the LORD] with the Assyrians.

¹⁷ In that day Israel will be the third party with Egypt and with Assyria [in a Messianic league], a blessing in the midst of the earth,

¹⁸ whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, saying, "Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My heritage."

¹⁹ In the year that the Tartan [the Assyrian commander in chief] came to Ashdod [in Philistia], when Sargon king of Assyria sent him and he fought against Ashdod and captured it,

²⁰ at that time the LORD spoke through Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, "Go, untie the[1] sackcloth from your hips and take your sandals off your feet." And he did so, walking around[2] stripped [to his loincloth] and barefoot.

²¹ And the LORD said, "Even as My servant Isaiah has walked[3] stripped and barefoot for three years as a sign and forewarning concerning Egypt and Cush (Ethiopia),

²² in the same way the king of Assyria will lead away the Egyptian captives and the Cushite exiles, young and old, stripped and barefoot, even with buttocks uncovered—to the[4] shame of Egypt.

²³ Then they will be dismayed and ashamed because of Cush their hope and Egypt their boast.

²⁴ So the inhabitants of this coastland [the Israelites and their neighbors] will say in that day, 'Look what has happened to those in whom we hoped and trusted and to whom we fled for help to be spared from the king of Assyria! But we, how will we escape [captivity and exile]?'"

²⁵ The [mournful, inspired] oracle ([1] a burden to be carried) concerning the Desert of the[2] Sea (the seasonally flooded plains just south of Babylon): As windstorms in the Negev (the South) sweep through, So it (God's judgment) comes from the desert, from [the hostile armies of] a terrifying land.

²⁶ A harsh vision has been shown to me; The treacherous one deals treacherously, and the destroyer destroys. Go up, Elam! Lay siege, Media! All the groaning [caused by Babylon's ruthless oppressions] I [the LORD] have brought to an end.

²⁷ Therefore [continues Isaiah] my loins are filled with anguish; Pains have seized me like the pains of a woman in childbirth; I am so bent and bewildered that I cannot hear, I am so terrified that I cannot see.

²⁸ My mind reels, horror overwhelms me; The twilight I longed for has been[3] turned into fear and trembling for me.

²⁹ They set the table [for the doomed banquet], they spread out the cloth, they eat, they drink; "Rise up, captains [of Belshazzar's court], oil your shields [for battle, for your enemy is at the gates]!"

#	AMP
1	The fishermen will lament (cry out in grief), And all those who cast a hook into the Nile will mourn, And those who spread nets upon the waters will languish.
2	Moreover, those who make linen from combed flax And those who weave white cloth will be ashamed.
3	[Those who are] the pillars and foundations of Egypt will be crushed; And all those who work for wages will be grieved in soul.
4	The princes of[2] Zoan are complete fools; The counsel of the Pharaoh's wisest advisors has become stupid. How can you say to Pharaoh, "I am a son of the wise, a son of ancient kings?"
5	Where then are your wise men? Please let them tell you, And let them understand what the LORD of hosts Has purposed against Egypt [if they can].
6	The princes of Zoan have acted like fools, The princes of Memphis are deluded [and entertain false hope]; Those who are the cornerstone of her tribes Have led Egypt astray.
7	The LORD has mixed a spirit of distortion within her; Her leaders have caused Egypt to stagger in all that she does, As a drunken man staggers in his vomit.
8	There will be no work for Egypt Which head or tail, [high] palm branch or [low] bulrush, may do.
9	In that day the Egyptians will become like [helpless] women, and they will tremble and be frightened because of the waving of the hand of the LORD of hosts, which He is going to wave over them.
10	The land of Judah [Assyria's ally] will become a terror to the Egyptians; everyone to whom Judah is mentioned will be in dread of it, because of the purpose of the LORD of hosts which He is planning against Egypt.
11	In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of [the Hebrews of] Canaan and swear allegiance to the LORD of hosts. One [of them] will be called the City of[3] Destruction.
12	In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a memorial stone to the LORD near its border.
13	It will become a sign and a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the LORD because of oppressors, and He will send them a Savior, a [Great] Defender, and He will rescue them.
14	And so the LORD will make Himself known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know [heed, honor, and cherish] the LORD in that day. They will even worship with sacrifices [of animals] and offerings [of produce]; they will make a vow to the LORD and fulfill it.
15	The LORD will strike Egypt, striking but healing it; so they will return to the LORD, and He will respond to them and heal them.
16	In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrians will come into Egypt and the Egyptians into Assyria; and the Egyptians will worship and serve [the LORD] with the Assyrians.
17	In that day Israel will be the third party with Egypt and with Assyria [in a Messianic league], a blessing in the midst of the earth,
18	whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, saying, "Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My heritage."
19	In the year that the Tartan [the Assyrian commander in chief] came to Ashdod [in Philistia], when Sargon king of Assyria sent him and he fought against Ashdod and captured it,
20	at that time the LORD spoke through Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, "Go, untie the[1] sackcloth from your hips and take your sandals off your feet." And he did so, walking around[2] stripped [to his loincloth] and barefoot.
21	And the LORD said, "Even as My servant Isaiah has walked[3] stripped and barefoot for three years as a sign and forewarning concerning Egypt and Cush (Ethiopia),
22	in the same way the king of Assyria will lead away the Egyptian captives and the Cushite exiles, young and old, stripped and barefoot, even with buttocks uncovered—to the[4] shame of Egypt.
23	Then they will be dismayed and ashamed because of Cush their hope and Egypt their boast.
24	So the inhabitants of this coastland [the Israelites and their neighbors] will say in that day, 'Look what has happened to those in whom we hoped and trusted and to whom we fled for help to be spared from the king of Assyria! But we, how will we escape [captivity and exile]?'"
25	The [mournful, inspired] oracle ([1] a burden to be carried) concerning the Desert of the[2] Sea (the seasonally flooded plains just south of Babylon): As windstorms in the Negev (the South) sweep through, So it (God's judgment) comes from the desert, from [the hostile armies of] a terrifying land.
26	A harsh vision has been shown to me; The treacherous one deals treacherously, and the destroyer destroys. Go up, Elam! Lay siege, Media! All the groaning [caused by Babylon's ruthless oppressions] I [the LORD] have brought to an end.
27	Therefore [continues Isaiah] my loins are filled with anguish; Pains have seized me like the pains of a woman in childbirth; I am so bent and bewildered that I cannot hear, I am so terrified that I cannot see.
28	My mind reels, horror overwhelms me; The twilight I longed for has been[3] turned into fear and trembling for me.
29	They set the table [for the doomed banquet], they spread out the cloth, they eat, they drink; "Rise up, captains [of Belshazzar's court], oil your shields [for battle, for your enemy is at the gates]!"

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