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Ezekiel 29-30
English Standard Version
Ezekiel 29-30
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; 3 speak, 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.’
4 I 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.
6 Then 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] 8 Therefore thus says the Lord God: (R)Behold, I will bring a sword upon you, and will cut off from you man and beast, 9 and 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,’ 10 therefore, (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, 14 and (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. 15 It 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. 16 And 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.”
17 (AH)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 (AI)“Son of man, (AJ)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre. Every head was made bald, and every shoulder was rubbed bare, yet neither he nor his army got anything from Tyre to pay for the labor that he had performed against her. 19 Therefore thus says the Lord God: (AK)Behold, I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; (AL)and he shall carry off its wealth[d] (AM)and despoil it and plunder it; and it shall be the wages for his army. 20 (AN)I have given him the land of Egypt as his payment for which he labored, because they worked for me, declares the Lord God.
21 “On that day (AO)I will cause a horn to spring up for the house of Israel, and (AP)I will open your lips among them. (AQ)Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
A Lament for Egypt
30 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 (AR)“Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord God:
(AS)“Wail, ‘Alas for the day!’
3 (AT)For the day is near,
(AU)the day of the Lord is near;
it will be (AV)a day of clouds,
a time of doom for[e] the nations.
4 (AW)A sword shall come upon Egypt,
(AX)and anguish shall be in (AY)Cush,
when the slain fall in Egypt,
and (AZ)her wealth[f] is carried away,
and (BA)her foundations are torn down.
5 (BB)Cush, and (BC)Put, and Lud, and (BD)all Arabia, and Libya,[g] and the people of the land that is in league,[h] shall fall with them by the sword.
6 “Thus says the Lord:
(BE)Those who support Egypt shall fall,
and (BF)her proud might shall come down;
(BG)from Migdol to Syene
they shall fall within her by the sword,
declares the Lord God.
7 (BH)And they shall be desolated in the midst of desolated countries,
and their cities shall be in the midst of cities that are laid waste.
8 (BI)Then they will know that I am the Lord,
when (BJ)I have set fire to Egypt,
and (BK)all her helpers are broken.
9 “On that day (BL)messengers shall go out from me in ships to terrify the unsuspecting (BM)people of Cush, and (BN)anguish shall come upon them on the day of Egypt's doom;[i] for, behold, it comes!
10 “Thus says the Lord God:
(BO)“I will put an end to the wealth of Egypt,
by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
11 He and his people with him, (BP)the most ruthless of nations,
shall be brought in to destroy the land,
(BQ)and they shall draw their swords against Egypt
and fill the land with the slain.
12 And (BR)I will (BS)dry up the Nile
and will sell the land into the hand of (BT)evildoers;
(BU)I will bring desolation upon the land and everything in it,
by the hand of (BV)foreigners;
(BW)I am the Lord; I have spoken.
13 “Thus says the Lord God:
(BX)“I will destroy the idols
and put an end to the images in (BY)Memphis;
(BZ)there shall no longer be a prince from the land of Egypt;
so (CA)I will put fear in the land of Egypt.
14 I will make (CB)Pathros a desolation
and will set fire to (CC)Zoan
(CD)and will execute judgments on (CE)Thebes.
15 And I will pour out my wrath on Pelusium,
the stronghold of Egypt,
and cut off the multitude[j] of Thebes.
16 And I will set fire to Egypt;
Pelusium shall be in great agony;
Thebes shall be breached,
and (CF)Memphis shall face enemies[k] by day.
17 The young men of On and of Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword,
and the women[l] shall go into captivity.
18 At (CG)Tehaphnehes (CH)the day shall be dark,
when I break there the yoke bars of Egypt,
and (CI)her proud might shall come to an end in her;
she shall be covered by a cloud,
and her daughters shall go into captivity.
