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Chapter 30

The Lord’s Vengeance on Egypt.This word of the Lord came to me: Son of man, prophesy, and say: Thus says the Lord God:

Cry out, “Alas for the day!”
For near is the day.
    The day of the Lord is near.
It will be a day of clouds,
    a day of reckoning for the nations.
The sword will fall on Egypt,
    and there will be anguish in Ethiopia
when the slain fall in Egypt,
    when her riches are seized
    and her foundations are destroyed.
Ethiopia and Put and Lud,
    and all Arabia and Lybia,
and the people of the covenant land
    will fall with them by the sword.

Thus says the Lord:

Those who support Egypt shall fall,
    and her proud strength will be brought low.
From Migdol to Syene,
    they shall fall by the sword,
    says the Lord God.
They will be the most desolate of desolate lands,
    and their cities will lie
    in the midst of ruined cities.
Then they will know that I am the Lord
    when I set fire to Egypt
    and all her helpers are crushed.

On that day, I will commission messengers to hasten forth by ship at my command to strike terror into the hearts of the complacent Ethiopians, and anguish will afflict them on the day of Egypt’s destruction, which is near at hand.

10 Thus says the Lord God:

I will put an end to the hordes of Egypt
    by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.
11 He and his armed forces,
    the most ruthless of the nations,
    will be brought in to ravage the land.
They shall draw their swords against Egypt,
    and the land will be covered with corpses.
12 I will dry up the channels of the Nile
    and sell the land to wicked men.
By the hand of foreigners
    the entire land and everything in it
    will be laid waste.
I, the Lord, have spoken.

13 Thus says the Lord God:

I will destroy the idols
    and put an end to the false gods in Memphis.
There will no longer be a prince in Egypt,
    and I will instill terror in that land.
14 I will make Pathros a place of desolation;
    I will set fire to Zoan
    and inflict my punishments on Thebes.
15 I will pour forth my wrath upon Pelusium,[a]
    the stronghold of Egypt,
    and destroy the hordes of Thebes.
16 I will set fire to Egypt;
    Syene shall writhe in agony.
Thebes shall be breached,
    and its walls shall be demolished.
17 The young men of On and Pi-beseth
    shall fall by the sword,
    and the cities themselves
shall be taken into captivity.
18 At Tahpanhes, the day will turn into darkness
    when I shatter the scepter of Egypt there,
    and its proud might shall come to an end.
Egypt will be covered with a cloud,
    and her villages will go into captivity.
19 These will be the punishments I inflict upon Egypt.
    Then they will know that I am the Lord.

20 Pharaoh’s Broken Arm. In the eleventh year, on the seventh day of the first month, this word of the Lord came to me: 21 Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. As you can see, it has not been bound up for healing or wrapped with a bandage to make it strong enough to wield a sword.

22 Therefore, thus says the Lord God: I am prepared to move against Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. I will break his arms, both the uninjured one and the one that was broken, and make the sword fall from his hand. 23 I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them throughout the lands. 24 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put my sword in his hand. However, I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will lie wounded and groaning before him like a dying man.

25 I will strengthen even more the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fall. Then they shall know that I am the Lord, when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon for him to wield against the land of Egypt. 26 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them in foreign countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 30:15 Pelusium: Hebrew, “Sin,” a fortress on the northeastern border of Egypt.

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