Prophecy Against Egypt
aIn the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 2 a“Son of man, bset your face against cPharaoh king of Egypt, dand prophesy against him and eagainst all Egypt; 3 speak, and say, Thus says the Lord God:
a“Behold, I am against you,
Pharaoh king of Egypt,
bthe great dragon that lies
in the midst of his streams,
cthat says, ‘My Nile is my own;
I made it for myself.’
4 I will aput hooks in your jaws,
and make the fish of your streams stick to your scales;
and I will draw you up out of the midst of your streams,
with all the fish of your streams
that stick to your scales.
5 aAnd I will cast you out into the wilderness,
you and all the fish of your streams;
you shall fall bon the open field,
and cnot be brought together or gathered.
To the beasts of the earth and to the birds of the heavens
aI give you as food.
6 Then all the inhabitants of Egypt ashall know that I am the Lord.
“Because you have been ba staff of reed to the house of Israel, 7 awhen 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 loins to shake. 8 Therefore thus says the Lord God: aBehold, I will bring a sword upon you, and will cut off from you man and beast, 9 and the land of Egypt shall be a desolation and a waste. aThen they will know that I am the Lord.
b“Because you said, ‘The Nile is mine, and I made it,’ 10 therefore, abehold, I am against you and bagainst your streams, and bI will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, cfrom Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of Cush. 11 aNo foot of man shall pass through it, and no foot of beast shall pass through it; it shall be uninhabited forty years. 12 aAnd I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the midst of desolated countries, and her cities shall be a desolation forty years among cities that are laid waste. bI will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them through the countries.
13 “For thus says the Lord God: At the end of forty years aI will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered, 14 and aI will restore the fortunes of Egypt and bring them back to bthe 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, aand never again exalt itself above the nations. And I will make them so small that they will never again rule over the nations. 16 And it shall never again be athe reliance of the house of Israel, recalling their iniquity, when they turn to them for aid. bThen they will know that I am the Lord God.”
17 aIn the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 18 a“Son of man, bNebuchadnezzar king 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 performed against her. 19 Therefore thus says the Lord God: aBehold, I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; band he shall carry off its wealth cand despoil it and plunder it; and it shall be the wages for his army. 20 aI have given him the land of Egypt as his payment for which he labored, because they worked for me, declares the Lord God.
21 “On that day aI will cause a horn to spring up for the house of Israel, and bI will open your lips among them. cThen they will know that I am the Lord.”