Ezekiel 30
New English Translation
A Lament Over Egypt
30 The Lord’s message came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“‘Wail, “Alas, the day is here!”[a]
3 For the day is near,
the day of the Lord is near;
it will be a day of storm clouds,[b]
it will be a time of judgment[c] 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,[d] Libya, and the people[e] of the covenant land[f] 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.[g]
From Migdol to Syene[h] 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.[i]
9 “‘On that day messengers will go out from me in ships to frighten overconfident Ethiopia; panic will overtake them on the day of Egypt’s doom;[j] 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 Nebuchadrezzar[k] of Babylon.
11 He and his people with him,
the most terrifying of the nations,[l]
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 to[m] 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.[n]
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,[o]
the stronghold of Egypt;
I will cut off[p] the hordes of Thebes.
16 I will ignite a fire in Egypt;
Syene[q] 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 Beseth[r] will die by the sword;
and the cities will go[s] into captivity.
18 In Tahpanhes the day will be dark[t]
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,[u] the Lord’s message came to me: 21 “Son of man, I have broken the arm[v] of Pharaoh king of Egypt.[w] 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,[x] I am against[y] 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.[z] 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.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 30:2 tn Heb “Alas for the day.”
- Ezekiel 30:3 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).
- Ezekiel 30:3 tn Heb “a time.” The words “of judgment” have been added in the translation for clarification (see the following verses).
- Ezekiel 30:5 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.
- Ezekiel 30:5 tn Heb “sons.”
- Ezekiel 30:5 tn The expression “sons of the covenant land” possibly refers to Jews living in Egypt (Jer 44).
- Ezekiel 30:6 tn Heb “come down.”
- Ezekiel 30:6 sn Syene is known as Aswan today.
- Ezekiel 30:8 tn Heb “all who aid her are broken.”
- Ezekiel 30:9 tn Heb “in the day of Egypt.” The word “doom” has been added in the translation to clarify the nature of this day.
- Ezekiel 30:10 tn Heb “Nebuchadrezzar” is a variant and more exact spelling of Nebuchadnezzar, as the Babylonian name Nabu-kudurri-uṣur has an “r” rather than an “n.”
- Ezekiel 30:11 tn The Babylonians were known for their cruelty (2 Kgs 25:7).
- Ezekiel 30:12 tn Heb “and I will sell the land into the hand of.”
- Ezekiel 30:13 tn Heb “I will put fear in the land of Egypt.”
- Ezekiel 30:15 tn Heb “Sin” (so KJV, NASB), a city commonly identified with Pelusium, a fortress on Egypt’s northeastern frontier.
- Ezekiel 30:15 tn Or “kill.”
- Ezekiel 30:16 tc The LXX reads “Syene,” which is Aswan in the south. The MT reads Sin, which has already been mentioned in v. 15.
- Ezekiel 30:17 sn On and Pi Beseth are generally identified with the Egyptian cities of Heliopolis and Bubastis.
- Ezekiel 30:17 tn 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.”
- Ezekiel 30:18 sn In Zeph 1:15 darkness is associated with the day of the Lord.
- Ezekiel 30:20 tn April 29, 587 b.c.
- Ezekiel 30:21 sn The expression “breaking the arm” indicates the removal of power (Pss 10:15; 37:17; Job 38:15; Jer 48:25).
- Ezekiel 30:21 sn This may refer to the event recorded in Jer 37:5.
- Ezekiel 30:22 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
- Ezekiel 30:22 tn Or “I challenge.” 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 ‘hinnenî ’êlékâ’” ZAW 45 (1933): 101-8.
