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Ezekiel 29
New English Translation

A Prophecy Against Egypt

29 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month,[a] the Lord’s message came to me: 2 “Son of man, turn toward[b] Pharaoh king of Egypt and prophesy against him and against all Egypt. 3 Tell them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘Look, I am against[c] you, Pharaoh king of Egypt,
the great monster[d] lying in the midst of its waterways,
who has said, “My Nile is my own, I made it for myself.”[e]
4 I will put hooks in your jaws
and stick the fish of your waterways to your scales.
I will haul you up from the midst of your waterways,
and all the fish of your waterways will stick to your scales.
5 I will leave you in the wilderness,
you and all the fish of your waterways;
you will fall in the open field and will not be gathered up or collected.[f]
I have given you as food to the beasts of the earth and the birds of the skies.
6 Then all those living in Egypt will know that I am the Lord
because they were a reed staff[g] for the house of Israel;
7 when they grasped you with their hand,[h] you broke and tore[i] their shoulders,
and when they leaned on you, you splintered and caused their legs to be unsteady.[j]

8 “‘Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to bring a sword against you, and I will kill[k] every person and every animal. 9 The land of Egypt will become a desolate ruin. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

“‘Because he said, “The Nile is mine and I made it,” 10 I am against[l] you and your waterways. I will turn the land of Egypt into an utter desolate ruin from Migdol[m] to Syene,[n] as far as the border with Ethiopia. 11 No human foot will pass through it, and no animal’s foot will pass through it; it will be uninhabited for forty years. 12 I will turn the land of Egypt into a desolation in the midst of desolate lands; for forty years her cities will lie desolate in the midst of ruined cities. I will scatter Egypt among the nations and disperse them among foreign countries.

13 “‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: At the end of forty years[o] I will gather Egypt from the peoples where they were scattered. 14 I will restore the fortunes of Egypt and will bring them back[p] to the land of Pathros, to the land of their origin; there they will be an insignificant kingdom. 15 It will be the most insignificant of the kingdoms; it will never again exalt itself over the nations. I will make them so small that they will not rule over the nations. 16 It will never again be Israel’s source of confidence, but a reminder of how they sinned by turning to Egypt for help.[q] Then they will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.’”

17 In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month,[r] the Lord’s message came to me: 18 “Son of man, King Nebuchadrezzar[s] of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre.[t] Every head was rubbed bald and every shoulder rubbed bare; yet he and his army received no wages from Tyre for the work he carried out against it. 19 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to give the land of Egypt to King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon. He will carry off her wealth, capture her loot, and seize her plunder; it will be his army’s wages. 20 I have given him the land of Egypt as his compensation for attacking Tyre,[u] because they did it for me, declares the Sovereign Lord. 21 On that day I will make Israel powerful,[v] and I will give you the right to be heard[w] among them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 29:1 tn January 7, 587 b.c.
  2. Ezekiel 29:2 tn Heb “set your face against.”
  3. Ezekiel 29:3 tn Or “I challenge you.” The phrase “I am against you” may be a formula for challenging someone to combat or a duel. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:201-2, and P. Humbert, “Die Herausforderungsformel ‘hinnenî ’êlékâ’” ZAW 45 (1933): 101-8.
  4. Ezekiel 29:3 tn Heb “jackals,” but many medieval Hebrew mss read correctly “the serpent.” The Hebrew term appears to refer to a serpent in Exod 7:9-10, 12; Deut 32:33; Ps 91:13. It also refers to large creatures that inhabit the sea (Gen 1:21; Ps 148:7). In several passages it is associated with the sea or with the multiheaded sea monster Leviathan (Job 7:12; Ps 74:13; Isa 27:1; 51:9). Because of the Egyptian setting of this prophecy and the reference to the creature’s scales (v. 4), many understand a crocodile to be the referent here (e.g., NCV “a great crocodile”; TEV “you monster crocodile”; CEV “a giant crocodile”).
  5. Ezekiel 29:3 sn In Egyptian theology Pharaoh owned and controlled the Nile. See J. D. Currid, Ancient Egypt and the Old Testament, 240-44.
  6. Ezekiel 29:5 tc Some Hebrew mss, the Targum, and the LXX read “buried.”
  7. Ezekiel 29:6 sn Cf. Isa 36:6.
  8. Ezekiel 29:7 tc The Hebrew consonantal text (Kethib) implies בְכַפְּךָ (vekappeka, “by your hand”) but the marginal reading (Qere) has simply בַכַּף (vakkaf, “by the hand”). The LXX reads: “with their hand,” implying בְכַפָּם (vekappam).
  9. Ezekiel 29:7 tn Or perhaps “dislocated.”
  10. Ezekiel 29:7 tn Heb “you caused to stand for them all their hips.” An emendation that switches two letters but is supported by the LXX yields the reading: “you caused all their hips to shake.” See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:103. In 2 Kgs 18:21 and Isa 36:6 trusting in the Pharaoh is compared to leaning on a staff. The oracle may reflect Hophra’s attempt to aid Jerusalem (Jer 37:5-8).
  11. Ezekiel 29:8 tn Heb “I will cut off from you.”
  12. Ezekiel 29:10 tn Or “I challenge you.” The phrase “I am against you” may be a formula for challenging someone to combat or a duel. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:201-2, and P. Humbert, “Die Herausforderungsformel ‘hinnenî ’êlékâ’” ZAW 45 (1933): 101-8.
  13. Ezekiel 29:10 sn This may refer to a site in the Egyptian Delta that served as a refuge for Jews (Jer 44:1; 46:14).
  14. Ezekiel 29:10 sn Syene is known today as Aswan.
  15. Ezekiel 29:13 sn In Ezek 4:4-8 it was said that the house of Judah would suffer forty years.
  16. Ezekiel 29:14 tc Thus the MT, which reads וַהֲשִׁבֹתִי (vahashivoti, “I will cause to return”), a Hiphil of the verb שׁוּב (shuv, “to return”). The LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate translate as though the Hebrew had the vocalization וְהֹשַׁבְתִּי (vehoshavti, “I will cause to inhabit”), a Hiphil from יָשַׁב (yashav “to dwell”).
  17. Ezekiel 29:16 tn Heb “reminding of iniquity when they turned after them.”
  18. Ezekiel 29:17 sn April 26, 571 b.c.
  19. Ezekiel 29:18 tn Heb “Nebuchadrezzar” is a variant and more exact spelling of Nebuchadnezzar, as the Babylonian name Nabu-kudurri-uṣur has an “r” rather than an “n” (so also in v. 19).
  20. Ezekiel 29:18 sn Nebuchadnezzar besieged Tyre from 585 to 571 b.c.
  21. Ezekiel 29:20 tn Heb “for which he worked,” referring to the assault on Tyre (v. 18).
  22. Ezekiel 29:21 tn Heb “I will cause a horn to sprout for the house of Israel.” The horn is used as a figure for military power in the OT (Ps 92:10). A similar expression is made about the Davidic dynasty in Ps 132:17.
  23. Ezekiel 29:21 tn Heb “I will grant you an open mouth.”
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Ezekiel 29
New International Version

