Ezekiel 29:1-16

English Standard Version

Prophecy Against Egypt

29 ^(A)In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: ²^(B)“Son of man, ^(C)set your face against ^(D)Pharaoh king of Egypt, ^(E)and prophesy against him and ^(F)against all Egypt; ³speak, and say, Thus says the Lord God:

^(G)“Behold, I am against you,
    Pharaoh king of Egypt,
^(H)the great dragon that lies
    in the midst of his streams,
^(I)that says, ‘My Nile is my own;
    I made it for myself.’
⁴I will ^(J)put hooks in your jaws,
    and make the fish of your streams stick to your scales;
and I will draw you up out of the midst of your streams,
    with all the fish of your streams
    that stick to your scales.
⁵^(K)And I will cast you out into the wilderness,
    you and all the fish of your streams;
you shall fall ^(L)on the open field,
    and ^(M)not be brought together or gathered.
To the beasts of the earth and to the birds of the heavens
    ^(N)I give you as food.

⁶Then all the inhabitants of Egypt ^(O)shall know that I am the Lord.

“Because you^[a] have been ^(P)a staff of reed to the house of Israel, ⁷^(Q)when they grasped you with the hand, you broke and tore all their shoulders; and when they leaned on you, you broke and made all their loins to shake.^[b] ⁸Therefore thus says the Lord God: ^(R)Behold, I will bring a sword upon you, and will cut off from you man and beast, ⁹and the land of Egypt shall be a desolation and a waste. ^(S)Then they will know that I am the Lord.

^(T)“Because you^[c] said, ‘The Nile is mine, and I made it,’ ¹⁰therefore, ^(U)behold, I am against you and ^(V)against your streams, and ^(W)I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, ^(X)from Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of Cush. ¹¹^(Y)No foot of man shall pass through it, and no foot of beast shall pass through it; it shall be uninhabited forty years. ¹²^(Z)And I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the midst of desolated countries, and her cities shall be a desolation forty years among cities that are laid waste. ^(AA)I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them through the countries.

¹³“For thus says the Lord God: At the end of forty years ^(AB)I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered, ¹⁴and ^(AC)I will restore the fortunes of Egypt and bring them back to ^(AD)the land of Pathros, the land of their origin, and there they shall be a lowly kingdom. ¹⁵It shall be the most lowly of the kingdoms, ^(AE)and never again exalt itself above the nations. And I will make them so small that they will never again rule over the nations. ¹⁶And it shall never again be ^(AF)the reliance of the house of Israel, recalling their iniquity, when they turn to them for aid. ^(AG)Then they will know that I am the Lord God.”