Ezekiel 30
Expanded Bible
Egypt Will Be Punished
30 The ·Lord spoke his word [L word of the Lord came] to me, saying: 2 “·Human [T Son of man; 2:1], prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord God says:
·Cry [Wail] ·and say [Alas; L Hah],
“·The terrible day is coming [L …for the day].”
3 [L For] The day is near;
the ·Lord’s day of judging [L Day of the Lord] is near.
It is a ·cloudy day [day of clouds; C perhaps storm clouds, or indicating the presence of God; Joel 2:2; Ex. 19:9]
and a time ·when the nations will be judged [L for the nations].
4 An ·enemy will attack [L sword will come against] Egypt,
and Cush [C Ethiopia] will ·tremble with fear [be in anguish].
When the ·killing begins [L slain fall] in Egypt,
her wealth will be ·taken away [carried off],
and her foundations will be torn down.
5 Cush, Put, ·Lydia [L Lud; 27:10], all ·Arabia [or all the foreigners; or all the mercenaries], ·Libya [L Kub], and ·some of my people who had made an agreement with Egypt [or the people of allied lands; L the sons of the land of the covenant] will fall ·dead in war [L by the sword with them].
6 “‘This is what the Lord says:
·Those who fight on Egypt’s side [Egypt’s supporters] will fall.
The power she is proud of will ·be lost [collapse; come down].
From Migdol [C in northern Egypt] to ·Aswan [L Syene; C in southern Egypt],
the people will fall ·dead in war [L by the sword]
says the Lord God.
7 They will be ·the most deserted [L desolate in the midst of desolate] lands.
Egypt’s cities will be ·the worst [L in the midst] of cities that lie in ruins.
8 Then they will know that I am the Lord
when I set fire to Egypt
and when all ·those nations on her side [her helpers/allies] are crushed.
9 “‘·At that time [L On that day] I will send messengers in ships to frighten Cush [C Ethiopia], which ·now feels safe [is over-confident; or is complacent]. ·The people of Cush will tremble with fear [L Anguish will come upon them] ·when Egypt is punished [L in the day of Egypt]. And [L look; T behold] that time is sure to come.
10 “‘This is what the Lord God says:
I will destroy ·great numbers of people in [L the hordes of] Egypt
·through the power [L by the hand] of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
11 Nebuchadnezzar and his ·army [or people],
the ·cruelest army [most ruthless] of any nation,
will be brought in to destroy the land.
They will draw their swords against Egypt
and will fill the land with ·those they kill [the slain].
12 I will make the streams of the Nile River become dry land,
and then I will sell the land to evil people.
I will ·destroy [desolate] the land and everything in it
through the ·power [L hand] of foreigners.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
Egypt’s Idols Are Destroyed
13 “‘This is what the Lord God says:
I will destroy the idols
and ·take away [put an end to] the ·statues of gods from the city of [L images in] Memphis.
There will no longer be a ·leader [prince] in the land of Egypt,
and I will spread fear through the land of Egypt.
14 I will make ·southern Egypt [L Pathros] ·empty [a desolation]
and ·start a fire in [or set fire to] Zoan
and ·punish [execute judgment on] Thebes.
15 And I will pour out my anger against Pelusium [C a fortess in the eastern delta of the Nile River],
the ·strong place [stronghold] of Egypt.
I will ·destroy [cut off] ·great numbers of people in [the hordes/armies of] Thebes.
16 I will set fire to Egypt.
Pelusium [v. 15] will ·be in great pain [writhe in agony].
·The walls of Thebes will be broken open [Thebes will be breached],
and Memphis will ·have troubles [or face enemies] every day.
17 The young men of ·Heliopolis [L On; C six miles northeast of Cairo] and Bubastis [C the capital of northern Egypt; forty miles northeast of Cairo]
will fall dead ·in war [L by the sword],
and ·the people [or the cities; L they] will be taken away as captives.
18 In Tahpanhes [C in northeast Egypt] the day will be dark
when I break ·Egypt’s power [L the yoke of Egypt].
Then ·she will no longer be proud of her power [her proud strength will cease].
A cloud will cover Egypt,
and her ·villages [L daughters] will be captured and taken away.
19 So I will ·punish [execute judgments on] Egypt,
and they will know I am the Lord.’”
