Egypt’s Doom

30 The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord God says:

Wail,(A) “Woe because of that day!”
For a day is near;
a day belonging to the Lord is near.(B)
It will be a day of clouds,(C)
a time of doom[a] for the nations.
A sword will come against Egypt,
and there will be anguish in Cush
when the slain fall in Egypt,
and its wealth is taken away,
and its foundations are demolished.
Cush, Put, and Lud,(D)
and all the various foreign troops,[b]
plus Libya[c] and the men of the covenant land
will fall by the sword along with them.
This is what the Lord says:
Those who support Egypt will fall,
and its proud strength will collapse.
From Migdol to Syene
they will fall within it by the sword.
This is the declaration of the Lord God.
They will be desolate
among[d] desolate lands,
and their cities will lie
among ruined[e] cities.(E)
They will know that I am the Lord
when I set fire to Egypt(F)
and all its allies are shattered.

On that day, messengers will go out from me in ships(G) to terrify confident Cush. Anguish will come over them on the day of Egypt’s doom.[f] For indeed it is coming.

10 “‘This is what the Lord God says:

I will put an end to the hordes[g] of Egypt
by the hand of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.
11 He along with his people,
ruthless men from the nations,
will be brought in to destroy the land.
They will draw their swords against Egypt
and fill the land with the slain.(H)
12 I will make the streams dry
and sell the land to evil men.(I)
I will bring desolation
on the land and everything in it
by the hands of foreigners.
I, the Lord, have spoken.

13 “‘This is what the Lord God says:

I will destroy the worthless idols
and put an end to the false gods in Memphis.(J)
There will no longer be
a prince from the land of Egypt.
And I will instill fear in that land.
14 I will make Pathros(K) desolate,
set fire to Zoan,
and execute judgments on Thebes.
15 I will pour out my wrath on Pelusium,
the stronghold of Egypt,
and will wipe out the hordes of Thebes.
16 I will set fire to Egypt;
Pelusium will writhe in anguish,
Thebes will be breached,
and Memphis will face foes in broad daylight.[h]
17 The young men of On[i] and Pi-beseth
will fall by the sword,
and those cities[j] will go into captivity.
18 The day will be dark[k] in Tehaphnehes,
when I break the yoke of Egypt there
and its proud strength
comes to an end in the city.
A cloud(L) will cover Tehaphnehes,[l]
and its surrounding villages will go into captivity.
19 So I will execute judgments against Egypt,
and they will know that I am the Lord.’”

Pharaoh’s Power Broken

20 In the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 21 “Son of man, I have broken the arm(M) of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Look, it has not been bandaged—no medicine has been applied and no splint put on to bandage it so that it can grow strong enough to handle a sword. 22 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: Look! I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt. I will break his arms, both the strong one and the one already broken, and will make the sword fall from his hand. 23 I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them among the countries.(N) 24 I will strengthen the arms of Babylon’s king and place my sword(O) in his hand. But I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before him as a mortally wounded man. 25 I will strengthen the arms of Babylon’s king, but Pharaoh’s arms will fall. They will know that I am the Lord when I place my sword in the hand of Babylon’s king and he wields it against the land of Egypt. 26 When I disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them among the countries, they will know that I am the Lord.”

Footnotes

  1. 30:3 of doom supplied for clarity
  2. 30:5 Or all Arabia
  3. 30:5 Lit Cub; Hb obscure
  4. 30:7 Or be the most desolate of
  5. 30:7 Or will be the most ruined of
  6. 30:9 Lit of Egypt
  7. 30:10 Or pomp, or wealth, also in v. 15
  8. 30:16 Or foes daily
  9. 30:17 LXX, Vg; MT reads iniquity
  10. 30:17 Or and the women; lit and they
  11. 30:18 Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr, Tg, Vg; other Hb mss read will withhold
  12. 30:18 Or Egypt

30 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

Son of man prophesy, and say: Thus saith the Lord God: Howl ye, Woe, woe to the day:

For the day is near, yea the day of the Lord is near: a cloudy day, it shall be the time of the nations.

And the sword shall come upon Egypt: and there shall be dread in Ethiopia, when the wounded shall fall in Egypt, and the multitude thereof shall be taken away, and the foundations thereof shall be destroyed.

Ethiopia, and Libya, and Lydia, and all the rest of the crowd, and Chub, and the children of the land of the covenant, shall fall with them by the sword.

Thus saith the Lord God: They also that uphold Egypt shall fall, and the pride of her empire shall be brought down: from the tower of Syene shall they fall in it by the sword, saith the Lord the God of hosts.

And they shall be desolate in the midst of the lands that are desolate, and the cities thereof shall be in the midst of the cities that are wasted.

And they shall know that I am the Lord: when I shall have set a fire in Egypt, and all the helpers thereof shall be destroyed.

In that day shall messengers go forth from my face in ships to destroy the confidence of Ethiopia, and there shall be dread among them in the day of Egypt: because it shall certainly come.

10 Thus saith the Lord God: I will make the multitude of Egypt to cease by the hand of Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon.

11 He and his people with him, the strongest of nations, shall be brought to destroy the land: and they shall draw their swords upon Egypt: and shall fill the land with the slain.

12 And I will make the channels of the rivers dry, and will deliver the land into the hand of the wicked: and will lay waste the land and all that is therein by the hands of strangers, I the Lord have spoken it.

13 Thus saith the Lord God: I will also destroy the idols, and I will make an end of the idols of Memphis: and there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt: and I will cause a terror in the land of Egypt.

14 And I will destroy the land of Phatures, and will make a fire in Taphnis, and will execute judgments in Alexandria.

15 And I will pour out my indignation upon Pelusium the strength of Egypt, and will cut off the multitude of Alexandria.

16 And I will make a fire in Egypt: Pelusium shall be in pain like a woman in labour, and Alexandria shall be laid waste, and in Memphis there shall be daily distresses.

17 The young men of Heliopolis, and of Bubastus shall fall by the sword, and they themselves shall go into captivity.

18 And in Taphnis the day shall be darkened, when I shall break there the sceptres of Egypt, and the pride of her power shall cease in her: a cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall be led into captivity.

19 And I will execute judgments in Egypt: and they shall know that I am the Lord.

20 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first month, in the seventh day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

21 Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharao king of Egypt: and behold it is not bound up, to be healed, to be tied up with clothes, and swathed with linen, that it might recover strength, and hold the sword.

22 Therefore, thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I come against Pharao king of Egypt, and I will break into pieces his strong arm, which is already broken: and I will cause the sword to fall out of his hand:

23 And I will disperse Egypt among the nations, and scatter them through the countries.

24 And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and will put my sword in his hand: and I will break the arms of Pharao, and they shall groan bitterly being slain before his face.

25 And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and the arms of Pharao shall fall: and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall have given my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall have stretched it forth upon the land of Egypt.

26 And I will disperse Egypt among the nations, and will scatter them through the countries, and they shall know that I am the Lord.