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The Day of the Lord

30 Another message came to me from the Lord, who had this to say:

“Son of Man, here’s what you are to prophesy and announce,

‘This is what the Lord God says:

“Wail out loud!
    Oh no! The day!

For comes now the day—
    comes now the Day of the Lord,
the day of clouds!
    The time of the gentiles[a] is fulfilled![b]

War[c] will come to Egypt,
    and Ethiopia will be in anguish
when the slain fall in Egypt,
    when her wealth is carried off,
        and her foundations are demolished.

“Ethiopia,[d] Libya,[e] descendants of[f] Lud,[g] all those who have mixed themselves,[h] and Libya[i]—along with everyone in the land of Israel who is in league[j] with them—will die violently.”’”[k]

Continued Judgment on Egypt

“This is what the Lord says:

‘Those who are supporting Egypt will fall;
    her majestic strength that she brought[l] from the Aswan[m] fortress will collapse
        by the sword that invades her,’
declares the Lord God.

They’ll remain desolate among desolate lands,
    their cities will be named among those that are ruined.
They will know that I am the Lord
    when I kindle my fire in Egypt
        and all who help her are crushed.

‘When that happens, couriers will go out in ships to terrify Ethiopia[n] in its complacency. Anguish will visit them as it will visit Egypt. Watch out! It’s coming!’”

Foreigners will Invade Egypt

10 “This is what the Lord says:

‘I’m putting an end to that gang from Egypt,
    and I’m going to use King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, to do it!
11 He and his ruthless army with him will be brought
    to destroy the land.
They’ll draw their swords and attack[o] Egypt,
    filling the land with the dead!
12 I’ll dry up their waterways,
    and evil men will sell off the land.
I’m going to make that land desolate,
    along with everything that’s in it,
and I’m going to use foreigners to do it.
    I, the Lord have spoken!’”

Destruction of Egypt’s Gods

13 “This is what the Lord God says:

‘I will destroy the idols
    and put an end to the images that come from Memphis.
There will no longer be a prince from the land of Egypt,
    and I will terrify the land of Egypt.
14 I’m going to turn Pathros into a desolation,
    set fire to Zoan,[p]
        and judge Thebes.[q]
15 I’ll pour out my anger on Sin,[r]
    Egypt’s strong fortress,
        and I’ll eliminate the gangs in Thebes.
16 I’ll set fire to Egypt,
    and Aswan[s] will writhe in agony.
Thebes will be demolished,
    and Memphis will face daily distress.
17 The young men of On and Pi-beseth will die violently,[t]
    and their cities will be taken captive.
18 It will be a dark day for Tahpanhes
    when I break the yokes of Egypt.
That’s when her arrogant power will come to an end.
    She’ll be covered by a cloud,
        and her citizens[u] will go into captivity.
19 I will judge Egypt,
    and they will learn that I am the Lord.’”

Babylon’s Victory

20 On the seventh day of the first month of the eleventh year of our captivity,[v] a message came to me from the Lord. It had this to say: 21 “Son of Man, I’ve broken the arm of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Look! It hasn’t been set in a splint for healing or wrapped with a bandage so it could be strong enough to hold a sword! 22 Therefore this is what the Lord God says:

‘I’m coming to attack Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and I’m going to break both of his arms, the strong one and the wounded one. That will make him drop his sword. 23 I’m going to scatter Egypt throughout the surrounding[w] nations and disperse them throughout the world. 24 I’m going to strengthen the military might[x] of the king of Babylon, put my own sword in his hand, and break Pharaoh’s strength.[y] Then Pharaoh[z] will groan like a dying man right in front of the king of Babylon.[aa] 25 When I strengthen the military might of Babylon, the military might of Pharaoh will fail, and then they will learn that I am the Lord when I place my own sword in the hand of the king of Babylon. He will attack the land of Egypt. 26 When I scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the world, they will learn that I am the Lord.’”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 30:3 Or nations
  2. Ezekiel 30:3 Or gentiles shall come to pass; or It shall be the time of judgment for the gentiles
  3. Ezekiel 30:4 Lit. The sword
  4. Ezekiel 30:5 Lit. Cush; the Heb. name means black
  5. Ezekiel 30:5 Lit. Put; the Heb. name means bow
  6. Ezekiel 30:5 The Heb. lacks descendants of
  7. Ezekiel 30:5 I.e., the fourth son of Shem, progenitor of the Lydians. The Heb. name Lud means strife.
  8. Ezekiel 30:5 So LXX; cf. Dan 2:43; MT reads all the twilight
  9. Ezekiel 30:5 Lit. Chub; the Heb. means horde
  10. Ezekiel 30:5 Or who have joined in a covenant
  11. Ezekiel 30:5 Lit. will fall by the sword
  12. Ezekiel 30:6 The Heb. lacks that she brought
  13. Ezekiel 30:6 Lit. Syene, an Egyptian frontier town near the southern border with Ethiopia
  14. Ezekiel 30:9 Lit. Cush; the Heb. name means black
  15. Ezekiel 30:11 Lit. swords against
  16. Ezekiel 30:14 I.e. the residence city of Egypt’s Pharaoh at the time of the exodus (c. 1440 BCE)
  17. Ezekiel 30:14 Lit. No; i.e. the ancient capital of Egypt
  18. Ezekiel 30:15 So MT; LXX reads Sain; i.e. Pelusium, a fortified city on Egypt’s northeastern border
  19. Ezekiel 30:16 LXX reads Syene, an Egyptian frontier town near the southern border with Ethiopia; MT reads Sin
  20. Ezekiel 30:17 Lit. will fall by the sword
  21. Ezekiel 30:18 Lit. daughters
  22. Ezekiel 30:20 The Heb. lacks of our captivity
  23. Ezekiel 30:23 The Heb. lacks surrounding
  24. Ezekiel 30:24 Lit. the arm
  25. Ezekiel 30:24 Lit. arms
  26. Ezekiel 30:24 Lit. he
  27. Ezekiel 30:24 Lit. of him

