Ezekiel 29

¹In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

²Son of man, let your face be turned against Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and be a prophet against him and against all Egypt:

³Say to them, These are the words of the Lord: See, I am against you, Pharaoh, king of Egypt, the great river-beast stretched out among his Nile streams, who has said, The Nile is mine, and I have made it for myself.

⁴And I will put hooks in your mouth, and the fish of your streams will be hanging from your skin; and I will make you come up out of your streams, with all the fish of your streams hanging from your skin.

⁵And I will let you be in the waste land, you and all the fish of your streams: you will go down on the face of the land; you will not be taken up or put to rest in the earth; I have given you for food to the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven.

⁶And it will be clear to all the people of Egypt that I am the Lord, because you have been a false support to the children of Israel.

⁷When they took a grip of you in their hands, you were crushed so that their arms were broken: and when they put their weight on you for support, you were broken and all their muscles gave way.

⁸For this cause the Lord has said: See, I am sending a sword on you, cutting off from you man and beast.

⁹And the land of Egypt will be an unpeopled waste; and they will be certain that I am the Lord: because he has said, The Nile is mine, and I made it.

¹⁰See, then, I am against you and against your streams, and I will make the land of Egypt an unpeopled waste, from Migdol to Syene, even as far as the edge of Ethiopia.

¹¹No foot of man will go through it and no foot of beast, and it will be unpeopled for forty years.

¹²I will make the land of Egypt a waste among the countries which are made waste, and her towns will be unpeopled among the towns which have been made waste, for forty years: and I will send the Egyptians in flight among the nations and wandering through the countries.

¹³For this is what the Lord has said: At the end of forty years I will get the Egyptians together from the peoples where they have gone in flight:

¹⁴I will let the fate of Egypt be changed, and will make them come back into the land of Pathros, into the land from which they came; and there they will be an unimportant kingdom.

¹⁵It will be the lowest of the kingdoms, and never again will it be lifted up over the nations: I will make them small, so that they may not have rule over the nations.

¹⁶And Egypt will no longer be the hope of the children of Israel, causing sin to come to mind when their eyes are turned to them: and they will be certain that I am the Lord.

¹⁷Now in the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

¹⁸Son of man, Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, made his army do hard work against Tyre, and the hair came off every head and every arm was rubbed smooth: but he and his army got no payment out of Tyre for the hard work which he had done against it.

¹⁹For this cause the Lord has said: See, I am giving the land of Egypt to Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon: he will take away her wealth, and take her goods by force and everything which is there; and this will be the payment for his army.

²⁰I have given him the land of Egypt as the reward for his hard work, because they were working for me, says the Lord.

²¹In that day I will make a horn put out buds for the children of Israel, and I will let your words come freely among them, and they will be certain that I am the Lord.

Ezekiel 29

¹In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

²"Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt.

³Speak and say, 'Thus says the Lord God: "Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great monster that lies in the midst of his rivers, that has said, 'My river is my own, and I have made it for myself.'

⁴I will put hooks in your jaws, and I will make the fish of your rivers stick to your scales; and I will bring you up out of the midst of your rivers, with all the fish of your rivers which stick to your scales.

⁵I'll cast you forth into the wilderness, you and all the fish of your rivers. You'll fall on the open field. You won't be brought together, nor gathered. I have given you for food to the animals of the earth and to the birds of the sky.

⁶All the inhabitants of Egypt will know that I am the Lord, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel.

⁷When they took hold of you by your hand, you broke, and tore all their shoulders; and when they leaned on you, you broke, and paralyzed all of their thighs."

⁸"'Therefore thus says the Lord God: "Behold, I will bring a sword on you, and will cut off man and animal from you.

⁹The land of Egypt shall be a desolation and a waste; and they shall know that I am the Lord. Because he has said, 'The river is mine, and I have made it;'

¹⁰therefore, behold, I am against you, and against your rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from the tower of Seveneh even to the border of Ethiopia.

¹¹No foot of man shall pass through it, nor foot of animal shall pass through it, neither shall it be inhabited forty years.

¹²I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the midst of the countries that are desolate; and her cities among the cities that are laid waste shall be a desolation forty years; and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries."

¹³"'For thus says the Lord God: "At the end of forty years will I gather the Egyptians from the peoples where they were scattered;

¹⁴and I will bring back the captivity of Egypt, and will cause them to return into the land of Pathros, into the land of their birth; and they shall be there a base kingdom.

¹⁵It shall be the base of the kingdoms; neither shall it any more lift itself up above the nations: and I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations.

¹⁶It shall be no more the confidence of the house of Israel, bringing iniquity to memory, when they turn to look after them: and they shall know that I am the Lord God."'"

¹⁷It came to pass in the seven and twentieth year, in the first month, in the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

¹⁸"Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyre: every head was made bald, and every shoulder was worn; yet had he no wages, nor his army, from Tyre, for the service that he had served against it.

¹⁹Therefore thus says the Lord God: 'Behold, I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and he shall carry off her multitude, and take her spoil, and take her prey; and it shall be the wages for his army.

²⁰I have given him the land of Egypt as his recompense for which he served, because they worked for me,' says the Lord God.

²¹'In that day will I cause a horn to bud forth to the house of Israel, and I will give you the opening of the mouth in their midst; and they shall know that I am the Lord.'"