- Ezekiel 30:24 tn Heb “him”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Ezechiël 30
BasisBijbel
Gods straf over Egypte
30 De Heer zei tegen mij: 2 "Mensenzoon, profeteer en zeg: Huil, want die vreselijke dag komt eraan! 3 Het is bijna tijd! De straf van de Heer komt eraan! Een donkere dag waarop alle volken geoordeeld zullen worden! 4 In Egypte zal oorlog uitbreken. De bewoners zullen worden gedood en het land wordt geplunderd. De bewoners van Ethiopië zullen beven als ze het horen. Want het land zal helemaal vernietigd worden. 5 Ethiopië, Put, Lud, Kub, de door Egypte gehuurde troepen en alle landen die met Egypte een verbond hadden gesloten, zullen samen met Egypte worden vernietigd in de strijd. 6 Want dit zegt de Heer: De landen die Egypte komen helpen in de strijd, zullen zelf ook verwoest worden. Egypte zal vernietigd worden. Vanaf Migdol in het noorden tot Syëne in het zuiden zal iedereen worden gedood, zegt de Heer. 7 Egypte zal helemaal verwoest worden. Van zijn steden zullen alleen nog puinhopen overblijven. 8 Ik verbrand Egypte en vernietig alle landen die Egypte komen helpen. Dan zullen ze beseffen dat Ik de Heer ben. 9 In die tijd zal Ik per schip boodschappers naar het onbezorgde Ethiopië sturen. Het nieuws dat zij brengen, zal een grote schok zijn. Ethiopië zal beven van schrik! En het staat vast: die dag komt eraan!
10 Dit zegt de Heer: Ik stuur koning Nebukadnezar naar Egypte. Hij zal een eind maken aan het machtige leger van Egypte. 11 Hij en zijn volk zijn de wreedste van alle volken. Ik zal hem sturen om het land te verwoesten. Hij zal met zijn legers naar Egypte komen en overal de bewoners doden. 12 Ik zal de rivierarmen van de Nijl laten opdrogen. Ik zal het hele land in de macht van wrede mensen geven. Ik zal alles in het land laten verwoesten door vreemdelingen. Ik, de Heer, zal doen wat Ik heb gezegd.
13 Dit zegt de Heer: Ik zal hun walgelijke goden vernietigen. Ik zal een einde maken aan die namaak-goden uit Nof.[a] Egypte zal geen koning meer hebben. Iedereen in het land zal bang zijn. 14 Ik zal Patros (= Zuid-Egypte) verwoesten. De hoofdstad Zoan zal Ik in brand steken. De stad No (= Thebe) zal Ik straffen. 15 De burcht van Sin zal Ik vernietigen. De bewoners van No zal Ik doden. 16 In heel Egypte zal het oorlog zijn. De stad Sin zal hevig pijn lijden. In de muren van No zullen gaten geslagen worden zodat de stad wordt veroverd. De bewoners van Nof zullen alle dagen bang zijn. 17 De jongemannen van Aven (= On) en Pi-Beset zullen worden gedood of gevangen meegenomen worden. 18 Voor de stad Tachpanes zal het een zwarte dag zijn wanneer Ik Egypte zijn macht afneem. Want het hele leger zal daar vernietigd worden. Het zal een donkere dag zijn, want alle bewoners van Tachpanes zullen gevangen meegenomen worden. 19 Zo zal Ik Egypte straffen. Heel Egypte zal beseffen dat Ik de Heer ben."
God breekt de macht van Egypte, maar maakt Babel sterk
20 In het elfde jaar dat we als gevangenen in Babylonië woonden, zei de Heer op de zevende dag van de eerste maand tegen mij: 21 "Mensenzoon, Ik heb de arm van de koning van Egypte gebroken.[b] Zijn arm zal niet verbonden worden en niet meer genezen. Hij zal nooit meer sterk genoeg worden om een zwaard te grijpen. 22 Ik ben de vijand van de koning van Egypte. Daarom breek Ik zijn beide armen, ook de gezonde arm, zodat zijn zwaard hem uit de handen zal vallen. 23 Ik zal de Egyptenaren uit elkaar jagen en verspreiden over andere landen. 24 Maar de armen van de koning van Babel zal Ik sterk maken. Ik zal hem mijn zwaard in de hand geven. Maar de armen van de farao zal Ik breken. Hij zal kreunen en kermen voor de koning van Babel, zoals iemand die dodelijk gewond is. 25 Ja, de armen van de koning van Babel maak Ik sterk. Maar de armen van de koning van Egypte zullen krachteloos langs zijn lichaam hangen. Ik geef de koning van Babel mijn zwaard om Egypte te veroveren. Dan zullen de Egyptenaren beseffen dat Ik de Heer ben. 26 Ik zal de Egyptenaren uit elkaar jagen en verspreiden over andere landen. Ze zullen beseffen dat Ik de Heer ben."
