Ezekiel 29
Good News Translation
Prophecy against Egypt
29 (A)On the twelfth day of the tenth month of the tenth year of our exile, the Lord spoke to me. 2 “Mortal man,” he said, “denounce the king of Egypt. Tell him how he and all the land of Egypt will be punished. 3 Say that this is what the Sovereign Lord is telling the king of Egypt: I am your enemy, you monster crocodile, lying in the river. You say that the Nile is yours and that you made it.[a] 4 I am going to put a hook through your jaw and make the fish in your river stick fast to you. Then I will pull you up out of the Nile, with all the fish sticking to you. 5 I will throw you and all those fish into the desert. Your body will fall on the ground and be left unburied. I will give it to the birds and animals for food. 6 (B)Then all the people of Egypt will know that I am the Lord.”
The Lord says, “The Israelites relied on you Egyptians for support, but you were no better than a weak stick. 7 When they leaned on you, you broke, pierced their armpits, and made them wrench their backs.[b] 8 Now then, I, the Sovereign Lord, am telling you that I will have troops attack you with swords, and they will kill your people and your animals. 9 Egypt will become an empty wasteland. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
“Because you said that the Nile is yours and you made it, 10 I am your enemy and the enemy of your Nile. I will make all of Egypt an empty wasteland, from the city of Migdol in the north to the city of Aswan in the south, all the way to the Ethiopian[c] border. 11 No human being or animal will walk through it. For forty years nothing will live there. 12 I will make Egypt the most desolate country in the world. For forty years the cities of Egypt will lie in ruins, ruins worse than those of any other city. I will make the Egyptians refugees. They will flee to every country and live among other peoples.”
13 The Sovereign Lord says, “After forty years I will bring the Egyptians back from the nations where I have scattered them, 14 and I will let them live in southern Egypt, their original home. There they will be a weak kingdom, 15 the weakest kingdom of all, and they will never again rule other nations. I will make them so unimportant that they will not be able to bend any other nation to their will. 16 Israel will never again depend on them for help. Egypt's fate will remind Israel how wrong it was to rely on them. Then Israel will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.”
King Nebuchadnezzar Will Conquer Egypt
17 On the first day of the first month of the twenty-seventh year of our exile, the Lord spoke to me. 18 “Mortal man,” he said, “King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia launched an attack on Tyre. He made his soldiers carry such heavy loads that their heads were rubbed bald and their shoulders were worn raw, but neither the king nor his army got anything for all their trouble. 19 So now this is what I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying: I am giving the land of Egypt to King Nebuchadnezzar. He will loot and plunder it and carry off all the wealth of Egypt as his army's pay. 20 I am giving him Egypt in payment for his services, because his army was working for me. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken.
21 “When that happens, I will make the people of Israel strong and let you, Ezekiel, speak out where everyone can hear you, so that they will know that I am the Lord.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 29:3 Some ancient translations you made it; Hebrew you made yourself.
- Ezekiel 29:7 One ancient translation wrench their backs; Hebrew make their backs stand.
- Ezekiel 29:10 Hebrew Cushite (Cush): Cush is the ancient name of the extensive territory south of the First Cataract of the Nile River. This region was called Ethiopia in Graeco-Roman times, and included within its borders most of modern Sudan and some of present-day Ethiopia (Abyssinia).
Ezekiel 29
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Proclamation against Egypt
29 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 2 Mortal, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt;(A) 3 speak and say: Thus says the Lord God:
I am against you,
Pharaoh king of Egypt,
the great dragon sprawling
in the midst of its channels,
saying, “My Nile is my own;
I made it for myself.”(B)
4 I will put hooks in your jaws
and make the fish of your channels stick to your scales.
I will draw you up from your channels,
with all the fish of your channels
sticking to your scales.(C)
5 I will fling you into the wilderness,
you and all the fish of your channels;
you shall fall in the open field
and not be gathered or picked up.
To the animals of the earth and to the birds of the air
I have given you as food.(D)
6 Then all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know
that I am the Lord,
because you[a] were a staff of reed
to the house of Israel;(E)
7 when they grasped you with the hand, you broke
and tore all their shoulders,
and when they leaned on you, you broke
and made all their legs give way.[b](F)
8 Therefore, thus says the Lord God: I will bring a sword upon you and will cut off from you human and animal,(G) 9 and the land of Egypt shall be a desolation and a waste. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.
Because you[c] said, “The Nile is mine, and I made it,” 10 therefore, I am against you and against your channels, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of Cush.(H) 11 No human foot shall pass through it, and no animal foot shall pass through it; it shall be uninhabited forty years.(I) 12 I will make the land of Egypt a desolation among desolated countries, and her cities shall be a desolation forty years among cities that are laid waste. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the countries.(J)
13 Further, thus says the Lord God: At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered,(K) 14 and I will restore the fortunes of Egypt and bring them back to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin, and there they shall be a lowly kingdom. 15 It shall be the most lowly of the kingdoms and never again exalt itself above the nations, and I will make them so small that they will never again rule over the nations. 16 The Egyptians[d] shall never again be the reliance of the house of Israel; they will recall their iniquity when they turned to them for aid. Then they shall know that I am the Lord God.(L)
Babylonia Will Plunder Egypt
17 In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 18 Mortal, King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre; every head was made bald and every shoulder was rubbed bare, yet neither he nor his army got anything from Tyre to pay for the labor that he had expended against it.(M) 19 Therefore thus says the Lord God: I will give the land of Egypt to King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, and he shall carry off its wealth and despoil it and plunder it, and it shall be the wages for his army.(N) 20 I have given him the land of Egypt as his payment for which he labored, because they worked for me, says the Lord God.(O)
21 On that day I will cause a horn to sprout up for the house of Israel, and I will open your lips among them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.(P)
Ezekiel 29
Complete Jewish Bible
29 On the twelfth day of the tenth month of the tenth year, the word of Adonai came to me: 2 “Human being, turn your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt; prophesy against him and against all Egypt; 3 speak out; and say that Adonai Elohim says:
‘I am against you,
Pharaoh king of Egypt,
you big crocodile
lying in the streams of the Nile!
