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Ezekiel 30
New English Translation
Ezekiel 30
New English Translation
A Lament Over Egypt
30 The Lord’s message came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“‘Wail, “Alas, the day is here!”[a]
3 For the day is near,
the day of the Lord is near;
it will be a day of storm clouds,[b]
it will be a time of judgment[c] for the nations.
4 A sword will come against Egypt
and panic will overtake Ethiopia
when the slain fall in Egypt
and they carry away her wealth
and dismantle her foundations.
5 Ethiopia, Put, Lud, all the foreigners,[d] Libya, and the people[e] of the covenant land[f] will die by the sword along with them.
6 “‘This is what the Lord says:
Egypt’s supporters will fall;
her confident pride will crumble.[g]
From Migdol to Syene[h] they will die by the sword within her,
declares the Sovereign Lord.
7 They will be desolate among desolate lands,
and their cities will be among ruined cities.
8 They will know that I am the Lord
when I ignite a fire in Egypt
and all her allies are defeated.[i]
9 “‘On that day messengers will go out from me in ships to frighten overconfident Ethiopia; panic will overtake them on the day of Egypt’s doom;[j] for beware—it is coming!
10 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
I will put an end to the hordes of Egypt,
by the hand of King Nebuchadrezzar[k] of Babylon.
11 He and his people with him,
the most terrifying of the nations,[l]
will be brought there to destroy the land.
They will draw their swords against Egypt,
and fill the land with corpses.
12 I will dry up the waterways
and hand the land over to[m] evil men.
I will make the land and everything in it desolate by the hand of foreigners.
I, the Lord, have spoken!
13 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
I will destroy the idols,
and put an end to the gods of Memphis.
There will no longer be a prince from the land of Egypt;
so I will make the land of Egypt fearful.[n]
14 I will desolate Pathros,
I will ignite a fire in Zoan,
and I will execute judgments on Thebes.
15 I will pour out my anger upon Pelusium,[o]
the stronghold of Egypt;
I will cut off[p] the hordes of Thebes.
16 I will ignite a fire in Egypt;
Syene[q] will writhe in agony,
Thebes will be broken down,
and Memphis will face enemies every day.
17 The young men of On and of Pi Beseth[r] will die by the sword;
and the cities will go[s] into captivity.
18 In Tahpanhes the day will be dark[t]
when I break the yoke of Egypt there.
Her confident pride will cease within her;
a cloud will cover her, and her daughters will go into captivity.
19 I will execute judgments on Egypt.
Then they will know that I am the Lord.’”
20 In the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month,[u] the Lord’s message came to me: 21 “Son of man, I have broken the arm[v] of Pharaoh king of Egypt.[w] Look, it has not been bandaged for healing or set with a dressing so that it might become strong enough to grasp a sword. 22 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look,[x] I am against[y] Pharaoh king of Egypt, and I will break his arms, the strong arm and the broken one, and I will make the sword drop from his hand. 23 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among foreign countries. 24 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and I will place my sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan like the fatally wounded before the king of Babylon.[z] 25 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fall limp. Then they will know that I am the Lord when I place my sword in the hand of the king of Babylon and he extends it against the land of Egypt. 26 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among foreign countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 30:2 tn Heb “Alas for the day.”
- Ezekiel 30:3 tn Heb “a day of clouds.” The expression occurs also in Joel 2:2 and Zeph 1:15; it recalls the appearance of God at Mount Sinai (Exod 19:9, 16, 18).
- Ezekiel 30:3 tn Heb “a time.” The words “of judgment” have been added in the translation for clarification (see the following verses).
- Ezekiel 30:5 tn The same expression appears in Exod 12:38; Jer 25:20; 50:37; Neh 13:3. It may refer to foreign mercenaries serving in the armies of the nations listed here.
- Ezekiel 30:5 tn Heb “sons.”
- Ezekiel 30:5 tn The expression “sons of the covenant land” possibly refers to Jews living in Egypt (Jer 44).
- Ezekiel 30:6 tn Heb “come down.”
- Ezekiel 30:6 sn Syene is known as Aswan today.
- Ezekiel 30:8 tn Heb “all who aid her are broken.”
- Ezekiel 30:9 tn Heb “in the day of Egypt.” The word “doom” has been added in the translation to clarify the nature of this day.