Footnotes
- Ezechiël 30:13 Nof was de hoofdstad van Noord-Egypte. Later heette deze stad Memphis.
- Ezechiël 30:21 Met de 'arm van de koning' wordt het leger van de koning bedoeld. Egypte deed een halfslachtige poging om Jeruzalem te redden van de Babyloniërs, maar werd daarbij zelf verslagen. Later zou Egypte helemaal door Babel vernietigd worden. Het zou nooit meer machtig genoeg worden om een oorlog te beginnen ('een zwaard te grijpen').
Ezekiel 30
International Children’s Bible
Egypt Will Be Punished
30 The Lord spoke his word to me. He said, 2 “Human being, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord God says:
Cry and say,
“The terrible day is coming.”
3 The day is near.
The Lord’s day of judging is near.
It is a cloudy day.
It is a time when the nations will be judged.
4 An enemy will attack Egypt.
And Cush will tremble with fear.
When the killing begins in Egypt,
her wealth will be taken away.
Egypt’s foundations will be torn down.
5 Cush, Put, Lydia, Arabia, Libya and my people will die. All these who made an agreement with Egypt will fall dead in war.
6 “‘This is what the Lord God says:
Those who fight on Egypt’s side will fall.
The power she is proud of will go down.
The people in Egypt will fall dead in war
from Migdol in the north to Aswan in the south,
says the Lord God.
7 They will be
the emptiest land.
Egypt’s cities will be
like other cities that lie in ruin.
8 Then they will know that I am the Lord.
This will happen when I set fire to Egypt
and when all those nations on her side are crushed.
9 “‘At that time I will send messengers in ships. They will frighten Cush which now feels safe. The people of Cush will tremble with fear when Egypt is punished. And that time is sure to come.
10 “‘This is what the Lord God says:
I will destroy great numbers of people in Egypt.
I will do it through Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
11 Nebuchadnezzar and his army
are the cruelest army of any nation.
They will be brought in to destroy the land.
They will pull out their swords against Egypt.
They will fill the land with those they kill.
12 I will make the streams of the Nile River become dry land.
Then I will sell the dry land to evil people.
I will destroy the land and everything in it.
I will do it through the power of strangers.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
Egypt’s Idols Are Destroyed
13 “‘This is what the Lord God says:
I will destroy the idols.
And I will take away the statues of false gods from the city of Memphis.
There will no longer be a leader in Egypt.
And I will spread fear through the land of Egypt.
14 I will make southern Egypt empty.
I will start a fire in Zoan.
I will punish Thebes.
15 And I will pour out my anger against Pelusium,
the strong place of Egypt.
I will destroy great numbers of people in Thebes.
16 I will set fire to Egypt.
Pelusium will be in great pain.
The walls of Thebes will be broken open.
And Memphis will have troubles every day.
17 The young men of Heliopolis and Bubastis
will fall dead in war.
And the people will be taken away as captives.
18 In Tahpanhes the day will be dark
when I break Egypt’s power.
A cloud will cover Egypt.
And her villages will be captured and taken away.
19 So I will punish Egypt.
And they will know I am the Lord.’”
Egypt Becomes Weak
20 It happened in the eleventh year of our captivity, in the first month. It was on the seventh day of the month. The Lord spoke his word to me. He said: 21 “Human being, I have broken the powerful arm of the king of Egypt. It has not been tied up so it will not get well. It has not been wrapped with a bandage. So his arm will not be strong enough to hold a sword in war. 22 So this is what the Lord God says: I am against the king of Egypt. I will break his arms. I will break both the strong arm and the broken arm. I will make the sword fall from his hand. 23 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations. And I will spread them among the countries. 24 I will make the arms of the king of Babylon strong. I will put my sword in his hand. But I will break the arms of the king of Egypt. Then he will cry out in pain as a wounded man cries out. 25 So I will make the arms of the king of Babylon strong. But the arms of the king of Egypt will fall. Then they will know that I am the Lord. I will put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon. And he will use the sword in war against Egypt. 26 Then I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations. And I will spread them among the countries. And they will know that I am the Lord.”
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