Judgment of Egypt

29 In the (A)tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth of the month, the word of the Lord 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, ‘This is what the Lord [a]God says:

“Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt,
The great [b](D)monster that lies in the midst of his [c]canals,
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 [d]canals cling to your scales.
And I will bring you up out of the midst of your [e]canals,
And all the fish of your [f]canals will cling to your scales.
I will (G)abandon you to the wilderness, you and all the fish of your [g]canals;
You will fall on the [h]open field; you will not be brought together or [i](H)gathered.
I have given you for (I)food to the animals of the earth and to the birds of the sky.
Then all the inhabitants of Egypt will know that I am the Lord,
Because they have been only a (J)staff made of reed to the house of Israel.
When they took hold of you with the hand,
You (K)broke and tore all their [j]hands;
And when they leaned on you,
You broke and made all their hips [k]shake.”

‘Therefore the Lord God says this: “Behold, I am going to (L)bring upon you a sword, and I will cut off from you human and animal life. The (M)land of Egypt will become a desolation and place of ruins. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

“Because [l]you (N)said, ‘The Nile is mine, and I have made it,’ 10 therefore, behold, I am (O)against you and against your [m]canals, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from Migdol to Syene and as far as the border of [n]Cush. 11 A human foot will (P)not pass through it, nor will the foot of an animal 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 deserted lands. And her cities, in the midst of cities that are laid waste, will be desolate for forty years; and I will (R)scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands.”

13 ‘For this is what the Lord God says: “At the end of forty years I will (S)gather the Egyptians from the peoples [o]among whom they were scattered. 14 And I will restore the fortunes of Egypt and bring them back 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 not raise itself above the nations again. And I will make them small so that they will not (V)rule over the nations. 16 And it will no longer be a kingdom on which (W)the house of Israel relies, [p](X)bringing to mind the guilt of their having turned [q]to Egypt. Then they will know that I am the Lord God.”’”

17 Now in the (Y)twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 18 “Son of man, (Z)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army labor [r]hard against Tyre; every head [s]had a (AA)bald spot and every shoulder was rubbed raw. But he and his army acquired no wages from Tyre for the labor that he had [t]performed against it.” 19 Therefore this is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I am going to (AB)give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. And he will carry off her (AC)wealth and capture her spoils and seize her plunder; and it will be wages for his army. 20 I have given him the land of Egypt for his labor which he [u](AD)performed, because they acted for Me,” declares the Lord God.

21 “On that day I will make a (AE)horn sprout for the house of Israel, and I will [v](AF)open your mouth among them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 29:3 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch
  2. Ezekiel 29:3 Heb tannim
  3. Ezekiel 29:3 Or Nile
  4. Ezekiel 29:4 Or Nile
  5. Ezekiel 29:4 Or Nile
  6. Ezekiel 29:4 Or Nile
  7. Ezekiel 29:5 Or Nile
  8. Ezekiel 29:5 Lit faces of the field
  9. Ezekiel 29:5 Or with several mss and Targum, buried
  10. Ezekiel 29:7 As in some ancient versions; MT shoulders
  11. Ezekiel 29:7 Cf. ancient versions; MT stand
  12. Ezekiel 29:9 As in ancient versions; MT he
  13. Ezekiel 29:10 Or Nile
  14. Ezekiel 29:10 Or Ethiopia
  15. Ezekiel 29:13 Lit where
  16. Ezekiel 29:16 Lit causing to remember
  17. Ezekiel 29:16 Lit after them
  18. Ezekiel 29:18 Lit a great labor
  19. Ezekiel 29:18 I.e., injuries from the labor
  20. Ezekiel 29:18 Lit labored
  21. Ezekiel 29:20 Lit labored
  22. Ezekiel 29:21 Lit give you an opening of the mouth

Against Egypt

29 In the tenth year, on the twelfth day of the tenth month, the Lord’s word came to me: Human one, face Pharaoh, Egypt’s king, and prophesy against him and against all of Egypt. Speak and say, The Lord God proclaims:

I’m against you, Pharaoh, Egypt’s king,
    great crocodile lurking
    in the Nile’s canals,
        who says, “The Nile is all mine;
        I made it for myself!”
I will set hooks in your jaws;
    I will make the fish from the Nile’s canals cling to your scales.
I will drag you out of the Nile’s canals,
    and also all the fish from the Nile’s canals
    clinging to your scales.
        I will fling you out into the desert,
        and also all the fish from the Nile’s canals.
You will fall on the open ground,
    and won’t be gathered or retrieved.

I’ve given you to the beasts of the earth
        and the birds in the sky for food.
Everyone living in Egypt will know that I am the Lord.

Because they were a flimsy crutch for the house of Israel— when they took you in hand, you would splinter and make their shoulders sore; when they leaned on you, you would break, bringing them to their knees— now the Lord God proclaims: I’m bringing a sword against you, and I will cut off from you human and beast. The land of Egypt will be turned into a wasteland and ruins. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

Because you[a] said, “The Nile is mine; I made it,” 10 I’m against you and against the Nile’s canals. I will make the land of Egypt into an utter ruin, a wasteland, from Migdol to Syene and as far as its boundary with Cush. 11 No foot, animal or human, will walk across it, and it won’t be inhabited for forty years. 12 I will make the land of Egypt the most desolate of wastelands and its cities the most devastated of ruined cities. It will be a wasteland for forty years, and the Egyptians will be scattered among the nations and dispersed throughout the lands.

13 The Lord God proclaims: At the end of forty years, I will gather the Egyptians from among the nations where they are scattered. 14 I will improve their circumstances and bring them back to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin. Egypt will be a lowly kingdom there. 15 Out of all the kingdoms, it will be the lowliest. It will never again exalt itself over the nations, and I will make it small to keep it from ruling the nations. 16 The house of Israel will never again bring guilt on itself by faithlessly turning to Egypt for help, for they will know that I am the Lord God.

17 In the twenty-seventh year, on the first day of the first month, the Lord’s word came to me: 18 Human one, Babylon’s King Nebuchadrezzar made his army labor very hard against Tyre. Every head was scraped bald, and every shoulder was rubbed raw, yet he got nothing from Tyre for himself or for his army for any of his efforts against it. 19 So now the Lord God proclaims: I’m going to give the land of Egypt to Babylon’s King Nebuchadrezzar. He will carry off its wealth, he will plunder and loot it, and it will be the wages for his army. 20 I will give him the land of Egypt as payment for his laboring for me. This is what the Lord God says.

21 On that day I will give new strength[b] to the house of Israel, and I will open your mouth among them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 29:9 Or he
  2. Ezekiel 29:21 Or make a horn sprout