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Lamentation for Egypt

30 The word of the Lord came to me: Mortal, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord God:

Wail, ‘Alas for the day!’
    For a day is near,
    the day of the Lord is near;
it will be a day of clouds,
    a time of doom[a] for the nations.
A sword shall come upon Egypt,
    and anguish shall be in Ethiopia,[b]
when the slain fall in Egypt,
    and its wealth is carried away,
    and its foundations are torn down.

Ethiopia,[c] and Put, and Lud, and all Arabia, and Libya,[d] and the people of the allied land[e] shall fall with them by the sword.

Thus says the Lord:
Those who support Egypt shall fall,
    and its proud might shall come down;
from Migdol to Syene
    they shall fall within it by the sword,
says the Lord God.
They shall be desolated among other desolated countries,
    and their cities shall lie among cities laid waste.
Then they shall know that I am the Lord,
    when I have set fire to Egypt,
    and all who help it are broken.

On that day, messengers shall go out from me in ships to terrify the unsuspecting Ethiopians;[f] and anguish shall come upon them on the day of Egypt’s doom;[g] for it is coming!

10 Thus says the Lord God:

I will put an end to the hordes of Egypt,
    by the hand of King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon.
11 He and his people with him, the most terrible of the nations,
    shall be brought in to destroy the land;
and they shall draw their swords against Egypt,
    and fill the land with the slain.
12 I will dry up the channels,
    and will sell the land into the hand of evildoers;
I will bring desolation upon the land and everything in it
    by the hand of foreigners;
I the Lord have spoken.

13 Thus says the Lord God:

I will destroy the idols
    and put an end to the images in Memphis;
there shall no longer be a prince in the land of Egypt;
    so I will put fear in the land of Egypt.
14 I will make Pathros a desolation,
    and will set fire to Zoan,
    and will execute acts of judgement on Thebes.
15 I will pour my wrath upon Pelusium,
    the stronghold of Egypt,
    and cut off the hordes of Thebes.
16 I will set fire to Egypt;
    Pelusium shall be in great agony;
Thebes shall be breached,
    and Memphis face adversaries by day.
17 The young men of On and of Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword;
    and the cities themselves[h] shall go into captivity.
18 At Tehaphnehes the day shall be dark,
    when I break there the dominion of Egypt,
and its proud might shall come to an end;
    the city[i] shall be covered by a cloud,
    and its daughter-towns shall go into captivity.
19 Thus I will execute acts of judgement on Egypt.
    Then they shall know that I am the Lord.

Proclamation against Pharaoh

20 In the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 21 Mortal, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; it has not been bound up for healing or wrapped with a bandage, so that it may become strong to wield the sword. 22 Therefore, thus says the Lord God: I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms, both the strong arm and the one that was broken; and I will make the sword fall from his hand. 23 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them throughout the lands. 24 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and put my sword in his hand; but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before him with the groans of one mortally wounded. 25 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall. And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon. He shall stretch it out against the land of Egypt, 26 and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 30:3 Heb lacks of doom
  2. Ezekiel 30:4 Or Nubia; Heb Cush
  3. Ezekiel 30:5 Or Nubia; Heb Cush
  4. Ezekiel 30:5 Compare Gk Syr Vg: Heb Cub
  5. Ezekiel 30:5 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  6. Ezekiel 30:9 Or Nubians; Heb Cush
  7. Ezekiel 30:9 Heb the day of Egypt
  8. Ezekiel 30:17 Heb and they
  9. Ezekiel 30:18 Heb she

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