Message to Egypt

19 The [mournful, inspired] oracle (^[a]a burden to be carried) concerning Egypt:

¹⁶ In that day the Egyptians will become like [helpless] women, and they will tremble and be frightened because of the waving of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which He is going to wave over them. ¹⁷ The land of Judah [Assyria’s ally] will become a terror to the Egyptians; everyone to whom Judah is mentioned will be in dread of it, because of the purpose of the Lord of hosts which He is planning against Egypt.

¹⁸ In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of [the Hebrews of] Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord of hosts. One [of them] will be called the City of ^[c]Destruction.

¹⁹ In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a memorial stone to the Lord near its border. ²⁰ It will become a sign and a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the Lord because of oppressors, and He will send them a Savior, a [Great] Defender, and He will rescue them.^{(A) 21} And so the Lord will make Himself known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know [heed, honor, and cherish] the Lord in that day. They will even worship with sacrifices [of animals] and offerings [of produce]; they will make a vow to the Lord and fulfill it. ²² The Lord will strike Egypt, striking but healing it; so they will return to the Lord, and He will respond to them and heal them.

²³ In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrians will come into Egypt and the Egyptians into Assyria; and the Egyptians will worship and serve [the Lord] with the Assyrians.

²⁴ In that day Israel will be the third party with Egypt and with Assyria [in a Messianic league], a blessing in the midst of the earth, ²⁵ whom the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My heritage.”

Prophecy about Egypt and Cush (Ancient Ethiopia)

20 In the year that the Tartan [the Assyrian commander in chief] came to Ashdod [in Philistia], when Sargon king of Assyria sent him and he fought against Ashdod and captured it, ² at that time the Lord spoke through Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go, untie the ^[d]sackcloth from your hips and take your sandals off your feet.” And he did so, walking around ^[e]stripped [to his loincloth] and barefoot.^{(B) 3} And the Lord said, “Even as My servant Isaiah has walked ^[f]stripped and barefoot for three years as a sign and forewarning concerning Egypt and Cush (Ethiopia), ⁴ in the same way the king of Assyria will lead away the Egyptian captives and the Cushite exiles, young and old, stripped and barefoot, even with buttocks uncovered—to the ^[g]shame of Egypt. ⁵ Then they will be dismayed and ashamed because of Cush their hope and Egypt their boast. ⁶ So the inhabitants of this coastland [the Israelites and their neighbors] will say in that day, ‘Look what has happened to those in whom we hoped and trusted and to whom we fled for help to be spared from the king of Assyria! But we, how will we escape [captivity and exile]?’”

Judgment of Egypt

29 In the tenth year [of the captivity of King Jehoiachin by the king of Babylon], in the tenth month, on the twelfth of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, set your face toward Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt. ³ Speak and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God,

⁸ ‘Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am going to bring a sword on you and cut off (destroy) both man and animal, ⁹ and the land of Egypt will be a desolation and a wasteland. And they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.

“Because you said, ‘The Nile is mine and I have made it,’ ¹⁰ behold (hear this), therefore, I am against you and against your rivers (the Nile, its tributaries), and I will make the land of Egypt a complete waste and a desolation, from [northern] Migdol to [southern] ^[a]Syene, even as far as the border of Ethiopia (Cush). ¹¹ No man’s foot will pass through it, no animal’s foot will pass through it, and it will not be inhabited for forty years. ¹² So I will make the land of Egypt a desolation [plundered and ruined] among desolated lands; and her cities, among cities that are laid waste, will be desolate forty years. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and [I will] disperse them through the lands.”

¹³ ‘For thus says the Lord God, “At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the nations among whom they were scattered.^{(A) 14} I will reverse the fortunes of Egypt [as I will that of Israel] and cause them to return to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin, and there they will be a lowly kingdom. ¹⁵ It will be the lowliest of the kingdoms, and it will ^[b]never again exalt itself above the nations; I will diminish the Egyptians so they will never again rule over the nations. ¹⁶ And Egypt will never again have the confidence of the house of Israel; their wickedness will be remembered whenever Israel looks toward them [for help]. Then they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord God.”’”

¹⁷ In the twenty-seventh year [after King Jehoiachin was taken to Babylon], in the first month, on the first of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁸ “Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army ^[c]work hard [at My command] against Tyre; every [soldier’s] head became ^[d]bald and every shoulder was worn and peeled [from carrying loads of dirt and stones for siege works]. Yet he had no wages from Tyre [in proportion to the time and labor expended during the siege], either for himself or his army, for the work that he had done against it [for Me].” ¹⁹ Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. And he will carry off her wealth and capture her spoil and seize her plunder; and it shall be the wages for his army. ²⁰ I have given him the land of Egypt for the hard work which he did [against Tyre], because they did it for Me,” says the Lord God.

²¹ “In that day I will make a horn sprout for the house of Israel, and I will open your mouth among them, and they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord [when I renew their strength].”

Dirge for Egypt

30 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, ² “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God,

⁵ Ethiopia (Cush), Put, Lud, all ^[e]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.”

⁹ 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,

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.’”

