Judgment of Egypt

29 In the (A)tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth of the month, the word of the Lord came to me saying, “Son of man, set your face against (B)Pharaoh king of Egypt and prophesy against him and against all (C)Egypt. Speak and say, ‘Thus says the Lord [a]God,

“Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt,
The great [b](D)monster that lies in the midst of his [c]rivers,
That (E)has said, ‘My Nile is mine, and I myself have made it.’
“I will put (F)hooks in your jaws
And make the fish of your [d]rivers cling to your scales.
And I will bring you up out of the midst of your [e]rivers,
And all the fish of your [f]rivers will cling to your scales.
“I will (G)abandon you to the wilderness, you and all the fish of your [g]rivers;
You will fall on the [h]open field; you will not be brought together or [i](H)gathered.
I have given you for (I)food to the beasts of the earth and to the birds of the sky.
“Then all the inhabitants of Egypt will know that I am the Lord,
Because they have been only a (J)staff made of reed to the house of Israel.
“When they took hold of you with the hand,
You (K)broke and tore all their [j]hands;
And when they leaned on you,
You broke and made all their loins [k]quake.”

‘Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I will (L)bring upon you a sword and I will cut off from you man and beast. The (M)land of Egypt will become a desolation and waste. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

Because [l]you (N)said, ‘The Nile is mine, and I have made it,’ 10 therefore, behold, I am (O)against you and against your [m]rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from Migdol to Syene and even to the border of [n]Ethiopia. 11 A man’s foot will (P)not pass through it, and the foot of a beast will not pass through it, and it will not be inhabited for forty years. 12 So I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the (Q)midst of desolated lands. And her cities, in the midst of cities that are laid waste, will be desolate forty years; and I will (R)scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands.”

13 ‘For thus says the Lord God, “At the end of forty years I will (S)gather the Egyptians from the peoples [o]among whom they were scattered. 14 I will turn the fortunes of Egypt and make them return to the land of (T)Pathros, to the land of their origin, and there they will be a lowly kingdom. 15 It will be the (U)lowest of the kingdoms, and it will never again lift itself up above the nations. And I will make them so small that they will not (V)rule over the nations. 16 And it will never again be the (W)confidence of the house of Israel, [p](X)bringing to mind the iniquity of their having turned [q]to Egypt. Then they will know that I am the Lord God.”’”

17 Now in the (Y)twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first of the month, the word of the Lord came to me saying, 18 “Son of man, (Z)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army labor [r]hard against Tyre; every head was made (AA)bald and every shoulder was rubbed bare. But he and his army had no wages from Tyre for the labor that he had [s]performed against it.” 19 Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I (AB)will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. And he will carry off her [t](AC)wealth and capture her spoil and seize her plunder; and it will be wages for his army. 20 I have given him the land of Egypt for his labor which he [u](AD)performed, because they acted for Me,” declares the Lord God.

21 “On that day I will make a (AE)horn sprout for the house of Israel, and I will [v](AF)open your mouth in their midst. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 29:3 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch
  2. Ezekiel 29:3 Lit tannim
  3. Ezekiel 29:3 Or Nile
  4. Ezekiel 29:4 Or Nile
  5. Ezekiel 29:4 Or Nile
  6. Ezekiel 29:4 Or Nile
  7. Ezekiel 29:5 Or Nile
  8. Ezekiel 29:5 Lit faces of the field
  9. Ezekiel 29:5 Or with several mss and Targum, buried
  10. Ezekiel 29:7 So with some ancient versions; M.T. shoulders
  11. Ezekiel 29:7 Lit stand
  12. Ezekiel 29:9 Lit he
  13. Ezekiel 29:10 Or Nile
  14. Ezekiel 29:10 Lit Cush
  15. Ezekiel 29:13 Lit where
  16. Ezekiel 29:16 Lit causing to remember
  17. Ezekiel 29:16 Lit after them
  18. Ezekiel 29:18 Lit a great labor
  19. Ezekiel 29:18 Lit labored
  20. Ezekiel 29:19 Or multitude
  21. Ezekiel 29:20 Lit labored
  22. Ezekiel 29:21 Lit give you an opening of the mouth