- Ezekiel 30:10 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.”
- Ezekiel 30:11 tn The Babylonians were known for their cruelty (2 Kgs 25:7).
- Ezekiel 30:12 tn Heb “and I will sell the land into the hand of.”
- Ezekiel 30:13 tn Heb “I will put fear in the land of Egypt.”
- Ezekiel 30:15 tn Heb “Sin” (so KJV, NASB), a city commonly identified with Pelusium, a fortress on Egypt’s northeastern frontier.
- Ezekiel 30:15 tn Or “kill.”
- Ezekiel 30:16 tc The LXX reads “Syene,” which is Aswan in the south. The MT reads Sin, which has already been mentioned in v. 15.
- Ezekiel 30:17 sn On and Pi Beseth are generally identified with the Egyptian cities of Heliopolis and Bubastis.
- Ezekiel 30:17 tn Heb “they will go.” The pronoun and verb are feminine plural, indicating that the cities just mentioned are the antecedent of the pronoun and the subject of the verb. The translation makes this clear by stating the subject as “the cities.”
- Ezekiel 30:18 sn In Zeph 1:15 darkness is associated with the day of the Lord.
- Ezekiel 30:20 tn April 29, 587 b.c.
- Ezekiel 30:21 sn The expression “breaking the arm” indicates the removal of power (Pss 10:15; 37:17; Job 38:15; Jer 48:25).
- Ezekiel 30:21 sn This may refer to the event recorded in Jer 37:5.
- Ezekiel 30:22 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
- Ezekiel 30:22 tn Or “I challenge.” 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.
- Ezekiel 30:24 tn Heb “him”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Ezekiel 30
English Standard Version
Ezekiel 30
English Standard Version
A Lament for Egypt
30 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 (A)“Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord God:
(B)“Wail, ‘Alas for the day!’
3 (C)For the day is near,
(D)the day of the Lord is near;
it will be (E)a day of clouds,
a time of doom for[a] the nations.
4 (F)A sword shall come upon Egypt,
(G)and anguish shall be in (H)Cush,
when the slain fall in Egypt,
and (I)her wealth[b] is carried away,
and (J)her foundations are torn down.
5 (K)Cush, and (L)Put, and Lud, and (M)all Arabia, and Libya,[c] and the people of the land that is in league,[d] shall fall with them by the sword.
6 “Thus says the Lord:
(N)Those who support Egypt shall fall,
and (O)her proud might shall come down;
(P)from Migdol to Syene
they shall fall within her by the sword,
declares the Lord God.
7 (Q)And they shall be desolated in the midst of desolated countries,
and their cities shall be in the midst of cities that are laid waste.
8 (R)Then they will know that I am the Lord,
when (S)I have set fire to Egypt,
and (T)all her helpers are broken.
9 “On that day (U)messengers shall go out from me in ships to terrify the unsuspecting (V)people of Cush, and (W)anguish shall come upon them on the day of Egypt's doom;[e] for, behold, it comes!
10 “Thus says the Lord God:
(X)“I will put an end to the wealth of Egypt,
by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
11 He and his people with him, (Y)the most ruthless of nations,
shall be brought in to destroy the land,
(Z)and they shall draw their swords against Egypt
and fill the land with the slain.
12 And (AA)I will (AB)dry up the Nile
and will sell the land into the hand of (AC)evildoers;
(AD)I will bring desolation upon the land and everything in it,
by the hand of (AE)foreigners;
(AF)I am the Lord; I have spoken.
13 “Thus says the Lord God:
(AG)“I will destroy the idols
and put an end to the images in (AH)Memphis;
(AI)there shall no longer be a prince from the land of Egypt;
so (AJ)I will put fear in the land of Egypt.
14 I will make (AK)Pathros a desolation
and will set fire to (AL)Zoan
(AM)and will execute judgments on (AN)Thebes.
15 And I will pour out my wrath on Pelusium,
the stronghold of Egypt,
and cut off the multitude[f] of Thebes.
16 And I will set fire to Egypt;
Pelusium shall be in great agony;
Thebes shall be breached,
and (AO)Memphis shall face enemies[g] by day.
17 The young men of On and of Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword,
and the women[h] shall go into captivity.
