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Prophesy Against Egypt

29 In the (A)tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth of the month, the word of Yahweh came to me saying, “Son of man, set your face against (B)Pharaoh king of Egypt and prophesy against him and against all (C)Egypt. Speak and say, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh,

“Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt,
The great [a](D)monster that lies in the midst of his canals of the Nile,
That (E)has said, ‘My Nile is mine, and I myself have made it.’
I will put (F)hooks in your jaws
And make the fish of your canals of the Nile cling to your scales.
And I will bring you up out of the midst of your canals of the Nile,
And all the fish of your canals of the Nile will cling to your scales.
I will (G)abandon you to the wilderness, you and all the fish of your canals of the Nile;
You will fall on the [b]open field; you will not be brought together or [c](H)gathered.
I have given you for (I)food to the beasts of the earth and to the birds of the sky.
Then all the inhabitants of Egypt will know that I am Yahweh
Because they have been only a (J)staff made of reed to the house of Israel.
When they seized you with the hand,
You (K)tore and split open all their [d]shoulders;
And when they leaned on you,
You broke and made all their loins [e]quake.”

‘Therefore thus says Lord Yahweh, “Behold, I will (L)bring upon you a sword, and I will cut off from you man and beast. The (M)land of Egypt will become a desolation and waste. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.

Because [f]you (N)said, ‘The Nile is mine, and I have made it,’ 10 therefore, behold, I am (O)against you and against your canals of the Nile, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from Migdol to Syene and even to the border of [g]Ethiopia. 11 A man’s foot will (P)not pass through it, and the foot of a beast will not pass through it, and it will not be inhabited for forty years. 12 So I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the (Q)midst of desolated lands. And her cities, in the midst of cities that are laid waste, will be desolate forty years; and I will (R)scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands.”

13 ‘For thus says Lord Yahweh, “At the end of forty years I will (S)gather the Egyptians from the peoples [h]among whom they were scattered. 14 I will return the fortunes of Egypt and make them return to the land of (T)Pathros, to the land of their origin, and there they will be a lowly kingdom. 15 It will be the (U)lowest of the kingdoms, and it will never again lift itself up above the nations. And I will make them so small that they will not (V)have dominion over the nations. 16 And it will never again be the (W)security of the house of Israel, (X)bringing to remembrance the iniquity of their having turned to go after Egypt. Then they will know that I am Lord Yahweh.”’”

17 Now in the (Y)twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first of the month, the word of Yahweh came to me saying, 18 “Son of man, (Z)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his military force [i]labor hard against Tyre; every head was made (AA)bald, and every shoulder was rubbed bare. But he and his military force had no wages from Tyre for the [j]labor that he had [k]labored against it.” 19 Therefore thus says Lord Yahweh, “Behold, I (AB)will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. And he will carry off her [l](AC)abundance and capture her spoil and seize her plunder; and it will be wages for his military force. 20 I have given him the land of Egypt for his work which he [m](AD)labored because they acted for Me,” declares Lord Yahweh.

21 “On that day I will make a (AE)horn sprout for the house of Israel, and I will [n](AF)open your mouth in their midst. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 29:3 Lit tannim
  2. Ezekiel 29:5 Lit faces of the field
  3. Ezekiel 29:5 Targum and several mss buried
  4. Ezekiel 29:7 Some ancient versions hands
  5. Ezekiel 29:7 Lit stand
  6. Ezekiel 29:9 Lit he
  7. Ezekiel 29:10 Or Cush, cf. Gen 10:6
  8. Ezekiel 29:13 Lit where
  9. Ezekiel 29:18 Or a great slavery; lit a great service
  10. Ezekiel 29:18 Or slavery; lit service
  11. Ezekiel 29:18 Or slaved; lit served
  12. Ezekiel 29:19 Or multitude
  13. Ezekiel 29:20 Or slaved; lit served
  14. Ezekiel 29:21 Lit give you an opening of the mouth

Proclamation against Egypt

29 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt; speak, and say, Thus says the Lord God:

“Behold, I am against you,
    Pharaoh king of Egypt,
the great dragon that lies
    in the midst of his streams,
that says, ‘My Nile is my own;
    I made it.’[a]
I will 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
    which stick to your scales.
And I will cast you forth into the wilderness,
    you and all the fish of your streams;
you shall fall upon the open field,
    and not be gathered and buried.
To the beasts of the earth and to the birds of the air
    I have given you as food.

“Then all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the Lord. Because you[b] have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel; when they grasped you with the hand, you broke, and tore all their shoulders; and when they leaned upon you, you broke, and made all their loins to shake;[c] therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will bring a sword upon you, and will cut off from you man and beast; and the land of Egypt shall be a desolation and a waste. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

“Because you[d] said, ‘The Nile is mine, and I made it,’ 10 therefore, behold, I am against you, and against your streams, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of Ethiopia. 11 No foot of man shall pass through it, and no foot of beast shall pass through it; it shall be uninhabited forty years. 12 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. 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 I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered; 14 and I will restore the fortunes of Egypt, and bring them back to 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, 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 the reliance of the house of Israel, recalling their iniquity, when they turn to them for aid. Then they will know that I am the Lord God.”

Babylonia Will Plunder Egypt

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, Nebuchadrez′zar 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 it. 19 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadrez′zar king of Babylon; and he shall carry off its wealth[e] and despoil it and plunder it; and it shall be the wages for his army. 20 I have given him the land of Egypt as his recompense for which he labored, because they worked for me, says the Lord God.

21 “On that day I will cause a horn to spring forth to the house of Israel, and I will open your lips among them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 29:3 Syr Compare Gk: Heb I have made myself
  2. Ezekiel 29:6 Gk Syr Vg: Heb they
  3. Ezekiel 29:7 Syr: Heb stand
  4. Ezekiel 29:9 Gk Syr Vg: Heb he
  5. Ezekiel 29:19 Or multitude