19 Thus (CJ)I will execute judgments on Egypt.
(CK)Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
Egypt Shall Fall to Babylon
20 (CL)In the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 21 (CM)“Son of man, (CN)I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and behold, (CO)it has not been bound up, to heal it by binding it with a bandage, so that it may become strong to wield the sword. 22 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt and (CP)will break his arms, both the strong arm and the one that was broken, and I will make the sword fall from his hand. 23 (CQ)I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them through the countries. 24 And (CR)I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put (CS)my sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before him (CT)like a man mortally wounded. 25 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall. (CU)Then they shall know that I am the Lord, (CV)when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt. 26 And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 29:6 Hebrew they
- Ezekiel 29:7 Syriac (compare Psalm 69:23); Hebrew to stand
- Ezekiel 29:9 Hebrew he
- Ezekiel 29:19 Or multitude
- Ezekiel 30:3 Hebrew lacks doom for
- Ezekiel 30:4 Or multitude; also verse 10
- Ezekiel 30:5 With Septuagint; Hebrew Cub
- Ezekiel 30:5 Hebrew and the sons of the land of the covenant
- Ezekiel 30:9 Hebrew the day of Egypt
- Ezekiel 30:15 Or wealth
- Ezekiel 30:16 Or distress
- Ezekiel 30:17 Or the cities; Hebrew they
Ezekiel 29-30
New International Version
Ezekiel 29-30
New International Version
A Prophecy Against Egypt
Judgment on Pharaoh
29 In the tenth year, in the tenth month on the twelfth day, the word of the Lord came to me:(A) 2 “Son of man, set your face against(B) Pharaoh king of Egypt(C) and prophesy against him and against all Egypt.(D) 3 Speak to him and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“‘I am against you, Pharaoh(E) king of Egypt,
you great monster(F) lying among your streams.
You say, “The Nile(G) belongs to me;
I made it for myself.”
4 But I will put hooks(H) in your jaws
and make the fish of your streams stick to your scales.
I will pull you out from among your streams,
with all the fish sticking to your scales.(I)
5 I will leave you in the desert,
you and all the fish of your streams.
You will fall on the open field
and not be gathered(J) or picked up.
I will give you as food
to the beasts of the earth and the birds of the sky.(K)
6 Then all who live in Egypt will know that I am the Lord.
“‘You have been a staff of reed(L) for the people of Israel. 7 When they grasped you with their hands, you splintered(M) and you tore open their shoulders; when they leaned on you, you broke and their backs were wrenched.[a](N)
8 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will bring a sword against you and kill both man and beast.(O) 9 Egypt will become a desolate wasteland. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
“‘Because you said, “The Nile(P) is mine; I made it,(Q)” 10 therefore I am against you(R) and against your streams, and I will make the land of Egypt(S) a ruin and a desolate waste(T) from Migdol(U) to Aswan,(V) as far as the border of Cush.[b](W) 11 The foot of neither man nor beast will pass through it; no one will live there for forty years.(X) 12 I will make the land of Egypt desolate(Y) among devastated lands, and her cities will lie desolate forty years among ruined cities. And I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them through the countries.(Z)
13 “‘Yet this is what the Sovereign Lord says: At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the nations where they were scattered. 14 I will bring them back from captivity and return them to Upper Egypt,(AA) the land of their ancestry. There they will be a lowly(AB) kingdom.(AC) 15 It will be the lowliest of kingdoms and will never again exalt itself above the other nations.(AD) I will make it so weak that it will never again rule over the nations. 16 Egypt will no longer be a source of confidence(AE) for the people of Israel but will be a reminder(AF) of their sin in turning to her for help.(AG) Then they will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.(AH)’”
Nebuchadnezzar’s Reward
17 In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month on the first day, the word of the Lord came to me:(AI) 18 “Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar(AJ) king of Babylon drove his army in a hard campaign against Tyre; every head was rubbed bare(AK) and every shoulder made raw.(AL) Yet he and his army got no reward from the campaign he led against Tyre. 19 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am going to give Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king(AM) of Babylon, and he will carry off its wealth. He will loot and plunder(AN) the land as pay for his army.(AO) 20 I have given him Egypt(AP) as a reward for his efforts because he and his army did it for me, declares the Sovereign Lord.(AQ)
21 “On that day I will make a horn[c](AR) grow for the Israelites, and I will open your mouth(AS) among them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.(AT)”
A Lament Over Egypt
30 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“‘Wail(AU) and say,
“Alas for that day!”
