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Egypt and Her Allies Will Fall

30 The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God:

(A)“Wail, ‘Woe to the day!’
For (B)the day is near,
Even the day of the Lord is near;
It will be a day of clouds, the time of the Gentiles.
The sword shall come upon Egypt,
And great anguish shall be in [a]Ethiopia,
When the slain fall in Egypt,
And they (C)take away her wealth,
And (D)her foundations are broken down.

“Ethiopia, [b]Libya, [c]Lydia, (E)all the mingled people, Chub, and the men of the lands who are allied, shall fall with them by the sword.”

‘Thus says the Lord:

“Those who uphold Egypt shall fall,
And the pride of her power shall come down.
(F)From [d]Migdol to Syene
Those within her shall fall by the sword,”
Says the Lord God.

“They(G) shall be desolate in the midst of the desolate countries,
And her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are laid waste.
Then they will know that I am the Lord,
When I have set a fire in Egypt
And all her helpers are destroyed.
On that day (H)messengers shall go forth from Me in ships
To make the [e]careless Ethiopians afraid,
And great anguish shall come upon them,
As on the day of Egypt;
For indeed it is coming!”

10 ‘Thus says the Lord God:

(I)“I will also make a multitude of Egypt to cease
By the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
11 He and his people with him, (J)the most terrible of the nations,
Shall be brought to destroy the land;
They shall draw their swords against Egypt,
And fill the land with the slain.
12 (K)I will make the rivers dry,
And (L)sell the land into the hand of the wicked;
I will make the land waste, and all that is in it,
By the hand of aliens.
I, the Lord, have spoken.”

13 ‘Thus says the Lord God:

“I will also (M)destroy the idols,
And cause the images to cease from [f]Noph;
(N)There shall no longer be princes from the land of Egypt;
(O)I will put fear in the land of Egypt.
14 I will make (P)Pathros desolate,
Set fire to (Q)Zoan,
(R)And execute judgments in [g]No.
15 I will pour My fury on [h]Sin, the strength of Egypt;
(S)I will cut off the multitude of [i]No,
16 And (T)set a fire in Egypt;
Sin shall have great pain,
No shall be split open,
And Noph shall be in distress daily.
17 The young men of [j]Aven and Pi Beseth shall fall by the sword,
And these cities shall go into captivity.
18 (U)At [k]Tehaphnehes the day shall also be [l]darkened,
When I break the yokes of Egypt there.
And her arrogant strength shall cease in her;
As for her, a cloud shall cover her,
And her daughters shall go into captivity.
19 Thus I will (V)execute judgments on Egypt,
Then they shall know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”

Proclamation Against Pharaoh

20 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 21 “Son of man, I have (W)broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and see, (X)it has not been bandaged for healing, nor a [m]splint put on to bind it, to make it strong enough to hold a sword. 22 Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Surely I am (Y)against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will (Z)break his arms, both the strong one and the one that was broken; and I will make the sword fall out of his hand. 23 (AA)I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them throughout the countries. 24 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put My sword in his hand; but I will break Pharaoh’s arms, and he will groan before him with the groanings of a mortally wounded man. 25 Thus I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; (AB)they shall know that I am the Lord, when I put My sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt. 26 (AC)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 30:4 Heb. Cush
  2. Ezekiel 30:5 Heb. Put
  3. Ezekiel 30:5 Heb. Lud
  4. Ezekiel 30:6 Or the tower
  5. Ezekiel 30:9 Or secure
  6. Ezekiel 30:13 Ancient Memphis
  7. Ezekiel 30:14 Ancient Thebes
  8. Ezekiel 30:15 Ancient Pelusium
  9. Ezekiel 30:15 Ancient Thebes
  10. Ezekiel 30:17 Ancient On, Heliopolis
  11. Ezekiel 30:18 Tahpanhes, Jer. 43:7
  12. Ezekiel 30:18 So with many Heb. mss., Bg., LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg.; MT refrained
  13. Ezekiel 30:21 Lit. bandage

Grief over Egypt

30 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord [a]God says:

(A)Wail, ‘Woe for the day!’
For the day is near,
Indeed, (B)the day of the Lord is near;
It will be a day of (C)clouds,
A time of doom for the nations.
A sword will come upon Egypt,
And there will be trembling in [b]Cush;
When the slain fall in Egypt,
They will (D)take away her [c]wealth,
And her foundations will be torn down.

[d]Cush, Put, Lud, all [e](E)Arabia, [f]Libya and the [g]people of the land [h]that is in league will fall with them by the sword.”

‘This is what the Lord says:
“Indeed, those who support (F)Egypt will fall
And the pride of her power will come down;
From Migdol to Syene
They will fall within her by the sword,”
Declares the Lord God.
“They will be desolate
In the (G)midst of the desolated lands;
And her cities will be
In the midst of the devastated cities.
And they will (H)know that I am the Lord,
When I set a (I)fire in Egypt
And all her helpers are broken.

