Ezekiel 29
10therefore I am against you and against your rivers. I will turn the land of Egypt into a ruin, a desolate wasteland from Migdol to Syene, and as far as the border of Cush.11No foot of man or beast will pass through, and it will be uninhabited for forty years.12I will make the land of Egypt a desolation among desolate lands, and her cities will lie desolate for forty years among the ruined cities. And I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them throughout the countries.
13For this is what the Lord GOD says: At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the nations to which they were scattered.14I will restore Egypt from captivity and bring them back to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin. There they will be a lowly kingdom.15Egypt will be the lowliest of kingdoms and will never again exalt itself above the nations. For I will diminish Egypt so that it will never again rule over the nations.16Egypt will never again be an object of trust for the house of Israel, but will remind them of their iniquity in turning to the Egyptians. Then they will know that I am the Lord GOD.”
Egypt the Reward of Nebuchadnezzar
17In the twenty-seventh year, on the first day of the first month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,18“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre. Every head was made bald and every shoulder made raw. But he and his army received no wages from Tyre for the labor they expended on it.19Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who will carry off its wealth, seize its spoil, and remove its plunder. This will be the wages for his army.20I have given him the land of Egypt as the reward for his labor, because it was done for Me, declares the Lord GOD.
21In that day I will cause a horn to sprout for the house of Israel, and I will open your mouth to speak among them. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”
Ezekiel 30
A Lament for Egypt
1Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2“Son of man, prophesy and declare that this is what the Lord GOD says:
Wail, ‘Alas
for that day!’
3For the day is near,
the Day of the LORD is near.
It will be a day of clouds,
a time of doom for the nations.
4A sword will come against Egypt,
and there will be anguish in Cush
when the slain fall in Egypt,
its wealth is taken away,
and its foundations are torn down.
5Cush, Put, and Lud,
and all the various peoples,
as well as Libya and the men of the covenant land,
will fall with Egypt by the sword.
6For this is what the LORD says:
The allies of Egypt will fall,
and her proud strength will collapse.
From Migdol to Syene
they will fall by the sword within her,
declares the Lord GOD.
7They will be desolate among desolate lands,
and their cities will lie among ruined cities.
8Then they will know that I am the LORD
when I set fire to Egypt
and all her helpers are shattered.
9On that day messengers will go out from Me in ships to frighten Cush out of complacency. Anguish will come upon them on the day of Egypt’s doom. For it is indeed coming.
10This is what the Lord GOD says:
I will put an end to the hordes of Egypt
by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
11He and his people with him,
the most ruthless of the nations,
will be brought in to destroy the land.
They will draw their swords against Egypt
and fill the land with the slain.
12I will make the streams dry up
and sell the land to the wicked.
By the hands of foreigners I will bring desolation
upon the land and everything in it.
I, the LORD, have spoken.
13This is what the Lord GOD says:
I will destroy the idols
and put an end to the images in Memphis.
There will no longer be a prince in Egypt,
and I will instill fear in that land.
14I will lay waste Pathros,
set fire to Zoan,
and execute judgment on Thebes.
15I will pour out My wrath on Pelusium,
the stronghold of Egypt,
and cut off the crowds of Thebes.
16I will set fire to Egypt,
Pelusium will writhe in anguish,
Thebes will be split open,
and Memphis will face daily distress.
17The young men of On and Pi-beseth
will fall by the sword,
and those cities will go into captivity.
18The day will be darkened in Tahpanhes
when I break the yoke of Egypt
and her proud strength comes to an end.
A cloud will cover her,
and her daughters will go into captivity.
19So I will execute judgment on Egypt,
and they will know that I am the LORD.”
Pharaoh’s Power Broken
20In the eleventh year, on the seventh day of the first month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,21“Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt. See, it has not been bound up for healing, or splinted for strength to hold the sword.22Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt. I will break his arms, both the strong one and the one already broken, and will make the sword fall from his hand.23I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them throughout the lands.24I will strengthen the arms of Babylon’s king and place My sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, who will groan before him like a mortally wounded man.25I will strengthen the arms of Babylon’s king, but Pharaoh’s arms will fall limp. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I place My sword in the hand of Babylon’s king, and he wields it against the land of Egypt.26I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them throughout the lands. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”
Ezekiel 31
Egypt Will Fall like Assyria
1In the eleventh year, on the first day of the third month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2“Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his multitude:
‘Who can be compared
to your greatness?
