Judgment of Egypt

29 In the (A)tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Son of man, set your face against (B)Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all (C)Egypt. Speak and say, ‘This is what the Lord [a]God says:

“Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt,
The great [b](D)monster that lies in the midst of his [c]canals,
That (E)has said, ‘My Nile is mine, and I myself have made it.’
I will put (F)hooks in your jaws
And make the fish of your [d]canals cling to your scales.
And I will bring you up out of the midst of your [e]canals,
And all the fish of your [f]canals will cling to your scales.
I will (G)abandon you to the wilderness, you and all the fish of your [g]canals;
You will fall on the [h]open field; you will not be brought together or [i](H)gathered.
I have given you for (I)food to the animals of the earth and to the birds of the sky.
Then all the inhabitants of Egypt will know that I am the Lord,
Because they have been only a (J)staff made of reed to the house of Israel.
When they took hold of you with the hand,
You (K)broke and tore all their [j]hands;
And when they leaned on you,
You broke and made all their hips [k]shake.”

‘Therefore the Lord God says this: “Behold, I am going to (L)bring upon you a sword, and I will cut off from you human and animal life. The (M)land of Egypt will become a desolation and place of ruins. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

“Because [l]you (N)said, ‘The Nile is mine, and I have made it,’ 10 therefore, behold, I am (O)against you and against your [m]canals, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from Migdol to Syene and as far as the border of [n]Cush. 11 A human foot will (P)not pass through it, nor will the foot of an animal pass through it, and it will not be inhabited for forty years. 12 So I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the (Q)midst of deserted lands. And her cities, in the midst of cities that are laid waste, will be desolate for forty years; and I will (R)scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands.”

13 ‘For this is what the Lord God says: “At the end of forty years I will (S)gather the Egyptians from the peoples [o]among whom they were scattered. 14 And I will restore the fortunes of Egypt and bring them back to the land of (T)Pathros, to the land of their origin, and there they will be a lowly kingdom. 15 It will be the (U)lowest of the kingdoms, and it will not raise itself above the nations again. And I will make them small so that they will not (V)rule over the nations. 16 And it will no longer be a kingdom on which (W)the house of Israel relies, [p](X)bringing to mind the guilt of their having turned [q]to Egypt. Then they will know that I am the Lord God.”’”

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 29:3 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch
  2. Ezekiel 29:3 Heb tannim
  3. Ezekiel 29:3 Or Nile
  4. Ezekiel 29:4 Or Nile
  5. Ezekiel 29:4 Or Nile
  6. Ezekiel 29:4 Or Nile
  7. Ezekiel 29:5 Or Nile
  8. Ezekiel 29:5 Lit faces of the field
  9. Ezekiel 29:5 Or with several mss and Targum, buried
  10. Ezekiel 29:7 As in some ancient versions; MT shoulders
  11. Ezekiel 29:7 Cf. ancient versions; MT stand
  12. Ezekiel 29:9 As in ancient versions; MT he
  13. Ezekiel 29:10 Or Nile
  14. Ezekiel 29:10 Or Ethiopia
  15. Ezekiel 29:13 Lit where
  16. Ezekiel 29:16 Lit causing to remember
  17. Ezekiel 29:16 Lit after them

A Prophecy Against Egypt

Judgment on Pharaoh

29 In the tenth year, in the tenth month on the twelfth day, the word of the Lord came to me:(A) “Son of man, set your face against(B) Pharaoh king of Egypt(C) and prophesy against him and against all Egypt.(D) Speak to him and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘I am against you, Pharaoh(E) king of Egypt,
    you great monster(F) lying among your streams.
You say, “The Nile(G) belongs to me;
    I made it for myself.”
But I will put hooks(H) in your jaws
    and make the fish of your streams stick to your scales.
I will pull you out from among your streams,
    with all the fish sticking to your scales.(I)
I will leave you in the desert,
    you and all the fish of your streams.
You will fall on the open field
    and not be gathered(J) or picked up.
I will give you as food
    to the beasts of the earth and the birds of the sky.(K)

Then all who live in Egypt will know that I am the Lord.

“‘You have been a staff of reed(L) for the people of Israel. When they grasped you with their hands, you splintered(M) and you tore open their shoulders; when they leaned on you, you broke and their backs were wrenched.[a](N)

“‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will bring a sword against you and kill both man and beast.(O) Egypt will become a desolate wasteland. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

“‘Because you said, “The Nile(P) is mine; I made it,(Q) 10 therefore I am against you(R) and against your streams, and I will make the land of Egypt(S) a ruin and a desolate waste(T) from Migdol(U) to Aswan,(V) as far as the border of Cush.[b](W) 11 The foot of neither man nor beast will pass through it; no one will live there for forty years.(X) 12 I will make the land of Egypt desolate(Y) among devastated lands, and her cities will lie desolate forty years among ruined cities. And I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them through the countries.(Z)

13 “‘Yet this is what the Sovereign Lord says: At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the nations where they were scattered. 14 I will bring them back from captivity and return them to Upper Egypt,(AA) the land of their ancestry. There they will be a lowly(AB) kingdom.(AC) 15 It will be the lowliest of kingdoms and will never again exalt itself above the other nations.(AD) I will make it so weak that it will never again rule over the nations. 16 Egypt will no longer be a source of confidence(AE) for the people of Israel but will be a reminder(AF) of their sin in turning to her for help.(AG) Then they will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.(AH)’”

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 29:7 Syriac (see also Septuagint and Vulgate); Hebrew and you caused their backs to stand
  2. Ezekiel 29:10 That is, the upper Nile region