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

A Prophecy of Egypt’s Ruin

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, face Pharaoh king of Egypt and prophesy against him and against all of Egypt.(A) Speak to him and say, ‘This is what the Lord God says:

Look, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt,
the great monster[a](B) lying in the middle of his Nile,
who says, “My Nile is my own;
I made it for myself.”
I will put hooks in your jaws(C)
and make the fish of your streams
cling to your scales.
I will haul you up
from the middle of your Nile,
and all the fish of your streams
will cling to your scales.
I will leave you in the desert,(D)
you and all the fish of your streams.
You will fall on the open ground
and will not be taken away
or gathered for burial.(E)
I have given you
to the wild creatures of the earth
and the birds of the sky as food.(F)

“‘Then all the inhabitants of Egypt
will know that I am the Lord,
for they[b] have been a staff made of reed
to the house of Israel.

When Israel grasped you by the hand,
you splintered,(G) tearing all their shoulders;
when they leaned on you,
you shattered and made all their hips unsteady.[c]

“‘Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: I am going to bring a sword(H) against you and cut off both people and animals from you. The land of Egypt will be a desolate ruin.(I) Then they will know that I am the Lord. Because you[d] said, “The Nile is my own; I made it,” 10 therefore, I am against you and your Nile. I will turn the land of Egypt into ruins, a desolate waste from Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of Cush. 11 No human foot will pass through it, and no animal foot will pass through it.(J) It will be uninhabited for forty years. 12 I will make the land of Egypt a desolation among[e] desolate lands, and its cities will be a desolation among[f] ruined cities(K) for forty years. I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them throughout the lands.(L)

13 “‘For this is what the Lord God says: At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples where they were dispersed.(M) 14 I will restore the fortunes of Egypt and bring them back to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin. There they will be a lowly kingdom. 15 Egypt will be the lowliest of kingdoms and will never again exalt itself over the nations. I will make them so small they cannot rule over the nations. 16 It will never again be an object of trust(N) for the house of Israel, drawing attention to their iniquity of turning to the Egyptians. Then they will know that I am the Lord God.’”

Babylon Receives Egypt as Compensation

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, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon made his army labor strenuously against Tyre.(O) Every head was made bald and every shoulder chafed, but he and his army received no compensation from Tyre for the labor he expended against it. 19 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: I am going to give the land of Egypt to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon,(P) and he will carry off its wealth, seizing its spoil and taking its plunder. This will be his army’s compensation. 20 I have given him the land of Egypt as the pay he labored for, since they worked for me.” This is the declaration of the Lord God. 21 “In that day I will cause a horn to sprout(Q) for the house of Israel, and I will enable you to speak out(R) among them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

Footnotes

  1. 29:3 Or crocodile
  2. 29:6 LXX, Syr, Vg read you
  3. 29:7 LXX, Syr, Vg; MT reads and you caused their hips to stand
  4. 29:9 LXX, Syr, Vg; MT reads he
  5. 29:12 Or Egypt the most desolate of
  6. 29:12 Or be the most desolate of