A Prophecy Against Egypt

Judgment on Pharaoh

29 In the tenth year, in the tenth month on the twelfth day, the word of the Lord came to me:(A) 2 “Son of man, set your face against(B) Pharaoh king of Egypt(C) and prophesy against him and against all Egypt.(D) 3 Speak to him and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘I am against you, Pharaoh(E) king of Egypt,
    you great monster(F) lying among your streams.
You say, “The Nile(G) belongs to me;
    I made it for myself.”
4 But I will put hooks(H) in your jaws
    and make the fish of your streams stick to your scales.
I will pull you out from among your streams,
    with all the fish sticking to your scales.(I)
5 I will leave you in the desert,
    you and all the fish of your streams.
You will fall on the open field
    and not be gathered(J) or picked up.
I will give you as food
    to the beasts of the earth and the birds of the sky.(K)

6 Then all who live in Egypt will know that I am the Lord.

“‘You have been a staff of reed(L) for the people of Israel. 7 When they grasped you with their hands, you splintered(M) and you tore open their shoulders; when they leaned on you, you broke and their backs were wrenched.[a](N)

8 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will bring a sword against you and kill both man and beast.(O) 9 Egypt will become a desolate wasteland. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

“‘Because you said, “The Nile(P) is mine; I made it,(Q)” 10 therefore I am against you(R) and against your streams, and I will make the land of Egypt(S) a ruin and a desolate waste(T) from Migdol(U) to Aswan,(V) as far as the border of Cush.[b](W) 11 The foot of neither man nor beast will pass through it; no one will live there for forty years.(X) 12 I will make the land of Egypt desolate(Y) among devastated lands, and her cities will lie desolate forty years among ruined cities. And I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them through the countries.(Z)

13 “‘Yet this is what the Sovereign Lord says: At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the nations where they were scattered. 14 I will bring them back from captivity and return them to Upper Egypt,(AA) the land of their ancestry. There they will be a lowly(AB) kingdom.(AC) 15 It will be the lowliest of kingdoms and will never again exalt itself above the other nations.(AD) I will make it so weak that it will never again rule over the nations. 16 Egypt will no longer be a source of confidence(AE) for the people of Israel but will be a reminder(AF) of their sin in turning to her for help.(AG) Then they will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.(AH)’”

Nebuchadnezzar’s Reward

17 In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month on the first day, the word of the Lord came to me:(AI) 18 “Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar(AJ) king of Babylon drove his army in a hard campaign against Tyre; every head was rubbed bare(AK) and every shoulder made raw.(AL) Yet he and his army got no reward from the campaign he led against Tyre. 19 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am going to give Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king(AM) of Babylon, and he will carry off its wealth. He will loot and plunder(AN) the land as pay for his army.(AO) 20 I have given him Egypt(AP) as a reward for his efforts because he and his army did it for me, declares the Sovereign Lord.(AQ)

21 “On that day I will make a horn[c](AR) grow for the Israelites, and I will open your mouth(AS) among them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.(AT)”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 29:7 Syriac (see also Septuagint and Vulgate); Hebrew and you caused their backs to stand
  2. Ezekiel 29:10 That is, the upper Nile region
  3. Ezekiel 29:21 Horn here symbolizes strength.
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