3 For the day is near,(AV)
the day of the Lord(AW) is near—
a day of clouds,
a time of doom for the nations.
4 A sword will come against Egypt,(AX)
and anguish will come upon Cush.[d](AY)
When the slain fall in Egypt,
her wealth will be carried away
and her foundations torn down.(AZ)
5 Cush and Libya,(BA) Lydia and all Arabia,(BB) Kub and the people(BC) of the covenant land will fall by the sword along with Egypt.(BD)
6 “‘This is what the Lord says:
“‘The allies of Egypt will fall
and her proud strength will fail.
From Migdol to Aswan(BE)
they will fall by the sword within her,
declares the Sovereign Lord.
7 “‘They will be desolate
among desolate lands,
and their cities will lie
among ruined cities.(BF)
8 Then they will know that I am the Lord,
when I set fire(BG) to Egypt
and all her helpers are crushed.(BH)
9 “‘On that day messengers will go out from me in ships to frighten Cush(BI) out of her complacency. Anguish(BJ) will take hold of them on the day of Egypt’s doom, for it is sure to come.(BK)
10 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“‘I will put an end to the hordes of Egypt
by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar(BL) king of Babylon.(BM)
11 He and his army—the most ruthless of nations(BN)—
will be brought in to destroy the land.
They will draw their swords against Egypt
and fill the land with the slain.(BO)
12 I will dry up(BP) the waters of the Nile(BQ)
and sell the land to an evil nation;
by the hand of foreigners
I will lay waste(BR) the land and everything in it.
I the Lord have spoken.
13 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“‘I will destroy the idols(BS)
and put an end to the images in Memphis.(BT)
No longer will there be a prince in Egypt,(BU)
and I will spread fear throughout the land.
14 I will lay(BV) waste Upper Egypt,
set fire to Zoan(BW)
and inflict punishment on Thebes.(BX)
15 I will pour out my wrath on Pelusium,
the stronghold of Egypt,
and wipe out the hordes of Thebes.
16 I will set fire(BY) to Egypt;
Pelusium will writhe in agony.
Thebes will be taken by storm;
Memphis(BZ) will be in constant distress.
17 The young men of Heliopolis(CA) and Bubastis
will fall by the sword,
and the cities themselves will go into captivity.
18 Dark will be the day at Tahpanhes(CB)
when I break the yoke of Egypt;(CC)
there her proud strength will come to an end.
She will be covered with clouds,
and her villages will go into captivity.(CD)
19 So I will inflict punishment(CE) on Egypt,
and they will know that I am the Lord.’”
Pharaoh’s Arms Are Broken
20 In the eleventh year, in the first month on the seventh day, the word of the Lord came to me:(CF) 21 “Son of man, I have broken the arm(CG) of Pharaoh(CH) king of Egypt. It has not been bound up to be healed(CI) or put in a splint so that it may become strong enough to hold a sword. 22 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt.(CJ) I will break both his arms, the good arm as well as the broken one, and make the sword fall from his hand.(CK) 23 I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them through the countries.(CL) 24 I will strengthen(CM) the arms of the king of Babylon and put my sword(CN) in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan(CO) before him like a mortally wounded man. 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 put my sword(CP) into the hand of the king of Babylon and he brandishes it against Egypt.(CQ) 26 I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them through the countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord.(CR)”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 29:7 Syriac (see also Septuagint and Vulgate); Hebrew and you caused their backs to stand
- Ezekiel 29:10 That is, the upper Nile region
- Ezekiel 29:21 Horn here symbolizes strength.
- Ezekiel 30:4 That is, the upper Nile region; also in verses 5 and 9
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.