⁹ And the land of Egypt shall become ^(A)desolate and waste; then they will know that I am the Lord, because he said, ‘The River is mine, and I have made it.’ ¹⁰ Indeed, therefore, I am against you and against your rivers, ^(B)and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, ^(C)from ^[a]Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of Ethiopia. ^11 (D)Neither foot of man shall pass through it nor foot of beast pass through it, and it shall be uninhabited forty years. ^12 (E)I will make the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate; and among the cities that are laid waste, her cities shall be desolate forty years; and I will ^(F)scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries.”

¹³ ‘Yet, thus says the Lord God: “At the ^(G)end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered. ¹⁴ I will bring back the captives of Egypt and cause them to return to the land of Pathros, to the land of their origin, and there they shall be a ^(H)lowly kingdom. ¹⁵ It shall be the lowliest of kingdoms; it shall never again exalt itself above the nations, for I will diminish them so that they will not rule over the nations anymore. ¹⁶ No longer shall it be ^(I)the confidence of the house of Israel, but will remind them of their iniquity when they turned to follow them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord God.” ’ ”