Prophesy Against Egypt
In the atenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth of the month, the word of Yahweh came to me saying, 2 “Son of man, set your face against aPharaoh king of Egypt and prophesy against him and against all bEgypt. 3 Speak and say, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh,
“Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt,
The great amonster that lies in the midst of his canals of the Nile,
That bhas said, ‘My Nile is mine, and I myself have made it.’
4 I will put ahooks in your jaws
And make the fish of your canals of the Nile cling to your scales.
And I will bring you up out of the midst of your canals of the Nile,
And all the fish of your canals of the Nile will cling to your scales.
5 I will aabandon you to the wilderness, you and all the fish of your canals of the Nile;
You will fall on the open field; you will not be brought together or bgathered.
I have given you for cfood to the beasts of the earth and to the birds of the sky.
6 Then all the inhabitants of Egypt will know that I am Yahweh
Because they have been only a astaff made of reed to the house of Israel.
7 When they seized you with the hand,
You atore and split open all their shoulders;
And when they leaned on you,
You broke and made all their loins quake.”
8 ‘Therefore thus says Lord Yahweh, “Behold, I will abring upon you a sword, and I will cut off from you man and beast. 9 The aland of Egypt will become a desolation and waste. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.
Because you bsaid, ‘The Nile is mine, and I have made it,’ 10 therefore, behold, I am aagainst you and against your canals of the Nile, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from Migdol to Syene and even to the border of Ethiopia. 11 A man’s foot will anot pass through it, and the foot of a beast will not pass through it, and it will not be inhabited for forty years. 12 So I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the amidst of desolated lands. And her cities, in the midst of cities that are laid waste, will be desolate forty years; and I will bscatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands.”
13 ‘For thus says Lord Yahweh, “At the end of forty years I will agather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered. 14 I will return the fortunes of Egypt and make them return to the land of aPathros, to the land of their origin, and there they will be a lowly kingdom. 15 It will be the alowest of the kingdoms, and it will never again lift itself up above the nations. And I will make them so small that they will not bhave dominion over the nations. 16 And it will never again be the asecurity of the house of Israel, bbringing to remembrance the iniquity of their having turned to go after Egypt. Then they will know that I am Lord Yahweh.”’”
17 Now in the atwenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first of the month, the word of Yahweh came to me saying, 18 “Son of man, aNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his military force labor hard against Tyre; every head was made bbald, and every shoulder was rubbed bare. But he and his military force had no wages from Tyre for the labor that he had labored against it.” 19 Therefore thus says Lord Yahweh, “Behold, I awill give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. And he will carry off her babundance and capture her spoil and seize her plunder; and it will be wages for his military force. 20 I have given him the land of Egypt for his work which he alabored because they acted for Me,” declares Lord Yahweh.
21 “On that day I will make a ahorn sprout for the house of Israel, and I will bopen your mouth in their midst. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.”
Those Who Support Egypt Will Fall
The word of Yahweh came again to me saying, 2 “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh,
“aWail, ‘Alas for the day!’
3 For the day is near,
Even athe day of Yahweh is near;
It will be a day of bclouds,
A time of doom for the nations.
4 A sword will come upon Egypt,
And anguish will be in Ethiopia;
When the slain fall in Egypt,
They atake away her multitude,
And her foundations are pulled down.
5 Ethiopia, Put, Lud, all aArabia, Libya, and the people of the land that is in covenant will fall with them by the sword.”
6 ‘Thus says Yahweh,
“Indeed, those who support aEgypt will fall,
And the pride of her strength will come down;
From Migdol to Syene
They will fall within her by the sword,”
Declares Lord Yahweh.
7 “They will be desolate
In the amidst of the desolated lands;
And her cities will be
In the midst of the cities laid waste.
8 And they will aknow that I am Yahweh,
When I set a bfire in Egypt
And all her helpers are broken.
9 On that day amessengers will go forth from Me in ships to frighten bsecure Ethiopia; and canguish will be on them as on the day of Egypt; for behold, it is coming!”
10 ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh,
“aI will also make the multitude of Egypt cease
By the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
11 He and his people with him,
aThe most ruthless of the nations,
Will be brought in to make the land a ruin;
And they will draw their swords against Egypt
And fill the land with the slain.
12 Moreover, I will make the acanals of the Nile dry
And bsell the land into the hands of evil men.
And I will make the land desolate,
As well as its fullness,
By the hand of strangers; I, Yahweh, have spoken.”
13 ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh,
“I will also adestroy the idols
And make the images cease from bMemphis.
And there will no longer be a prince in the land of Egypt;
And I will put fear in the land of Egypt.
14 I will make aPathros desolate,
Set a fire in bZoan,
And execute judgments on cThebes.
15 I will pour out My wrath on Sin,
The strong defense of Egypt;
I will also cut off the multitude of Thebes.
16 I will set a fire in Egypt;
Sin will writhe in anguish;
Thebes will be breached,
And Memphis will have distresses daily.
17 The choice men of aOn and of Pi‑beseth
Will fall by the sword,
And the women will go into captivity.
18 In aTehaphnehes the day will be bdark
When I cbreak there the bars of the yoke of Egypt.
Then the pride of her strength will cease in her;
A cloud will cover her,
And her daughters will go into captivity.
19 Thus I will aexecute judgments on Egypt,
And they will know that I am Yahweh.”’”
Yahweh Scatters the Egyptians
20 In the aeleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh of the month, the word of Yahweh came to me saying, 21 “Son of man, I have abroken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and behold, it has not been bbound up to be given healing or wrapped with a bandage, that it may be strong to seize the sword. 22 Therefore thus says Lord Yahweh, ‘Behold, I am aagainst Pharaoh king of Egypt and will break his arms, both the strong and the bbroken; and I will make the sword cfall from his hand. 23 I will ascatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands. 24 For I will astrengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put bMy sword in his hand; and I will break the arms of Pharaoh so that he will groan before him with the groanings of a wounded man. 25 Thus I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fall. Then they will know that I am Yahweh, when I put My sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he astretches it out against the land of Egypt. 26 When I scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands, then they will know that I am Yahweh.’”