3Look at Assyria, a cedar in Lebanon,
with beautiful branches that shaded the forest.
It towered on high;
its top was among the clouds.
4The waters made it grow;
the deep springs made it tall,
directing their streams all around its base
and sending their channels to all the trees of the field.
5Therefore it towered higher
than all the trees of the field.
Its branches multiplied,
and its boughs grew long
as it spread them out
because of the abundant waters.
6All the birds of the air
nested in its branches,
and all the beasts of the field
gave birth beneath its boughs;
all the great nations
lived in its shade.
7It was beautiful in its greatness,
in the length of its limbs,
for its roots extended
to abundant waters.
8The cedars in the garden of God
could not rival it;
the cypresses could not compare with its branches,
nor the plane trees match its boughs.
No tree in the garden of God
could compare with its beauty.
9I made it beautiful with its many branches,
the envy of all the trees of Eden,
which were in the garden of God.’
10Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Since it became great in height and set its top among the clouds, and it grew proud on account of its height,11I delivered it into the hand of the ruler of the nations, for him to deal with it according to its wickedness. I have banished it.12Foreigners, the most ruthless of the nations, cut it down and left it. Its branches have fallen on the mountains and in every valley; its boughs lay broken in all the earth’s ravines. And all the peoples of the earth left its shade and abandoned it.13All the birds of the air nested on its fallen trunk, and all the beasts of the field lived among its boughs.14This happened so that no other trees by the waters would become great in height and set their tops among the clouds, and no other well-watered trees would reach them in height. For they have all been consigned to death, to the depths of the earth, among the mortals who descend to the Pit.’
15This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘On the day it was brought down to Sheol, I caused mourning. I covered the deep because of it; I held back its rivers; its abundant waters were restrained. I made Lebanon mourn for it, and all the trees of the field fainted because of it.16I made the nations quake at the sound of its downfall, when I cast it down to Sheol with those who descend to the Pit. Then all the trees of Eden, the choicest and best of Lebanon, all the well-watered trees, were consoled in the earth below.17They too descended with it to Sheol, to those slain by the sword. As its allies they had lived in its shade among the nations.
18Who then is like you in glory and greatness among the trees of Eden? You also will be brought down to the depths of the earth to be with the trees of Eden. You will lie among the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares the Lord GOD.’”
Ezekiel 32
A Lament for Pharaoh King of Egypt
1In the twelfth year, on the first day of the twelfth month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2“Son of man, take up a lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him:
‘You are like a lion among the nations;
you are like a monster in the seas.
You thrash about in your rivers,
churning up the waters with your feet
and muddying the streams.’
3This is what the Lord GOD says:
‘I will spread My net over you
with a company of many peoples,
and they will draw you up in My net.
4I will abandon you on the land
and hurl you into the open field.
I will cause all the birds of the air
to settle upon you,
and all the beasts of the earth
to eat their fill of you.
5I will put your flesh on the mountains
and fill the valleys with your remains.
6I will drench the land
with the flow of your blood,
all the way to the mountains—
the ravines will be filled.
7When I extinguish you,
I will cover the heavens
and darken their stars.
I will cover the sun with a cloud,
and the moon will not give its light.
8All the shining lights in the heavens
I will darken over you,
and I will bring darkness
upon your land,’
declares the Lord GOD.
9‘I will trouble the hearts of many peoples,
when I bring about your destruction among the nations,
in countries you do not know.
10I will cause many peoples
to be appalled over you,
and their kings will shudder in horror because of you
when I brandish My sword before them.
On the day of your downfall
each of them will tremble
every moment for his life.’
11For this is what the Lord GOD says:
‘The sword of the king of Babylon
will come against you!
12I will make your hordes fall
by the swords of the mighty,
the most ruthless of all nations.
They will ravage the pride of Egypt
and all her multitudes will be destroyed.
13I will slaughter all her cattle
beside the abundant waters.
No human foot will muddy them again,
and no cattle hooves will disturb them.
14Then I will let her waters settle
and will make her rivers flow like oil,’
declares the Lord GOD.