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Ezekiel 29
New Catholic Bible
Ezekiel 29
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 29
Against Egypt.[a] 1 In the tenth year, on the twelfth day of the tenth month, this word of the Lord came to me: 2 Son of man set your face against Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against the whole of Egypt. 3 Speak to him and say: Thus says the Lord:
Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh,
king of Egypt,
you great crocodile
lurking in the streams of the Nile,
you who claimed, “The Nile is mine;
it is I who made it.”
4 I will put hooks through your jaws
and cause the fish of your Nile
to stick to your scales.
Then I will draw you up
from the midst of its tributaries,
with all the fish of those channels
clinging to your scales.
5 I will fling you into the desert,
you and all the fish of your tributaries.
You will fall upon the open field
and not be taken up or buried.
I will give you as food
to the animals of the earth
and the birds of the air.
6 Then all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know
that I am the Lord.
The support they gave the Israelites
was no greater than a staff of reed.
7 When they grasped you,
you splintered in their hands.
Whenever they leaned on you, you broke,
causing all their limbs to give way.
8 Therefore, thus says the Lord God: I will bring a sword against you and cut off from your presence both man and animal. 9 The land of Egypt will become a desolate waste, and the inhabitants will know that I am the Lord.
Because you said, “The Nile is mine; I was the one who made it,” 10 therefore I am against you and your tributaries. I will make the land of Egypt a ruin and a desolate waste, from Migdol[b] to Syene, and even beyond to the frontiers of Ethiopia. 11 No human foot shall pass through it, nor shall any animal foot do so. It shall remain uninhabited for forty years. 12 I shall make Egypt the most desolate of countries, and its cities will be the most deserted of all those that have been laid waste for forty years. Moreover, I intend to scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them over foreign lands.
13 However, thus says the Lord God: After forty years have passed, I will gather the Egyptians back from the peoples among whom they were scattered. 14 I shall restore the fortunes of Egypt and resettle her people in the land of Pathros, the land of their origin, and there they will become a lowly kingdom.
15 Egypt will be the most insignificant of kingdoms and never again will exalt itself above the nations. I will make them few in number so that it will never again rule over the nations. 16 Egypt will no longer be a nation for the house of Israel to trust in, but will rather be for Israel a reminder of its guilt when they turned to Egypt for help. Thus they will know that I am the Lord God.
17 Nebuchadnezzar’s Payment. In the twenty-seventh year, on the first day of the first month, this word of the Lord came to me: 18 Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, has led his army in an exhausting campaign against Tyre. Everyone’s head was rubbed bare and the skin of every shoulder was raw, yet neither he nor his army derived any profit from the campaign he led against Tyre.
19 Therefore, thus says the Lord God: I now intend to hand over the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. He shall carry off its wealth, despoil and plunder it, and amass the wages for his army. 20 As regards payment for his toil, I have given him the land of Egypt because he and his army did it for me, says the Lord God.
21 On that day, I will make a horn sprout up for the house of Israel, and I will empower you to speak out in their midst. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 29:1 After being defeated at Carchemish in 605 B.C., Egypt was no longer able to support the small Syro-Palestinian states in an effective way against the growing power of Babylon (see 2 Ki 24:7). Despite this, and despite the repeated warnings of the prophet Jeremiah, the kings of Judah did not stop flirting with the pharaoh and calling on his army for help (see Jer 37:1-10). A bad choice, since Egypt had lost its rank as a great power, and the kings only draw down upon themselves the harsh vengeance of the king of Babylon (see 2 Ki 25:1f). Jeremiah (Jer 44:26f; 46) and Ezekiel (Ezek 16:26; 17:7; 23:3; 27:7; and the chapters that follow here) were keenly critical of this policy of alliance with Egypt. In these oracles, the irony is often bitter, but the poetry is splendid.
- Ezekiel 29:10 Migdol: a northern Egyptian city; Syene was in the far south.
Ezekiel 29
New International Version
Ezekiel 29
New International Version
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) 2 “Son of man, set your face against(B) Pharaoh king of Egypt(C) and prophesy against him and against all Egypt.(D) 3 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.”
4 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)
5 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)
6 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. 7 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)
8 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will bring a sword against you and kill both man and beast.(O) 9 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)’”
Nebuchadnezzar’s Reward
17 In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month on the first day, the word of the Lord came to me:(AI) 18 “Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar(AJ) king of Babylon drove his army in a hard campaign against Tyre; every head was rubbed bare(AK) and every shoulder made raw.(AL) Yet he and his army got no reward from the campaign he led against Tyre. 19 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am going to give Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king(AM) of Babylon, and he will carry off its wealth. He will loot and plunder(AN) the land as pay for his army.(AO) 20 I have given him Egypt(AP) as a reward for his efforts because he and his army did it for me, declares the Sovereign Lord.(AQ)
21 “On that day I will make a horn[c](AR) grow for the Israelites, and I will open your mouth(AS) among them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.(AT)”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 29:7 Syriac (see also Septuagint and Vulgate); Hebrew and you caused their backs to stand
- Ezekiel 29:10 That is, the upper Nile region
- Ezekiel 29:21 Horn here symbolizes strength.
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