A Prophecy of Egypt’s Ruin
1In the tenth year, in the tenth month on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me:
2“Son of man, face Pharaoh king of Egypt and prophesy against him and against all of Egypt.29:2 Is 19:1–17; Jr 46:2–26; Ezk 30–32
3Speak to him and say, ‘This is what the Lord God says:
Look, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt,
who says, “My Nile is my own;
I made it for myself.”
and make the fish of your streams
cling to your scales.
I will haul you up
from the middle of your Nile,
and all the fish of your streams
will cling to your scales.
5I will leave you in the desert,29:5 Ezk 32:4–6
you and all the fish of your streams.
You will fall on the open ground
and will not be taken away
I have given you
to the wild creatures of the earth
and the birds of the sky as food.29:5 Ezk 39:4
6“‘Then all the inhabitants of Egypt
will know that I am the Lord,
for they29:6 LXX, Syr, Vg read you have been a staff made of reed
to the house of Israel.
7When Israel grasped you by the hand,
when they leaned on you,
you shattered and made all their hips unsteady.29:7 LXX, Syr, Vg; MT reads and you caused their hips to stand
8“‘Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: I am going to bring a sword29:8 Ezk 14:17 against you and cut off both people and animals from you.
9The land of Egypt will be a desolate ruin.29:9 Ezk 30:7–8 Then they will know that I am the Lord. Because you29:9 LXX, Syr, Vg; MT reads he said, “The Nile is my own; I made it,”
10therefore, I am against you and your Nile. I will turn the land of Egypt into ruins, a desolate waste from Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of Cush.
11No human foot will pass through it, and no animal foot will pass through it.29:11 Ezk 32:13 It will be uninhabited for forty years.
12I will make the land of Egypt a desolation among29:12 Or Egypt the most desolate of desolate lands, and its cities will be a desolation among29:12 Or be the most desolate of ruined cities29:12 Ezk 30:7 for forty years. I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them throughout the lands.29:12 Ezk 12:15; 30:15,23,26
13“‘For this is what the Lord God says: At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples where they were dispersed.29:13 Is 19:22–23
14I will restore the fortunes of Egypt and bring them back to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin. There they will be a lowly kingdom.
15Egypt will be the lowliest of kingdoms and will never again exalt itself over the nations. I will make them so small they cannot rule over the nations.
Babylon Receives Egypt as Compensation
17In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me:
18“Son of man, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon made his army labor strenuously against Tyre.29:18 Ezk 26:7–12 Every head was made bald and every shoulder chafed, but he and his army received no compensation from Tyre for the labor he expended against it.
19Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: I am going to give the land of Egypt to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon,29:19 Ezk 30:10,24–25; 32:11 and he will carry off its wealth, seizing its spoil and taking its plunder. This will be his army’s compensation.
20I have given him the land of Egypt as the pay he labored for, since they worked for me.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.
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