A Prophecy of Egypt’s Ruin

29 In 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, turn your face toward Pharaoh king of Egypt and prophesy against him and against all of Egypt.^{(A) 3} Speak to him and say: This is what the Lord God says:

⁸ “Therefore this is what the Lord God says: I am going to bring a sword^(H) against you and wipe out man and animal from you. ⁹ The land of Egypt will be a desolate ruin.^(I) Then they will know that I am Yahweh. Because you^[d] said, ‘The Nile is my own; I made it,’ ¹⁰ therefore, 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. ¹¹ No human foot will pass through it, and no animal foot will pass through it.^(J) It will be uninhabited for 40 years. ¹² I will make the land of Egypt a desolation among^[e] desolate lands, and its cities will be a desolation among^[f] ruined cities^(K) for 40 years. I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them across the countries.^(L)

¹³ “For this is what the Lord God says: At the end of 40 years I will gather the Egyptians from the nations where they were dispersed.^{(M) 14} I 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. ¹⁵ Egypt 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. ¹⁶ It will never again be an object of trust^(N) for the house of Israel, drawing attention to their sin of turning to the Egyptians. Then they will know that I am the Lord Yahweh.”

Babylon Receives Egypt as Compensation

¹⁷ In 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, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army labor strenuously against Tyre.^(O) 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. ¹⁹ Therefore this is what the Lord God says: I am going to give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,^(P) who will carry off its wealth, seizing its spoil and taking its plunder. This will be his army’s compensation. ²⁰ I 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. ²¹ “In that day I will cause a horn to sprout^(Q) for the house of Israel, and I will enable you to speak out^(R) among them. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.”

Egypt’s Doom

30 The word of the Lord came to me: ² “Son of man, prophesy and say: This is what the Lord God says:

⁹ On that day, messengers will go out from Me in ships^(Y) to terrify confident Cush. Anguish will come over them on the day of Egypt’s doom. For indeed it is coming.”

¹⁰ This is what the Lord God says:

¹³ This is what the Lord God says:

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^(AE) 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.^{(AF) 24} I will strengthen the arms of Babylon’s king and place My sword^(AG) 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 Yahweh 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 Yahweh.”

³² And what more can I say? Time is too short for me to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah,^(A) David, Samuel, and the prophets,^{(B) 33} who by faith conquered kingdoms,^(C) administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions,^{(D) 34} quenched the raging of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, gained strength after being weak, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight.^{(E) 35} Women received their dead—they were raised to life again. Some men were tortured, not accepting release, so that they might gain a better resurrection, ³⁶ and others experienced mockings and scourgings, as well as bonds and imprisonment.^{(F) 37} They were stoned,^[a](G) they were sawed in two, they died by the sword, they wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins,^(H) destitute, afflicted, and mistreated. ³⁸ The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and on mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.

³⁹ All these were approved through their faith, but they did not receive what was promised, ⁴⁰ since God had provided something better for us, so that they would not be made perfect without us.^(I)

The Call to Endurance

12 Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses^(J) surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance^(K) the race that lies before us, ² keeping our eyes on Jesus,^[b] the source and perfecter^[c] of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him^[d] endured a cross and despised the shame^(L) and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne.

Fatherly Discipline

³ For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, so that you won’t grow weary and lose heart.^{(M) 4} In struggling against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. ⁵ And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons:

⁷ Endure suffering as discipline: God is dealing with you as sons. For what son is there that a father does not discipline? ⁸ But if you are without discipline—which all^[f] receive^[g]—then you are illegitimate children and not sons.^{(O) 9} Furthermore, we had natural fathers discipline us, and we respected them. Shouldn’t we submit even more to the Father of spirits and live?^{(P) 10} For they disciplined us for a short time based on what seemed good to them, but He does it for our benefit, so that we can share His holiness.^{(Q) 11} No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields the fruit of peace^(R) and righteousness to those who have been trained by it.^(S)

¹² Therefore strengthen your tired hands and weakened knees,^{(T) 13} and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated^[h] but healed instead.^(U)

Psalm 112

The Traits of the Righteous