Ezekiel 29
New Living Translation
A Message for Egypt
29 On January 7,[a] during the tenth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, this message came to me from the Lord: 2 “Son of man, turn and face Egypt and prophesy against Pharaoh the king and all the people of Egypt. 3 Give them this message from the Sovereign Lord:
“I am your enemy, O Pharaoh, king of Egypt—
you great monster, lurking in the streams of the Nile.
For you have said, ‘The Nile River is mine;
I made it for myself.’
4 I will put hooks in your jaws
and drag you out on the land
with fish sticking to your scales.
5 I will leave you and all your fish
stranded in the wilderness to die.
You will lie unburied on the open ground,
for I have given you as food to the wild animals and birds.
6 All the people of Egypt will know that I am the Lord,
for to Israel you were just a staff made of reeds.
7 When Israel leaned on you,
you splintered and broke
and stabbed her in the armpit.
When she put her weight on you,
you collapsed, and her legs gave way.
8 “Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will bring an army against you, O Egypt, and destroy both people and animals. 9 The land of Egypt will become a desolate wasteland, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.
“Because you said, ‘The Nile River is mine; I made it,’ 10 I am now the enemy of both you and your river. I will make the land of Egypt a totally desolate wasteland, from Migdol to Aswan, as far south as the border of Ethiopia.[b] 11 For forty years not a soul will pass that way, neither people nor animals. It will be completely uninhabited. 12 I will make Egypt desolate, and it will be surrounded by other desolate nations. Its cities will be empty and desolate for forty years, surrounded by other ruined cities. I will scatter the Egyptians to distant lands.
13 “But this is what the Sovereign Lord also says: At the end of the forty years I will bring the Egyptians home again from the nations to which they have been scattered. 14 I will restore the prosperity of Egypt and bring its people back to the land of Pathros in southern Egypt from which they came. But Egypt will remain an unimportant, minor kingdom. 15 It will be the lowliest of all the nations, never again great enough to rise above its neighbors.
16 “Then Israel will no longer be tempted to trust in Egypt for help. Egypt’s shattered condition will remind Israel of how sinful she was to trust Egypt in earlier days. Then Israel will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.”
Nebuchadnezzar to Conquer Egypt
17 On April 26, the first day of the new year,[c] during the twenty-seventh year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, this message came to me from the Lord: 18 “Son of man, the army of King Nebuchadnezzar[d] of Babylon fought so hard against Tyre that the warriors’ heads were rubbed bare and their shoulders were raw and blistered. Yet Nebuchadnezzar and his army won no plunder to compensate them for all their work. 19 Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. He will carry off its wealth, plundering everything it has so he can pay his army. 20 Yes, I have given him the land of Egypt as a reward for his work, says the Sovereign Lord, because he was working for me when he destroyed Tyre.
21 “And the day will come when I will cause the ancient glory of Israel to revive,[e] and then, Ezekiel, your words will be respected. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
Footnotes
- 29:1 Hebrew On the twelfth day of the tenth month, of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. This event occurred on January 7, 587 B.c.; also see note on 1:1.
- 29:10 Hebrew from Migdol to Syene as far as the border of Cush.
- 29:17 Hebrew On the first day of the first month, of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. This event occurred on April 26, 571 B.c.; also see note on 1:1.
- 29:18 Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar, a variant spelling of Nebuchadnezzar; also in 29:19.
- 29:21 Hebrew I will cause a horn to sprout for the house of Israel.
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”
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