Ezekiel 29
Modern English Version
A Prophecy 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, saying: 2 Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt and prophesy against him and against all Egypt. 3 Speak, and say, Thus says the Lord God:
I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt,
the great dragon that lies in the midst of his rivers,
which has said, “My Nile is my own,
and I myself have made it.”
4 But I will put hooks in your jaws,
and will cause the fish of your rivers to stick to your scales,
and will bring you up out of the midst of your rivers,
and all the fish of your rivers shall stick to your scales.
5 I will abandon you to the wilderness,
you and all the fish of your rivers;
you shall fall upon the open field;
you shall not be brought together or gathered.
I have given you for food
to the beasts of the field and to the fowl of the heavens.
6 All the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the Lord, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel. 7 When they took hold of you by your hand, you broke and tore all their hands. And when they leaned upon you, you broke and made all their legs shake.
8 Therefore thus says the Lord God: I will bring a sword upon you, and cut off man and beast out of you. 9 The land of Egypt shall become a desolation and waste. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.
Because you said, “The Nile is mine, and I have made it,” 10 therefore, I am against you and against your rivers, 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, nor foot of beast pass through it, nor shall it be inhabited for forty years. 12 Thus I will make the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities among the cities that are laid waste shall be desolate for forty years. And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and will disperse them among the countries.
13 For thus says the Lord God: At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples wherever they were scattered. 14 And I will turn the fortunes of Egypt and will cause them to return into the land of Pathros, into the land of their origin, and there they shall be a debased kingdom. 15 It shall be the basest of the kingdoms, and it shall exalt itself no more above the nations. For I will diminish them so that they shall rule over the nations no more. 16 It shall be the confidence of the house of Israel no more, bringing to mind the iniquity of their having turned to Egypt. But they shall know that I am the Lord God.
Babylonia to 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, saying: 18 Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor hard against Tyre. Every head was made bald, and every shoulder was peeled. Yet he and his army had no wages from Tyre for the labor that he had done against it. 19 Therefore thus says the Lord God: I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. And he shall carry off her wealth and take her spoil and take her prey. And it shall be wages for his army. 20 I have given him the land of Egypt for his labor with which he labored against it, because they acted for Me, says the Lord God.
21 On that day I will cause the horn of the house of Israel to spring forth, and I will open your mouth in their midst. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.
Ezekiel 29
Lexham English Bible
Yahweh’s Judgment upon Egypt
29 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth[a] day of the month, the word of Yahweh came[b] to me, saying,[c] 2 “Son of man,[d] set your face against Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against Egypt, all of it. 3 Speak, and you must say, ‘thus says the Lord Yahweh:
“Look! I am against you,
Pharaoh, king of Egypt,
the great sea monster,
the one lying down
in the midst of his Nile streams,
who says to me, “It is my Nile, and I made it for myself.”[e]
4 And so I will put hooks in your jawbones,
and I will make the fish of your Nile streams stick to your scales,
and I will bring you up from the midst of your Nile streams,
and all of the fish of your Nile streams which cling to your scales.
5 And I will fling you to the desert,
you and all the fish of your Nile streams.
On the surface of the field you will fall;
you will not be gathered,
and you will not be assembled.
To the animals[f] of the field
and to the birds[g] of the heavens
I will give you as food.
6 And all of the inhabitants of Egypt will know that I am Yahweh,
because of their[h] being a staff of reed for the house of Israel.
7 When they took hold of you with the hand, you snapped,
and you split their every shoulder.
And when they leaned on you, you broke,
and you caused all of their loins to wobble.”
8 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I am bringing on you a sword, and I will cut off from you human and animal. 9 And the land of Egypt will become[i] a desolation and ruins, and they will know that I am Yahweh because he[j] said, ‘The Nile is mine![k] And I, I made it!’ 10 Therefore look! I am against you and against your Nile streams, and I will make the land of Egypt into ruins, a pile of rubble, a desolation from Migdol to Syene and up to the boundary of Cush. 11 A foot of a human will not pass over it, and a foot of an animal will not pass over it, and so it will not be inhabited for forty years.[l] 12 And I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the midst of desolated countries, and its cities to be in the midst of ruined cities. They will be a desolation for forty years, and I will scatter Egypt among the nations, and I will disperse them among the countries.”
13 For thus says the Lord Yahweh: “At the end of forty years I will gather Egypt from the peoples among whom they were scattered. 14 And I will restore the fortunes of Egypt, and I will bring them back to the land of Pathros, to the land of their origin, and they will be a lowly kingdom there. 15 Of all the kingdoms it will be the most lowly, and it will not exalt itself again over the nations, and I will make them small so as not to rule over the nations. 16 And it will not be again for the house of Israel an object of trust, bringing to remembrance their guilt when they turned back to them,[m] and they will know that I am the Lord Yahweh.”
17 And then[n] in the twenty-seventh year,[o] in the first month, on the first day of the month, the word of Yahweh came[p] to me, saying,[q] 18 “Son of man,[r] Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, he made his army labor hard against Tyre. Every head was rubbed bare, and every shoulder was rubbed raw, but[s] a wage was not paid for him and for his army from Tyre for the labor that he did against it.” 19 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I am giving to Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon the land of Egypt, and he will carry its wealth away, and he will plunder its plunder, and he will loot its loot, and it will be a wage for his army. 20 As his wages that he worked for, I will give to him the land of Egypt, because they worked for me,” declares[t] the Lord Yahweh.
21 “On that day I will cause power[u] to grow up for the house of Israel, and for you I will give an opening of your mouth in the midst of them, and they will know that I am Yahweh.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 29:1 Literally “two ten”
- Ezekiel 29:1 Literally “was”
- Ezekiel 29:1 Literally “to say”
- Ezekiel 29:2 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
- Ezekiel 29:3 Hebrew “me”
- Ezekiel 29:5 Hebrew “animal”
- Ezekiel 29:5 Hebrew “bird”
- Ezekiel 29:6 LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate: “you”
- Ezekiel 29:9 Hebrew “be”
- Ezekiel 29:9 That is, Pharaoh
- Ezekiel 29:9 Literally “to me”
- Ezekiel 29:11 Hebrew “year”
- Ezekiel 29:16 Literally “at their turning”
- Ezekiel 29:17 Literally “and it happened”
- Ezekiel 29:17 Literally “twenty and seven year”
- Ezekiel 29:17 Literally “was”
- Ezekiel 29:17 Literally “to say”
- Ezekiel 29:18 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
- Ezekiel 29:18 Or “and”
- Ezekiel 29:20 Literally “declaration of”
- Ezekiel 29:21 Literally “a horn”
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.
2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software