⁹ and the land of Egypt will be turned into a desolate ruin. Then you will know that I am the Lord. Because Egypt said, “The Nile is mine. I made it!” ¹⁰ therefore watch out! I’m coming to get^[a] you! I’m going to attack your waterways, and then I’m going to make the land of Egypt a total wasteland from the Aswan^[b] fortress to the border of Ethiopia!^{[c] 11} Neither man nor beast will walk through that area. It won’t even be inhabited for 40 years. ¹² I’ll see to it that Egypt becomes a devastated land in the midst of devastated lands. Her cities deep inside her territories will be laid waste and desolate for 40 years. I will scatter Egypt among the nations and disperse them throughout the land.’”

Restoration of Egypt after Judgment

¹³ “Because this is what the Lord says: ‘At the end of 40 years I’ll gather the Egyptians from the people among whom they have been scattered. ¹⁴ I’ll restore the economy^[d] of Egypt and return them to the land of Pathros,^[e] from which they originated, and there they will remain an insignificant kingdom, ¹⁵ the least significant of kingdoms. It will never again dominate other nations. I will make them so small that they will never again rule any nation. ¹⁶ Egypt will never again be a source of confidence to the nation^[f] of Israel. Instead, Egypt will serve as a reminder of when they sinned by turning to Egypt for help. Then they’ll know that I am the Lord God.’”