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Egypt Will Be Punished

30 The ·Lord spoke his word [L word of the Lord came] to me, saying: “·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].”

[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].

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.

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].

“‘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.

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.

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.

“‘·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.”

Grief over Egypt

30 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord [a]God says:

(A)Wail, ‘Woe for the day!’
For the day is near,
Indeed, (B)the day of the Lord is near;
It will be a day of (C)clouds,
A time of doom for the nations.
A sword will come upon Egypt,
And there will be trembling in [b]Cush;
When the slain fall in Egypt,
They will (D)take away her [c]wealth,
And her foundations will be torn down.

[d]Cush, Put, Lud, all [e](E)Arabia, [f]Libya and the [g]people of the land [h]that is in league will fall with them by the sword.”

‘This is what the Lord says:
“Indeed, those who support (F)Egypt will fall
And the pride of her power will come down;
From Migdol to Syene
They will fall within her by the sword,”
Declares the Lord God.
“They will be desolate
In the (G)midst of the desolated lands;
And her cities will be
In the midst of the devastated cities.
And they will (H)know that I am the Lord,
When I set a (I)fire in Egypt
And all her helpers are broken.

On that day (J)messengers will go out from Me in ships to frighten (K)carefree [i]Cush; and (L)trembling will come on them as on the day of Egypt; for behold, it is coming!”

10 ‘This is what the Lord God says:

(M)I will also make the [j]hordes of Egypt cease
By the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
11 He and his people with him,
(N)The most 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 Moreover, I will make the (O)Nile canals dry
And (P)sell the land into the hands of evil men.
And I will make the land desolate
And [k]all that is in it,
By the hand of strangers; I the Lord have spoken.”

13 ‘This is what the Lord God says:

“I will also (Q)destroy the idols
And make the [l]images cease from [m](R)Memphis.
And there will no longer be a prince in the land of Egypt;
And I will put fear in the land of Egypt.
14 I will make (S)Pathros desolate,
Set a fire in (T)Zoan
And execute judgments on [n](U)Thebes.
15 I will pour out My wrath on [o]Sin,
The stronghold of Egypt;
I will also eliminate the hordes of [p]Thebes.
16 I will set a fire in Egypt;
[q]Sin will writhe in anguish,
[r]Thebes will be breached
And [s]Memphis will have [t]distresses daily.
17 The young men of [u](V)On and of Pi-beseth
Will fall by the sword,
And [v]the women will go into captivity.
18 In (W)Tehaphnehes the day will [w]be (X)dark
When I (Y)break there the yoke bars of Egypt.
Then the pride of her power will cease in her;
A cloud will cover her,
And her daughters will go into captivity.
19 So I will (Z)execute judgments on Egypt,
And they will know that I am the Lord.”’”

Victory for Babylon

20 In the (AA)eleventh year, 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 (AB)broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, behold, it has not been (AC)bound up [x]for healing [y]or wrapped with a bandage, so that it may be strong to wield the sword. 22 Therefore this is what the Lord God says: ‘Behold, I am (AD)against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and I will break his arms, both the strong and the (AE)broken; and I will make the sword (AF)fall from his hand. 23 And I will (AG)scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands. 24 For I will (AH)strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put (AI)My sword in his hand; and I will break the arms of Pharaoh, so that he will groan before him with the groans of a wounded man. 25 So I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fail. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I put My sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he (AJ)reaches out with it against the land of Egypt. 26 When I scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands, then they will know that I am the Lord.’”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 30:2 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch
  2. Ezekiel 30:4 Or Ethiopia
  3. Ezekiel 30:4 Or multitude
  4. Ezekiel 30:5 Or Ethiopia
  5. Ezekiel 30:5 Or the mixed people
  6. Ezekiel 30:5 Or Cub
  7. Ezekiel 30:5 Lit sons
  8. Ezekiel 30:5 Lit of the covenant
  9. Ezekiel 30:9 Or Ethiopia
  10. Ezekiel 30:10 Or people; lit crowd, and so throughout the ch
  11. Ezekiel 30:12 Lit her fullness
  12. Ezekiel 30:13 Or futile ones
  13. Ezekiel 30:13 Or Noph
  14. Ezekiel 30:14 Or No
  15. Ezekiel 30:15 Or Pelusium
  16. Ezekiel 30:15 Or No
  17. Ezekiel 30:16 Or Pelusium
  18. Ezekiel 30:16 Or No
  19. Ezekiel 30:16 Or Noph
  20. Ezekiel 30:16 Or adversaries
  21. Ezekiel 30:17 Or Aven
  22. Ezekiel 30:17 Lit they
  23. Ezekiel 30:18 As in many mss and ancient versions; MT restrain
  24. Ezekiel 30:21 Lit to give healing
  25. Ezekiel 30:21 Lit to wrap it