On that day (J)messengers will go out from Me in ships to frighten (K)carefree [i]Cush; and (L)trembling will come on them as on the day of Egypt; for behold, it is coming!”

10 ‘This is what the Lord God says:

(M)I will also make the [j]hordes of Egypt cease
By the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
11 He and his people with him,
(N)The most ruthless of the nations,
Will be brought in to destroy the land;
And they will draw their swords against Egypt
And fill the land with the slain.
12 Moreover, I will make the (O)Nile canals dry
And (P)sell the land into the hands of evil men.
And I will make the land desolate
And [k]all that is in it,
By the hand of strangers; I the Lord have spoken.”

13 ‘This is what the Lord God says:

“I will also (Q)destroy the idols
And make the [l]images cease from [m](R)Memphis.
And there will no longer be a prince in the land of Egypt;
And I will put fear in the land of Egypt.
14 I will make (S)Pathros desolate,
Set a fire in (T)Zoan
And execute judgments on [n](U)Thebes.
15 I will pour out My wrath on [o]Sin,
The stronghold of Egypt;
I will also eliminate the hordes of [p]Thebes.
16 I will set a fire in Egypt;
[q]Sin will writhe in anguish,
[r]Thebes will be breached
And [s]Memphis will have [t]distresses daily.
17 The young men of [u](V)On and of Pi-beseth
Will fall by the sword,
And [v]the women will go into captivity.
18 In (W)Tehaphnehes the day will [w]be (X)dark
When I (Y)break there the yoke bars of Egypt.
Then the pride of her power will cease in her;
A cloud will cover her,
And her daughters will go into captivity.
19 So I will (Z)execute judgments on Egypt,
And they will know that I am the Lord.”’”

Victory for Babylon

20 In the (AA)eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 21 “Son of man, I have (AB)broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, behold, it has not been (AC)bound up [x]for healing [y]or wrapped with a bandage, so that it may be strong to wield the sword. 22 Therefore this is what the Lord God says: ‘Behold, I am (AD)against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and I will break his arms, both the strong and the (AE)broken; and I will make the sword (AF)fall from his hand. 23 And I will (AG)scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands. 24 For I will (AH)strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put (AI)My sword in his hand; and I will break the arms of Pharaoh, so that he will groan before him with the groans of a wounded man. 25 So I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fail. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I put My sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he (AJ)reaches out with it against the land of Egypt. 26 When I scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands, then they will know that I am the Lord.’”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 30:2 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch
  2. Ezekiel 30:4 Or Ethiopia
  3. Ezekiel 30:4 Or multitude
  4. Ezekiel 30:5 Or Ethiopia
  5. Ezekiel 30:5 Or the mixed people
  6. Ezekiel 30:5 Or Cub
  7. Ezekiel 30:5 Lit sons
  8. Ezekiel 30:5 Lit of the covenant
  9. Ezekiel 30:9 Or Ethiopia
  10. Ezekiel 30:10 Or people; lit crowd, and so throughout the ch
  11. Ezekiel 30:12 Lit her fullness
  12. Ezekiel 30:13 Or futile ones
  13. Ezekiel 30:13 Or Noph
  14. Ezekiel 30:14 Or No
  15. Ezekiel 30:15 Or Pelusium
  16. Ezekiel 30:15 Or No
  17. Ezekiel 30:16 Or Pelusium
  18. Ezekiel 30:16 Or No
  19. Ezekiel 30:16 Or Noph
  20. Ezekiel 30:16 Or adversaries
  21. Ezekiel 30:17 Or Aven
  22. Ezekiel 30:17 Lit they
  23. Ezekiel 30:18 As in many mss and ancient versions; MT restrain
  24. Ezekiel 30:21 Lit to give healing
  25. Ezekiel 30:21 Lit to wrap it

Dirge for Egypt

30 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God,

“Wail, ‘Alas for the day!’

“For the day is near,
Even the day of the Lord is near,
It will be a cloudy day;
A time of doom for the nations.

“A sword will come upon Egypt,
And anguish and trembling will be in Ethiopia (Cush),
When the slain fall in Egypt
And they [of Babylon] carry away her great mass of people and her riches
And her foundations are torn down.

Ethiopia (Cush), Put, Lud, all [a]Arabia, Libya (Cub) and the people of the land of the covenant [the Jews who had taken refuge in Egypt] will fall with the Egyptians by the sword.”


‘Thus says the Lord,
“Those who uphold and support Egypt will fall
And the pride of her power will come down;
From Migdol [in the north] to Syene [in the south]
They will fall within her by the sword,”
Says the Lord God.

“And they will be desolate
In the midst of countries that are desolated;
And her cities will be
Among cities that are devastated [by plunder and slavery].

“And they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord,
When I have set a fire in Egypt
And all her helpers are shattered and destroyed.