Pharaoh Warned of Assyria’s Fate

31 In the eleventh year [after King Jehoiachin was taken captive to Babylon], in the third month, on the first of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his hordes,

¹⁰ ‘Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Because it is high in stature and has set its top among the thick boughs and the clouds, and its heart is proud of its height,^{(B) 11} I will ^[i]hand it over to a mighty one and a mighty one of the nations; he will most certainly deal with it. I have driven it away in accordance with its wickedness. ¹² Alien tyrants of the nations have cut it down and left it; its foliage has fallen on the mountains and in all the valleys and its branches have been broken in all the ravines of the land. And all the nations of the earth have come from under its shade and have left it. ¹³ All the birds of the sky will nest in its ruins, and all the animals of the field will rest on its fallen branches ¹⁴ so that none of the trees by the waters may exalt themselves because of their height, nor set their top among the clouds, nor their well-watered mighty ones stand [arrogantly] in their height. For they have all been handed over to death, to the earth beneath, among the sons of men, with those who go down to the pit (the grave).”

¹⁵ ‘Thus says the Lord God, “On the day when Assyria went down to Sheol (the place of the dead) I caused mourning; I closed the deep [subterranean waters] over it and restrained its rivers. And the many waters [that contributed to its prosperity] were held back; and I made [the heart of] Lebanon mourn for it, and all the trees of the field wilted away because of it. ¹⁶ I made the nations quake at the sound of its fall when I cast it down to Sheol with those who descend into the pit; and all the well-watered trees of Eden, the choicest and the best of Lebanon, will be comforted in the earth beneath [at Assyria’s downfall]. ¹⁷ They also went down to Sheol with it to those who were slain by the sword; those who were its strength lived under its shade among the nations.

¹⁸ “Which among the trees of Eden do you equal in glory and in greatness [O Egypt]? Yet you [also] will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the earth beneath (nether world). You will lie among the ^[j]uncircumcised (the barbaric, the boorish, the crude) with those who were slain by the sword. This is how it shall be with Pharaoh and all his hordes!”’ says the Lord God.”^(C)

Dirge for Pharaoh and Egypt

32 In the twelfth year [after King Jehoiachin of Judah was taken into exile by the king of Babylon], in the twelfth month, on the first of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, take up a dirge (funeral poem to be sung) over Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him,

³ Thus says the Lord God,

⁹ I will also put fear into the hearts of many peoples when I bring your destruction [and captivity] among the nations, into countries which you have not known. ¹⁰ I will make many peoples appalled at you [at your judgment and your defeat], and their kings will be horribly afraid of you when I brandish My sword [of judgment] before them; they will tremble and shudder every moment, every man for his own life, on the day of your downfall.”

¹¹ For thus says the Lord God, “The sword of the king of Babylon will come on you. ¹² I will make your horde [of people] fall by the swords of the mighty—all of them are tyrants among the nations,

¹⁶ This is the dirge (funeral poem to be sung) and they shall sing it [for her]. The daughters of the nations shall sing it; for Egypt and for all her hordes they shall sing it,” says the Lord God.

¹⁷ In the twelfth year [after King Jehoiachin of Judah was taken into exile], on the fifteenth of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁸ “Son of man, wail over the hordes of Egypt and cast them down, both her and the daughters of the powerful and majestic nations, to the nether world (the place of the dead), with those who go down to the pit;

²⁰ They will fall among those who are slain by the sword. She (Egypt) is handed over to the sword; they have drawn her and all her hordes away [to judgment]. ²¹ The strong among the mighty rulers will say of him (Pharaoh) and his allies from the midst of Sheol, ‘They have gone down [defeated]; they lie still, the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.’

²² “Assyria is there with all her warriors; their graves are all around her. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword, ²³ whose graves are set in the remotest parts of the pit and her army is all around her grave. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword, who spread terror in the land of the living.

²⁴ “^[k]Elam [a conquest of Assyria] is there and all her hordes around her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who have gone down uncircumcised to the lower parts of the earth, who made their terror spread in the land of the living and bore their shame and defeat with those who went down to the pit. ²⁵ They have made a bed for her among the slain with all her hordes. Her graves are around it; they are all uncircumcised (barbaric, boorish, crude), slain by the sword (for their terror had been spread in the land of the living), and they bore their disgrace with those who go down to the pit; they were laid among the slain.

²⁶ “Meshech, Tubal, and all their hordes are there; their graves ^[l]surround them. All of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword, for they spread their terror in the land of the living. ²⁷ Nor do they lie beside the fallen heroes of the uncircumcised, who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war, whose swords were laid [with honors] under their heads. The punishment for their sins rested on their bones, for the terror of these heroes was once in the land of the living. ²⁸ But you will be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised and you will lie [without honors] with those who are slain by the sword.

²⁹ “Edom is there also, her kings and all her princes, who for all their power and strength are laid with those who were slain by the sword; they will lie [in shame and defeat] with the uncircumcised and with those who go down to the pit.

³⁰ “The princes of the north are there also, all of them, and all the Sidonians, who in spite of the terror resulting from their power, have gone down in shame with the slain. So they lay down uncircumcised with those slain by the sword and bore their disgrace with those who go down to the pit.

³¹ “Pharaoh will see them, and he will be comforted for all his hordes slain by the sword—Pharaoh and all his army,” says the Lord God. ³² “Though I instilled a terror of him in the land of the living, yet he will be made to lie down among the uncircumcised along with those slain by the sword, even Pharaoh and all his hordes,” says the Lord God.^(D)

¹⁸ If the family of Egypt does not go up [to Jerusalem] and present themselves, then no rain will fall on them. It will be the plague with which the Lord will strike the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles). ¹⁹ This will be the [consequent] punishment [for the sin] of Egypt, and the [consequent] punishment [for the sin] of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles).