A Lament Over Egypt
1 The word of the Lord came to me:
2 “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:
“‘Wail, “Alas, the day is here!”tn Heb “Alas for the day.”
3 For the day is near,
the day of the Lord is near;
it will be a day of storm clouds,tn Heb “a day of clouds.” The expression occurs also in Joel 2:2 and Zeph 1:15; it recalls the appearance of God at Mount Sinai (Exod 19:9, 16, 18).
it will be a time of judgmenttn Heb “a time.” The words “of judgment” have been added in the translation for clarification (see the following verses). for the nations.
4 A sword will come against Egypt
and panic will overtake Ethiopia
when the slain fall in Egypt
and they carry away her wealth
and dismantle her foundations.
5 Ethiopia, Put, Lud, all the foreigners,tn The same expression appears in Exod 12:38; Jer 25:20; 50:37; Neh 13:3. It may refer to foreign mercenaries serving in the armies of the nations listed here. Libya, and the peopletn Heb “sons.” of the covenant landtn The expression “sons of the covenant land” possibly refers to Jews living in Egypt (Jer 44). will die by the sword along with them.
6 “‘This is what the Lord says:
Egypt’s supporters will fall;
her confident pride will crumble.tn Heb “come down.”
From Migdol to Syenesn Syene is known as Aswan today. they will die by the sword within her,
declares the sovereign Lord.
7 They will be desolate among desolate lands,
and their cities will be among ruined cities.
8 They will know that I am the Lord
when I ignite a fire in Egypt
and all her allies are defeated.tn Heb “all who aid her are broken.”
9 On that day messengers will go out from me in ships to frighten overly confident Ethiopia; panic will overtake them on the day of Egypt’s doom;tn Heb “in the day of Egypt.” The word “doom” has been added in the translation to clarify the nature of this day. for beware – it is coming!
10 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:
I will put an end to the hordes of Egypt,
by the hand of King Nebuchadrezzartn Heb “Nebuchadrezzar” is a variant and more correct spelling of Nebuchadnezzar, as the Babylonian name Nabu-kudurri-usur has an “r” rather than an “n.” of Babylon.
11 He and his people with him,
the most terrifying of the nations,tn The Babylonians were known for their cruelty (2 Kgs 25:7).
will be brought there to destroy the land.
They will draw their swords against Egypt,
and fill the land with corpses.
12 I will dry up the waterways
and hand the land over totn Heb “and I will sell the land into the hand of.” evil men.
I will make the land and everything in it desolate by the hand of foreigners.
I, the Lord, have spoken!
13 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:
I will destroy the idols,
and put an end to the gods of Memphis.
There will no longer be a prince from the land of Egypt;
so I will make the land of Egypt fearful.tn Heb “I will put fear in the land of Egypt.”
14 I will desolate Pathros,
I will ignite a fire in Zoan,
and I will execute judgments on Thebes.
15 I will pour out my anger upon Pelusium,tn Heb “Sin” (so KJV, NASB), a city commonly identified with Pelusium, a fortress on Egypt’s northeastern frontier.
the stronghold of Egypt;
I will cut offtn Or “kill.” the hordes of Thebes.
16 I will ignite a fire in Egypt;
Syenetc The LXX reads “Syene,” which is Aswan in the south. The MT reads Sin, which has already been mentioned in v. 15. will writhe in agony,
Thebes will be broken down,
and Memphis will face enemies every day.
17 The young men of On and of Pi-besethsn On and Pi-beseth are generally identified with the Egyptian cities of Heliopolis and Bubastis. will die by the sword;
and the cities will gotn Heb “they will go.” The pronoun and verb are feminine plural, indicating that the cities just mentioned are the antecedent of the pronoun and the subject of the verb. The translation makes this clear by stating the subject as “the cities.” into captivity.
18 In Tahpanhes the day will be darksn In Zeph 1:15 darkness is associated with the day of the Lord.
when I break the yoke of Egypt there.
Her confident pride will cease within her;
a cloud will cover her, and her daughters will go into captivity.
19 I will execute judgments on Egypt.
Then they will know that I am the Lord.’”
20 In the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month,tn April 29, 587 b.c. the word of the Lord came to me:
21 “Son of man, I have broken the armsn The expression “breaking the arm” indicates the removal of power (Ps 10:15; 37:17; Job 38:15; Jer 48:25). of Pharaoh king of Egypt.sn This may refer to the event recorded in Jer 37:5. Look, it has not been bandaged for healing or set with a dressing so that it might become strong enough to grasp a sword.
22 Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look,tn The word h!nn@h indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb. I am againsttn Or “I challenge you.” The phrase “I am against you” may be a formula for challenging someone to combat or a duel. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:201-2, and P. Humbert, “Die Herausforderungsformel ‘h!nn#n' ?l?K>,’” ZAW 45 (1933): 101-8. Pharaoh king of Egypt, and I will break his arms, the strong arm and the broken one, and I will make the sword drop from his hand.
23 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them among foreign countries.
24 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and I will place my sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan like the fatally wounded before the king of Babylon.tn Heb “him”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
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 place my sword in the hand of the king of Babylon and he extends it against the land of Egypt.
26 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among foreign countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
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