On that day [swift] messengers will go from Me in ships to frighten the careless and unsuspecting Ethiopians, and there will be anguish and trembling in them as in the day of [judgment for] Egypt; for behold, it is coming!”

10 ‘Thus says the Lord God,

“I will also make the great people of Egypt cease
By the hand of [b]Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
11 
“He and his people with him,
The most violent and ruthless of the nations,
Will be brought in to destroy the land,
And they will draw their swords against Egypt
And fill the land with the slain.
12 
“And I will make the rivers [of the Nile delta] dry
And sell the land into the hands of evil men;
I will make the land desolate
And all that is in it,
By the hand of strangers. I the Lord have spoken.”

13 
‘Thus says the Lord God,
“I will also destroy the idols
And I will put an end to the images in Memphis;
There will no longer be a prince of the land of Egypt.
And I will put fear in the land of Egypt.
14 
“I will make Pathros desolate,
Set fire to Zoan
And execute judgments and punishments on Thebes.
15 
“I will pour out My wrath on Pelusium,
The stronghold of Egypt,
And I will cut off (destroy) the population of Thebes.
16 
“I will set fire to Egypt;
Pelusium will writhe in [great] anguish,
Thebes shall be torn open
And Memphis shall be in daily distress.
17 
“The young men of On (Aven) and of Pi-beseth
Will fall by the sword,
And the women [and children] will go into captivity.
18 
“In Tehaphnehes the day will be dark
When I break the yoke bars and dominion of Egypt there.
Then the pride of her power will come to an end;
A cloud [of disasters] will cover her,
And her daughters will go into captivity.
19 
“In this way I will bring judgment and punishment on Egypt.
Then they shall know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.”’”

Victory for Babylon

20 In the eleventh year [after King Jehoiachin was taken to Babylon], in the first month, on the seventh of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 21 “Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and behold, it has not been bound up to heal or wrapped with a bandage, so that it may be strong to hold and wield the sword. 22 Therefore thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt and will break his arms, both the strong one and the broken, and I will make the sword fall from his hand. 23 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and will 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 Pharaoh’s arms and he will groan before him (Nebuchadnezzar) with the groanings of a [mortally] wounded man. 25 But I will strengthen and hold up the arms of the king of Babylon and the arms of Pharaoh will fall down. Then the people [of Egypt] will know that I am the Lord, when I put My sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt. 26 When I scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them through the lands, then they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.’”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 30:5 Or the mixed people.
  2. Ezekiel 30:10 See note Jer 21:2.

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

30 The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying,

Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Howl ye, Woe worth the day!

For the day is near, even the day of the Lord is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen.

And the sword shall come upon Egypt, and great pain shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt, and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be broken down.

Ethiopia, and Libya, and Lydia, and all the mingled people, and Chub, and the men of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword.

Thus saith the Lord; They also that uphold Egypt shall fall; and the pride of her power shall come down: from the tower of Syene shall they fall in it by the sword, saith the Lord God.

And they shall be desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are wasted.

And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have set a fire in Egypt, and when all her helpers shall be destroyed.

In that day shall messengers go forth from me in ships to make the careless Ethiopians afraid, and great pain shall come upon them, as in the day of Egypt: for, lo, it cometh.

10 Thus saith the Lord God; I will also make the multitude of Egypt to cease by the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon.

11 He and his people with him, the terrible of the nations, shall be brought to destroy the land: and they shall draw their swords against Egypt, and fill the land with the slain.

12 And I will make the rivers dry, and sell the land into the hand of the wicked: and I will make the land waste, and all that is therein, by the hand of strangers: I the Lord have spoken it.

13 Thus saith the Lord God; I will also destroy the idols, and I will cause their images to cease out of Noph; and there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt: and I will put a fear in the land of Egypt.

14 And I will make Pathros desolate, and will set fire in Zoan, and will execute judgments in No.

15 And I will pour my fury upon Sin, the strength of Egypt; and I will cut off the multitude of No.

16 And I will set fire in Egypt: Sin shall have great pain, and No shall be rent asunder, and Noph shall have distresses daily.

17 The young men of Aven and of Pibeseth shall fall by the sword: and these cities shall go into captivity.

18 At Tehaphnehes also the day shall be darkened, when I shall break there the yokes of Egypt: and the pomp of her strength shall cease in her: as for her, a cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall go into captivity.

19 Thus will I execute judgments in Egypt: and they shall know that I am the Lord.

20 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first month, in the seventh day of the month, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

21 Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, lo, it shall not be bound up to be healed, to put a roller to bind it, to make it strong to hold the sword.

22 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms, the strong, and that which was broken; and I will cause the sword to fall out of his hand.

23 And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries.

24 And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and put my sword in his hand: but I will break Pharaoh's arms, and he shall groan before him with the groanings of a deadly wounded man.

25 But I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall stretch it out upon the land of Egypt.

26 And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them among the countries; and they shall know that I am the Lord.