Ezekiel 30

New Century Version

Egypt Will Be Punished

30 The Lord spoke his word to me, saying: ²“Human, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord God says:

Cry and say,
    “The terrible day is coming.”
³The day is near;
    the Lord’s day of judging is near.
It is a cloudy day
    and a time when the nations will be judged.
⁴An enemy will attack Egypt,
    and Cush will tremble with fear.
When the killing begins in Egypt,
    her wealth will be taken away,
    and her foundations will be torn down.

⁵Cush, Put, Lydia, Arabia, Libya, and some of my people who had made an agreement with Egypt will fall dead in war.

⁶“‘This is what the Lord says:

Those who fight on Egypt’s side will fall.
    The power she is proud of will be lost.
The people in Egypt will fall dead in war
    from Migdol in the north to Aswan in the south,
    says the Lord God.
⁷They will be the most deserted lands.
    Egypt’s cities will be the worst of cities that lie in ruins.
⁸Then they will know that I am the Lord
    when I set fire to Egypt
    and when all those nations on her side are crushed.

⁹“‘At that time I will send messengers in ships to frighten Cush, which now feels safe. The people of Cush will tremble with fear when Egypt is punished. And that time is sure to come.

¹⁰“‘This is what the Lord God says:

I will destroy great numbers of people in Egypt
    through the power of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
¹¹Nebuchadnezzar and his army,
    the cruelest army of any nation,
    will be brought in to destroy the land.
They will pull out their swords against Egypt
    and will fill the land with those they kill.
¹²I will make the streams of the Nile River become dry land,
    and then I will sell the land to evil people.
I will destroy the land and everything in it
    through the power of foreigners.

I, the Lord, have spoken.

Egypt’s Idols Are Destroyed

¹³“‘This is what the Lord God says:

I will destroy the idols
    and take away the statues of gods from the city of Memphis.
There will no longer be a leader in Egypt,
    and I will spread fear through the land of Egypt.
¹⁴I will make southern Egypt empty
    and start a fire in Zoan
    and punish Thebes.
¹⁵And I will pour out my anger against Pelusium,
    the strong place of Egypt.
    I will destroy great numbers of people in Thebes.
¹⁶I will set fire to Egypt.
    Pelusium will be in great pain.
The walls of Thebes will be broken open,
    and Memphis will have troubles every day.
¹⁷The young men of Heliopolis and Bubastis
    will fall dead in war,
    and the people will be taken away as captives.
¹⁸In Tahpanhes the day will be dark
    when I break Egypt’s power.
    Then she will no longer be proud of her power.
A cloud will cover Egypt,
    and her villages will be captured and taken away.
¹⁹So I will punish Egypt,
    and they will know I am the Lord.’”

Egypt Becomes Weak

²⁰It was in the eleventh year of our captivity, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month. The Lord spoke his word to me, saying: ²¹“Human, I have broken the powerful arm of the king of Egypt. It has not been tied up, so it will not get well. It has not been wrapped with a bandage, so it will not be strong enough to hold a sword in war. ²²So this is what the Lord God says: I am against the king of Egypt. I will break his arms, both the strong arm and the broken arm, and I will make the sword fall from his hand. ²³I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, spreading them among the countries. ²⁴I will make the arms of the king of Babylon strong and put my sword in his hand. But I will break the arms of the king of Egypt. Then when he faces the king of Babylon, he will cry out in pain like a dying person. ²⁵So I will make the arms of the king of Babylon strong, but the arms of the king of Egypt will fall. Then people will know that I am the Lord when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he uses it in war against Egypt. ²⁶Then I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, spreading them among the countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”