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, saying, ² “Son of man, ^(A)set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and ^(B)against all Egypt. ³ Speak, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God:

⁸ ‘Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Surely I will bring ^(L)a sword upon you and cut off from you man and beast. ⁹ And the land of Egypt shall become ^(M)desolate and waste; then they will know that I am the Lord, because he said, ‘The River is mine, and I have made it.’ ¹⁰ Indeed, therefore, I am against you and against your rivers, ^(N)and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, ^(O)from ^[e]Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of Ethiopia. ^11 (P)Neither foot of man shall pass through it nor foot of beast pass through it, and it shall be uninhabited forty years. ^12 (Q)I will make the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate; and among the cities that are laid waste, her cities shall be desolate forty years; and I will ^(R)scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries.”

¹³ ‘Yet, thus says the Lord God: “At the ^(S)end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered. ¹⁴ I will bring back the captives of Egypt and cause them to return to the land of Pathros, to the land of their origin, and there they shall be a ^(T)lowly kingdom. ¹⁵ It shall be the lowliest of kingdoms; it shall never again exalt itself above the nations, for I will diminish them so that they will not rule over the nations anymore. ¹⁶ No longer shall it be ^(U)the confidence of the house of Israel, but will remind them of their iniquity when they turned to follow them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord God.” ’ ”

Babylonia Will Plunder Egypt

¹⁷ And it came to pass in the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁸ “Son of man, ^(V)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre; every head was made ^(W)bald, and every shoulder rubbed raw; yet neither he nor his army received wages from Tyre, for the labor which they expended on it. ¹⁹ Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Surely I will give the land of Egypt to ^(X)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; he shall take away her wealth, carry off her spoil, and remove her pillage; and that will be the wages for his army. ²⁰ I have given him the land of Egypt for his labor, because they ^(Y)worked for Me,’ says the Lord God.

²¹ ‘In that day ^(Z)I will cause the ^[f]horn of the house of Israel to spring forth, and I will ^(AA)open your mouth to speak in their midst. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.’ ”

Greeting

1 Paul, ^(A)Silvanus, and Timothy,

To the church of the ^(B)Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

Grace to you and peace ^[a]from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Their Good Example

^2 (C)We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, ³ remembering without ceasing ^(D)your work of faith, ^(E)labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father, ⁴ knowing, beloved brethren, ^(F)your election by God. ⁵ For ^(G)our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, ^(H)and in the Holy Spirit ^(I)and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake.

⁶ And ^(J)you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, ^(K)with joy of the Holy Spirit, ⁷ so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe. ⁸ For from you the word of the Lord ^(L)has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also ^(M)in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything. ⁹ For they themselves declare concerning us ^(N)what manner of entry we had to you, ^(O)and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, ¹⁰ and ^(P)to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us ^(Q)from the wrath to come.

Paul’s Conduct^(A)

2 For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain. ² But ^[a]even after we had suffered before and were spitefully treated at ^(B)Philippi, as you know, we were ^(C)bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God in much conflict. ^3 (D)For our exhortation did not come from error or uncleanness, nor was it in deceit.

⁴ But as ^(E)we have been approved by God ^(F)to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, ^(G)not as pleasing men, but God ^(H)who tests our hearts. ⁵ For ^(I)neither at any time did we use flattering words, as you know, nor a ^[b]cloak for covetousness—^(J)God is witness. ^6 (K)Nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, when ^(L)we might have ^(M)made demands ^(N)as apostles of Christ. ⁷ But ^(O)we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children. ⁸ So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased ^(P)to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also ^(Q)our own lives, because you had become dear to us. ⁹ For you remember, brethren, our ^(R)labor and toil; for laboring night and day, ^(S)that we might not be a burden to any of you, we preached to you the gospel of God.

^10 (T)You are witnesses, and God also, ^(U)how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we behaved ourselves among you who believe; ¹¹ as you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and ^[c]charged every one of you, as a father does his own children, ^12 (V)that you would walk worthy of God ^(W)who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.

Their Conversion

¹³ For this reason we also thank God ^(X)without ceasing, because when you ^(Y)received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it ^(Z)not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively ^(AA)works in you who believe. ¹⁴ For you, brethren, became imitators ^(AB)of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus. For ^(AC)you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they did from the Judeans, ^15 (AD)who killed both the Lord Jesus and ^(AE)their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they do not please God ^(AF)and are ^[d]contrary to all men, ^16 (AG)forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, so as always ^(AH)to fill up the measure of their sins; ^(AI)but wrath has come upon them to the uttermost.