1-5. God, the Master, spoke to me: “Son of man, preach. Give them the Message of God, the Master. Wail:“‘Doomsday!’Time’s up!God’s big day of judgment is near.Thick clouds are rolling in.It’s doomsday for the nations.Death will rain down on Egypt.Terror will paralyze EthiopiaWhen they see the Egyptians killed,their wealth hauled off,their foundations demolished,And Ethiopia, Put, Lud, Arabia, Libya—all of Egypt’s old allies—killed right along with them.
10-12. “‘God, the Master, says:“‘I’ll put a stop to Egypt’s arrogance.I’ll use Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to do it.He and his army, the most brutal of nations,shall be used to destroy the country.They’ll brandish their swordsand fill Egypt with corpses.I’ll dry up the Nileand sell off the land to a bunch of crooks.I’ll hire outsiders to come inand waste the country, strip it clean.I, God, have said so.