A Lament Over Egypt

30 The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, prophesy and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘Wail(A) and say,
    “Alas for that day!”
For the day is near,(B)
    the day of the Lord(C) is near—
a day of clouds,
    a time of doom for the nations.
A sword will come against Egypt,(D)
    and anguish will come upon Cush.[a](E)
When the slain fall in Egypt,
    her wealth will be carried away
    and her foundations torn down.(F)

Cush and Libya,(G) Lydia and all Arabia,(H) Kub and the people(I) of the covenant land will fall by the sword along with Egypt.(J)

“‘This is what the Lord says:

“‘The allies of Egypt will fall
    and her proud strength will fail.
From Migdol to Aswan(K)
    they will fall by the sword within her,
declares the Sovereign Lord.
“‘They will be desolate
    among desolate lands,
and their cities will lie
    among ruined cities.(L)
Then they will know that I am the Lord,
    when I set fire(M) to Egypt
    and all her helpers are crushed.(N)

“‘On that day messengers will go out from me in ships to frighten Cush(O) out of her complacency. Anguish(P) will take hold of them on the day of Egypt’s doom, for it is sure to come.(Q)

10 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘I will put an end to the hordes of Egypt
    by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar(R) king of Babylon.(S)
11 He and his army—the most ruthless of nations(T)
    will be brought in to destroy the land.
They will draw their swords against Egypt
    and fill the land with the slain.(U)
12 I will dry up(V) the waters of the Nile(W)
    and sell the land to an evil nation;
by the hand of foreigners
    I will lay waste(X) the land and everything in it.

I the Lord have spoken.

13 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘I will destroy the idols(Y)
    and put an end to the images in Memphis.(Z)
No longer will there be a prince in Egypt,(AA)
    and I will spread fear throughout the land.
14 I will lay(AB) waste Upper Egypt,
    set fire to Zoan(AC)
    and inflict punishment on Thebes.(AD)
15 I will pour out my wrath on Pelusium,
    the stronghold of Egypt,
    and wipe out the hordes of Thebes.
16 I will set fire(AE) to Egypt;
    Pelusium will writhe in agony.
Thebes will be taken by storm;
    Memphis(AF) will be in constant distress.
17 The young men of Heliopolis(AG) and Bubastis
    will fall by the sword,
    and the cities themselves will go into captivity.
18 Dark will be the day at Tahpanhes(AH)
    when I break the yoke of Egypt;(AI)
    there her proud strength will come to an end.
She will be covered with clouds,
    and her villages will go into captivity.(AJ)
19 So I will inflict punishment(AK) on Egypt,
    and they will know that I am the Lord.’”

Pharaoh’s Arms Are Broken

20 In the eleventh year, in the first month on the seventh day, the word of the Lord came to me:(AL) 21 “Son of man, I have broken the arm(AM) of Pharaoh(AN) king of Egypt. It has not been bound up to be healed(AO) or put in a splint so that it may become strong enough to hold a sword. 22 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt.(AP) I will break both his arms, the good arm as well as the broken one, and make the sword fall from his hand.(AQ) 23 I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them through the countries.(AR) 24 I will strengthen(AS) the arms of the king of Babylon and put my sword(AT) in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan(AU) before him like a mortally wounded man. 25 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fall limp. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I put my sword(AV) into the hand of the king of Babylon and he brandishes it against Egypt.(AW) 26 I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them through the countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord.(AX)

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 30:4 That is, the upper Nile region; also in verses 5 and 9