18 At (AP)Tehaphnehes (AQ)the day shall be dark,
when I break there the yoke bars of Egypt,
and (AR)her proud might shall come to an end in her;
she shall be covered by a cloud,
and her daughters shall go into captivity.
19 Thus (AS)I will execute judgments on Egypt.
(AT)Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
Egypt Shall Fall to Babylon
20 (AU)In the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 21 (AV)“Son of man, (AW)I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and behold, (AX)it has not been bound up, to heal it by binding it with a bandage, so that it may become strong to wield the sword. 22 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt and (AY)will break his arms, both the strong arm and the one that was broken, and I will make the sword fall from his hand. 23 (AZ)I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them through the countries. 24 And (BA)I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put (BB)my sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before him (BC)like a man mortally wounded. 25 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall. (BD)Then they shall know that I am the Lord, (BE)when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt. 26 And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 30:3 Hebrew lacks doom for
- Ezekiel 30:4 Or multitude; also verse 10
- Ezekiel 30:5 With Septuagint; Hebrew Cub
- Ezekiel 30:5 Hebrew and the sons of the land of the covenant
- Ezekiel 30:9 Hebrew the day of Egypt
- Ezekiel 30:15 Or wealth
- Ezekiel 30:16 Or distress
- Ezekiel 30:17 Or the cities; Hebrew they
Ezekiel 30
International Children’s Bible
Ezekiel 30
International Children’s Bible
Egypt Will Be Punished
30 The Lord spoke his word to me. He said, 2 “Human being, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord God says:
Cry and say,
“The terrible day is coming.”
3 The day is near.
The Lord’s day of judging is near.
It is a cloudy day.
It is a time when the nations will be judged.
4 An enemy will attack Egypt.
And Cush will tremble with fear.
When the killing begins in Egypt,
her wealth will be taken away.
Egypt’s foundations will be torn down.
5 Cush, Put, Lydia, Arabia, Libya and my people will die. All these who made an agreement with Egypt will fall dead in war.
6 “‘This is what the Lord God says:
Those who fight on Egypt’s side will fall.
The power she is proud of will go down.
The people in Egypt will fall dead in war
from Migdol in the north to Aswan in the south,
says the Lord God.
7 They will be
the emptiest land.
Egypt’s cities will be
like other cities that lie in ruin.
8 Then they will know that I am the Lord.
This will happen when I set fire to Egypt
and when all those nations on her side are crushed.
9 “‘At that time I will send messengers in ships. They will frighten Cush which now feels safe. The people of Cush will tremble with fear when Egypt is punished. And that time is sure to come.
10 “‘This is what the Lord God says:
I will destroy great numbers of people in Egypt.
I will do it through Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
11 Nebuchadnezzar and his army
are the cruelest army of any nation.
They will be brought in to destroy the land.
They will pull out their swords against Egypt.
They will fill the land with those they kill.
12 I will make the streams of the Nile River become dry land.
Then I will sell the dry land to evil people.
I will destroy the land and everything in it.
I will do it through the power of strangers.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
Egypt’s Idols Are Destroyed
13 “‘This is what the Lord God says:
I will destroy the idols.
And I will take away the statues of false gods from the city of Memphis.
There will no longer be a leader in Egypt.
And I will spread fear through the land of Egypt.
14 I will make southern Egypt empty.
I will start a fire in Zoan.
I will punish Thebes.
15 And I will pour out my anger against Pelusium,
the strong place of Egypt.
I will destroy great numbers of people in Thebes.
16 I will set fire to Egypt.
Pelusium will be in great pain.
The walls of Thebes will be broken open.
And Memphis will have troubles every day.
17 The young men of Heliopolis and Bubastis
will fall dead in war.
And the people will be taken away as captives.
18 In Tahpanhes the day will be dark
when I break Egypt’s power.
A cloud will cover Egypt.
And her villages will be captured and taken away.
19 So I will punish Egypt.
And they will know I am the Lord.’”
