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Yahweh’s Judgment upon Egypt

29 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth[a] day of the month, the word of Yahweh came[b] to me, saying,[c] “Son of man,[d] set your face against Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against Egypt, all of it. Speak, and you must say, ‘thus says the Lord Yahweh:

“Look! I am against you,
    Pharaoh, king of Egypt,
the great sea monster,
    the one lying down
in the midst of his Nile streams,
    who says to me, “It is my Nile, and I made it for myself.”[e]
And so I will put hooks in your jawbones,
    and I will make the fish of your Nile streams stick to your scales,
and I will bring you up from the midst of your Nile streams,
    and all of the fish of your Nile streams which cling to your scales.
And I will fling you to the desert,
    you and all the fish of your Nile streams.
On the surface of the field you will fall;
    you will not be gathered,
    and you will not be assembled.
To the animals[f] of the field
    and to the birds[g] of the heavens
    I will give you as food.
And all of the inhabitants of Egypt will know that I am Yahweh,
    because of their[h] being a staff of reed for the house of Israel.
When they took hold of you with the hand, you snapped,
    and you split their every shoulder.
And when they leaned on you, you broke,
    and you caused all of their loins to wobble.”

Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I am bringing on you a sword, and I will cut off from you human and animal. And the land of Egypt will become[i] a desolation and ruins, and they will know that I am Yahweh because he[j] said, ‘The Nile is mine![k] And I, I made it!’ 10 Therefore look! I am against you and against your Nile streams, and I will make the land of Egypt into ruins, a pile of rubble, a desolation from Migdol to Syene and up to the boundary of Cush. 11 A foot of a human will not pass over it, and a foot of an animal will not pass over it, and so it will not be inhabited for forty years.[l] 12 And I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the midst of desolated countries, and its cities to be in the midst of ruined cities. They will be a desolation for forty years, and I will scatter Egypt among the nations, and I will disperse them among the countries.”

13 For thus says the Lord Yahweh: “At the end of forty years I will gather Egypt from the peoples among whom they were scattered. 14 And I will restore the fortunes of Egypt, and I will bring them back to the land of Pathros, to the land of their origin, and they will be a lowly kingdom there. 15 Of all the kingdoms it will be the most lowly, and it will not exalt itself again over the nations, and I will make them small so as not to rule over the nations. 16 And it will not be again for the house of Israel an object of trust, bringing to remembrance their guilt when they turned back to them,[m] and they will know that I am the Lord Yahweh.”

17 And then[n] in the twenty-seventh year,[o] in the first month, on the first day of the month, the word of Yahweh came[p] to me, saying,[q] 18 “Son of man,[r] Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, he made his army labor hard against Tyre. Every head was rubbed bare, and every shoulder was rubbed raw, but[s] a wage was not paid for him and for his army from Tyre for the labor that he did against it.” 19 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I am giving to Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon the land of Egypt, and he will carry its wealth away, and he will plunder its plunder, and he will loot its loot, and it will be a wage for his army. 20 As his wages that he worked for, I will give to him the land of Egypt, because they worked for me,” declares[t] the Lord Yahweh.

21 “On that day I will cause power[u] to grow up for the house of Israel, and for you I will give an opening of your mouth in the midst of them, and they will know that I am Yahweh.”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 29:1 Literally “two ten”
  2. Ezekiel 29:1 Literally “was”
  3. Ezekiel 29:1 Literally “to say”
  4. Ezekiel 29:2 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
  5. Ezekiel 29:3 Hebrew “me”
  6. Ezekiel 29:5 Hebrew “animal”
  7. Ezekiel 29:5 Hebrew “bird”
  8. Ezekiel 29:6 LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate: “you”
  9. Ezekiel 29:9 Hebrew “be”
  10. Ezekiel 29:9 That is, Pharaoh
  11. Ezekiel 29:9 Literally “to me”
  12. Ezekiel 29:11 Hebrew “year”
  13. Ezekiel 29:16 Literally “at their turning”
  14. Ezekiel 29:17 Literally “and it happened”
  15. Ezekiel 29:17 Literally “twenty and seven year”
  16. Ezekiel 29:17 Literally “was”
  17. Ezekiel 29:17 Literally “to say”
  18. Ezekiel 29:18 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
  19. Ezekiel 29:18 Or “and”
  20. Ezekiel 29:20 Literally “declaration of”
  21. Ezekiel 29:21 Literally “a horn”

A Prophecy Against Egypt

Judgment on Pharaoh

29 In the tenth year, in the tenth month on the twelfth day, the word of the Lord came to me:(A) “Son of man, set your face against(B) Pharaoh king of Egypt(C) and prophesy against him and against all Egypt.(D) Speak to him and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘I am against you, Pharaoh(E) king of Egypt,
    you great monster(F) lying among your streams.
You say, “The Nile(G) belongs to me;
    I made it for myself.”
But I will put hooks(H) in your jaws
    and make the fish of your streams stick to your scales.
I will pull you out from among your streams,
    with all the fish sticking to your scales.(I)
I will leave you in the desert,
    you and all the fish of your streams.
You will fall on the open field
    and not be gathered(J) or picked up.
I will give you as food
    to the beasts of the earth and the birds of the sky.(K)

Then all who live in Egypt will know that I am the Lord.

“‘You have been a staff of reed(L) for the people of Israel. When they grasped you with their hands, you splintered(M) and you tore open their shoulders; when they leaned on you, you broke and their backs were wrenched.[a](N)

“‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will bring a sword against you and kill both man and beast.(O) Egypt will become a desolate wasteland. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

“‘Because you said, “The Nile(P) is mine; I made it,(Q) 10 therefore I am against you(R) and against your streams, and I will make the land of Egypt(S) a ruin and a desolate waste(T) from Migdol(U) to Aswan,(V) as far as the border of Cush.[b](W) 11 The foot of neither man nor beast will pass through it; no one will live there for forty years.(X) 12 I will make the land of Egypt desolate(Y) among devastated lands, and her cities will lie desolate forty years among ruined cities. And I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them through the countries.(Z)

13 “‘Yet this is what the Sovereign Lord says: At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the nations where they were scattered. 14 I will bring them back from captivity and return them to Upper Egypt,(AA) the land of their ancestry. There they will be a lowly(AB) kingdom.(AC) 15 It will be the lowliest of kingdoms and will never again exalt itself above the other nations.(AD) I will make it so weak that it will never again rule over the nations. 16 Egypt will no longer be a source of confidence(AE) for the people of Israel but will be a reminder(AF) of their sin in turning to her for help.(AG) Then they will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.(AH)’”

Nebuchadnezzar’s Reward

17 In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month on the first day, the word of the Lord came to me:(AI) 18 “Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar(AJ) king of Babylon drove his army in a hard campaign against Tyre; every head was rubbed bare(AK) and every shoulder made raw.(AL) Yet he and his army got no reward from the campaign he led against Tyre. 19 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am going to give Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king(AM) of Babylon, and he will carry off its wealth. He will loot and plunder(AN) the land as pay for his army.(AO) 20 I have given him Egypt(AP) as a reward for his efforts because he and his army did it for me, declares the Sovereign Lord.(AQ)

21 “On that day I will make a horn[c](AR) grow for the Israelites, and I will open your mouth(AS) among them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.(AT)

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 29:7 Syriac (see also Septuagint and Vulgate); Hebrew and you caused their backs to stand
  2. Ezekiel 29:10 That is, the upper Nile region
  3. Ezekiel 29:21 Horn here symbolizes strength.