Egypt Becomes Weak
20 It was in the eleventh year [C since King Jehoiachin’s exile (1:2)], in the first month, on the seventh day of the month [C April 29, 587 bc]. The ·Lord spoke his word [L word of the Lord came] to me, saying: 21 “·Human [T Son of man; 2:1], I have broken the ·powerful arm [L arm] of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. It has not been ·tied [bound] up, so it will not get well. It has not been wrapped with a bandage, so it will not be strong enough to hold a sword in war. 22 So this is what the Lord God says: [L Look; T Behold] I am against Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. I will break his arms, both the strong arm and the broken arm, and I will make the sword fall from his hand. 23 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, spreading them among the countries. 24 I will make the arms of the king of Babylon strong and put my sword in his hand. But I will break the arms of Pharaoh. Then ·when he faces the king of Babylon [L before him] he will ·cry out in pain [groan] like a ·dying [mortally wounded] person. 25 So I will make the arms of the king of Babylon strong, but the arms of the king of Egypt will ·fall [become limp]. Then people will know that I am the Lord when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he ·uses it in war [wields it; extends it] against the land of Egypt. 26 Then I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, spreading them among the countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
Ezekiel 30
Amplified Bible
Dirge for Egypt
30 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God,
“Wail, ‘Alas for the day!’
3
“For the day is near,
Even the day of the Lord is near,
It will be a cloudy day;
A time of doom for the nations.
4
“A sword will come upon Egypt,
And anguish and trembling will be in Ethiopia (Cush),
When the slain fall in Egypt
And they [of Babylon] carry away her great mass of people and her riches
And her foundations are torn down.
5 Ethiopia (Cush), Put, Lud, all [a]Arabia, Libya (Cub) and the people of the land of the covenant [the Jews who had taken refuge in Egypt] will fall with the Egyptians by the sword.”
6
‘Thus says the Lord,
“Those who uphold and support Egypt will fall
And the pride of her power will come down;
From Migdol [in the north] to Syene [in the south]
They will fall within her by the sword,”
Says the Lord God.
7
“And they will be desolate
In the midst of countries that are desolated;
And her cities will be
Among cities that are devastated [by plunder and slavery].
8
“And they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord,
When I have set a fire in Egypt
And all her helpers are shattered and destroyed.
9 On that day [swift] messengers will go from Me in ships to frighten the careless and unsuspecting Ethiopians, and there will be anguish and trembling in them as in the day of [judgment for] Egypt; for behold, it is coming!”
10 ‘Thus says the Lord God,
“I will also make the great people of Egypt cease
By the hand of [b]Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
11
“He and his people with him,
The most violent and ruthless of the nations,
Will be brought in to destroy the land,
And they will draw their swords against Egypt
And fill the land with the slain.
12
“And I will make the rivers [of the Nile delta] dry
And sell the land into the hands of evil men;
I will make the land desolate
And all that is in it,
By the hand of strangers. I the Lord have spoken.”
13
‘Thus says the Lord God,
“I will also destroy the idols
And I will put an end to the images in Memphis;
There will no longer be a prince of the land of Egypt.
And I will put fear in the land of Egypt.
14
“I will make Pathros desolate,
Set fire to Zoan
And execute judgments and punishments on Thebes.
15
“I will pour out My wrath on Pelusium,
The stronghold of Egypt,
And I will cut off (destroy) the population of Thebes.
16
“I will set fire to Egypt;
Pelusium will writhe in [great] anguish,
Thebes shall be torn open
And Memphis shall be in daily distress.
17
“The young men of On (Aven) and of Pi-beseth
Will fall by the sword,
And the women [and children] will go into captivity.
18
“In Tehaphnehes the day will be dark
When I break the yoke bars and dominion of Egypt there.
Then the pride of her power will come to an end;
A cloud [of disasters] will cover her,
And her daughters will go into captivity.
19
“In this way I will bring judgment and punishment on Egypt.
Then they shall know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.”’”
Victory for Babylon
20 In the eleventh year [after King Jehoiachin was taken to Babylon], in the first month, on the seventh of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 21 “Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and behold, it has not been bound up to heal or wrapped with a bandage, so that it may be strong to hold and wield the sword. 22 Therefore thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt and will break his arms, both the strong one and the broken, and I will make the sword fall from his hand. 23 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and will disperse them throughout the lands. 24 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put My sword in his hand; but I will break Pharaoh’s arms and he will groan before him (Nebuchadnezzar) with the groanings of a [mortally] wounded man. 25 But I will strengthen and hold up the arms of the king of Babylon and the arms of Pharaoh will fall down. Then the people [of Egypt] will know that I am the Lord, when I put My sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt. 26 When I scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them through the lands, then they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.’”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 30:5 Or the mixed people.
- Ezekiel 30:10 See note Jer 21:2.
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