Egypt Becomes Weak
20 It happened in the eleventh year of our captivity, in the first month. It was on the seventh day of the month. The Lord spoke his word to me. He said: 21 “Human being, I have broken the powerful arm of the king of Egypt. It has not been tied up so it will not get well. It has not been wrapped with a bandage. So his arm will not be strong enough to hold a sword in war. 22 So this is what the Lord God says: I am against the king of Egypt. I will break his arms. I will break both the strong arm and the broken arm. I will make the sword fall from his hand. 23 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations. And I will spread them among the countries. 24 I will make the arms of the king of Babylon strong. I will put my sword in his hand. But I will break the arms of the king of Egypt. Then he will cry out in pain as a wounded man cries out. 25 So I will make the arms of the king of Babylon strong. But the arms of the king of Egypt will fall. Then they will know that I am the Lord. I will put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon. And he will use the sword in war against Egypt. 26 Then I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations. And I will spread them among the countries. And they will know that I am the Lord.”
Ezekiel 30
New International Version
Ezekiel 30
New International Version
A Lament Over Egypt
30 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“‘Wail(A) and say,
“Alas for that day!”
3 For the day is near,(B)
the day of the Lord(C) is near—
a day of clouds,
a time of doom for the nations.
4 A sword will come against Egypt,(D)
and anguish will come upon Cush.[a](E)
When the slain fall in Egypt,
her wealth will be carried away
and her foundations torn down.(F)
5 Cush and Libya,(G) Lydia and all Arabia,(H) Kub and the people(I) of the covenant land will fall by the sword along with Egypt.(J)
6 “‘This is what the Lord says:
“‘The allies of Egypt will fall
and her proud strength will fail.
From Migdol to Aswan(K)
they will fall by the sword within her,
declares the Sovereign Lord.
7 “‘They will be desolate
among desolate lands,
and their cities will lie
among ruined cities.(L)
8 Then they will know that I am the Lord,
when I set fire(M) to Egypt
and all her helpers are crushed.(N)
9 “‘On that day messengers will go out from me in ships to frighten Cush(O) out of her complacency. Anguish(P) will take hold of them on the day of Egypt’s doom, for it is sure to come.(Q)
10 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“‘I will put an end to the hordes of Egypt
by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar(R) king of Babylon.(S)
11 He and his army—the most ruthless of nations(T)—
will be brought in to destroy the land.
They will draw their swords against Egypt
and fill the land with the slain.(U)
12 I will dry up(V) the waters of the Nile(W)
and sell the land to an evil nation;
by the hand of foreigners
I will lay waste(X) the land and everything in it.
I the Lord have spoken.
13 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“‘I will destroy the idols(Y)
and put an end to the images in Memphis.(Z)
No longer will there be a prince in Egypt,(AA)
and I will spread fear throughout the land.
14 I will lay(AB) waste Upper Egypt,
set fire to Zoan(AC)
and inflict punishment on Thebes.(AD)
15 I will pour out my wrath on Pelusium,
the stronghold of Egypt,
and wipe out the hordes of Thebes.
16 I will set fire(AE) to Egypt;
Pelusium will writhe in agony.
Thebes will be taken by storm;
Memphis(AF) will be in constant distress.
17 The young men of Heliopolis(AG) and Bubastis
will fall by the sword,
and the cities themselves will go into captivity.
18 Dark will be the day at Tahpanhes(AH)
when I break the yoke of Egypt;(AI)
there her proud strength will come to an end.
She will be covered with clouds,
and her villages will go into captivity.(AJ)
19 So I will inflict punishment(AK) on Egypt,
and they will know that I am the Lord.’”
Pharaoh’s Arms Are Broken
20 In the eleventh year, in the first month on the seventh day, the word of the Lord came to me:(AL) 21 “Son of man, I have broken the arm(AM) of Pharaoh(AN) king of Egypt. It has not been bound up to be healed(AO) or put in a splint so that it may become strong enough to hold a sword. 22 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt.(AP) I will break both his arms, the good arm as well as the broken one, and make the sword fall from his hand.(AQ) 23 I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them through the countries.(AR) 24 I will strengthen(AS) the arms of the king of Babylon and put my sword(AT) in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan(AU) before him like a mortally wounded man. 25 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fall limp. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I put my sword(AV) into the hand of the king of Babylon and he brandishes it against Egypt.(AW) 26 I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them through the countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord.(AX)”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 30:4 That is, the upper Nile region; also in verses 5 and 9
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