You say, “My Nile is mine;
I made it for myself.”
4 But I will put hooks in your jaws
and make your Nile fish stick to your scales.
Yes, I will bring you up from your Nile,
with all your Nile fish sticking to your scales,
5 and leave you in the desert,
you and all your Nile fish.
You will fall in the open field
and not be gathered or buried;
but I will give you as food
to wild animals and birds.
6 Then all who live in Egypt
will know that I am Adonai,
because they have been a support made of straw
for the house of Isra’el.
7 When they grasped you in hand, you splintered
and threw all their shoulders out of joint;
when they leaned on you, you broke
and made them all wrench their backs.’
8 “Therefore Adonai Elohim says, ‘I will bring the sword against you and eliminate both your people and your animals. 9 The land of Egypt will become a desolate waste, and they will know that I am Adonai; because he said, “The Nile is mine; I made it.” 10 So I am against you and your Nile; and I will make the land of Egypt a totally desolate waste from Migdol to S’venah, all the way to the border of Ethiopia. 11 No human foot will pass through it, and no animal foot will pass through it; it will be uninhabited for forty years. 12 Yes, I will make the land of Egypt desolate, even when compared with other desolate countries, likewise her cities in comparison with other ruined cities; they will be desolate forty years. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them through the countries.’
13 “For this is what Adonai Elohim says: ‘At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples where they were scattered — 14 I will restore the fortunes of Egypt and cause them to return to the land of their origin, Patros. But there they will be a humble kingdom, 15 the humblest of kingdoms. It will never again dominate other nations; I will reduce them, so that they never again rule other nations. 16 Moreover, they will no longer be a source of confidence for Isra’el to turn to; rather, it will only bring to mind their guilt in having turned to them before. Then they will know that I am Adonai Elohim.’”
17 On the first day of the first month of the twenty-seventh year, the word of Adonai came to me: 18 “Human being, N’vukhadretzar king of Bavel had his army mount a massive expedition against Tzor; [the loads of dirt they carried] made every head bald and every shoulder raw; yet neither he nor his army derived any benefit from Tzor out of this expedition against it. 19 Therefore Adonai Elohim says, ‘I will give the land of Egypt to N’vukhadretzar king of Bavel. He will carry off its riches, take its spoil and its prey; and these will be the wages for his army. 20 I am giving him the land of Egypt as his wages for which he worked, because they were working for me,’ says Adonai Elohim. 21 ‘When that day comes I will cause power to return to the house of Isra’el, and I will enable you [Yechezk’el] to open your mouth among them. Then they will know that I am Adonai.’”
Ezekiel 29
The Message
Never a World Power Again
29 1-6 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day, God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, confront Pharaoh king of Egypt. Preach against him and all the Egyptians. Tell him, ‘God, the Master, says:
“‘Watch yourself, Pharaoh, king of Egypt.
I’m dead set against you,
You lumbering old dragon,
lolling and flaccid in the Nile,
Saying, “It’s my Nile.
I made it. It’s mine.”
I’ll set hooks in your jaw;
I’ll make the fish of the Nile stick to your scales.
I’ll pull you out of the Nile,
with all the fish stuck to your scales.
Then I’ll drag you out into the desert,
you and all the Nile fish sticking to your scales.
You’ll lie there in the open, rotting in the sun,
meat to the wild animals and carrion birds.
Everybody living in Egypt
will realize that I am God.
6-9 “‘Because you’ve been a flimsy reed crutch to Israel so that when they gripped you, you splintered and cut their hand, and when they leaned on you, you broke and sent them sprawling—Message of God, the Master—I’ll bring war against you, do away with people and animals alike, and turn the country into an empty desert so they’ll realize that I am God.
9-11 “‘Because you said, “It’s my Nile. I made it. It’s all mine,” therefore I am against you and your rivers. I’ll reduce Egypt to an empty, desolate wasteland all the way from Migdol in the north to Syene and the border of Ethiopia in the south. Not a human will be seen in it, nor will an animal move through it. It’ll be just empty desert, empty for forty years.
12 “‘I’ll make Egypt the most desolate of all desolations. For forty years I’ll make her cities the most wasted of all wasted cities. I’ll scatter Egyptians to the four winds, send them off every which way into exile.
13-16 “‘But,’ says God, the Master, ‘that’s not the end of it. After the forty years, I’ll gather up the Egyptians from all the places where they’ve been scattered. I’ll put things back together again for Egypt. I’ll bring her back to Pathros where she got her start long ago. There she’ll start over again from scratch. She’ll take her place at the bottom of the ladder and there she’ll stay, never to climb that ladder again, never to be a world power again. Never again will Israel be tempted to rely on Egypt. All she’ll be to Israel is a reminder of old sin. Then Egypt will realize that I am God, the Master.’”
* * *
17-18 In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, has worn out his army against Tyre. They’ve worked their fingers to the bone and have nothing to show for it.
19-20 “Therefore, God, the Master, says, ‘I’m giving Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. He’ll haul away its wealth, pick the place clean. He’ll pay his army with Egyptian plunder. He’s been working for me all these years without pay. This is his pay: Egypt. Decree of God, the Master.
21 “‘And then I’ll stir up fresh hope in Israel—the dawn of deliverance!—and I’ll give you, Ezekiel, bold and confident words to speak. And they’ll realize that I am God.’”
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson