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The land of Egypt will become a desolate ruin. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

“‘Because he said, “The Nile is mine and I made it,” 10 I am against[a] you and your waterways. I will turn the land of Egypt into an utter desolate ruin from Migdol[b] to Syene,[c] as far as the border with Ethiopia. 11 No human foot will pass through it, and no animal’s foot will pass through it; it will be uninhabited for forty years. 12 I will turn the land of Egypt into a desolation in the midst of desolate lands; for forty years her cities will lie desolate in the midst of ruined cities. I will scatter Egypt among the nations and disperse them among foreign countries.

13 “‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: At the end of forty years[d] I will gather Egypt from the peoples where they were scattered. 14 I will restore the fortunes of Egypt and will bring them back[e] to the land of Pathros, to the land of their origin; there they will be an insignificant kingdom. 15 It will be the most insignificant of the kingdoms; it will never again exalt itself over the nations. I will make them so small that they will not rule over the nations. 16 It will never again be Israel’s source of confidence, but a reminder of how they sinned by turning to Egypt for help.[f] Then they will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.’”

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 29:10 tn Or “I challenge you.” 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.
  2. Ezekiel 29:10 sn This may refer to a site in the Egyptian Delta that served as a refuge for Jews (Jer 44:1; 46:14).
  3. Ezekiel 29:10 sn Syene is known today as Aswan.
  4. Ezekiel 29:13 sn In Ezek 4:4-8 it was said that the house of Judah would suffer forty years.
  5. Ezekiel 29:14 tc Thus the MT, which reads וַהֲשִׁבֹתִי (vahashivoti, “I will cause to return”), a Hiphil of the verb שׁוּב (shuv, “to return”). The LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate translate as though the Hebrew had the vocalization וְהֹשַׁבְתִּי (vehoshavti, “I will cause to inhabit”), a Hiphil from יָשַׁב (yashav “to dwell”).
  6. Ezekiel 29:16 tn Heb “reminding of iniquity when they turned after them.”