^29:1In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month,¹ the word of the Lord came to me: ^29:2“Son of man, turn toward² Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt. ^29:3Tell them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:

“ ‘Look, I am against³ you, Pharaoh king of Egypt,

the great monster⁴ lying in the midst of its waterways,

who has said, “My Nile is my own, I made it for myself.”⁵

^29:4I will put hooks in your jaws

and stick the fish of your waterways to your scales.

I will haul you up from the midst of your waterways,

and all the fish of your waterways will stick to your scales.

^29:5I will leave you in the wilderness,

you and all the fish of your waterways;

you will fall in the open field and will not be gathered up or collected.⁶

I have given you as food to the beasts of the earth and the birds of the skies.

^29:6Then all those living in Egypt will know that I am the Lord

because they were a reed staff⁷ for the house of Israel;

^29:7when they grasped you with their hand,⁸ you broke and tore⁹ their shoulders,

and when they leaned on you, you splintered and caused their legs to be unsteady.¹⁰

^29:8“ ‘Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to bring a sword against you, and I will kill¹¹ every person and every animal. ^29:9The land of Egypt will become a desolate ruin. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

Because he said, “The Nile is mine and I made it,” ^29:10I am against¹² you and your waterways. I will turn the land of Egypt into an utter desolate ruin from Migdol¹³ to Syene,¹⁴ as far as the border with Ethiopia. ^29:11No human foot will pass through it, and no animal’s foot will pass through it; it will be uninhabited for forty years. ^29:12I will turn the land of Egypt into a desolation in the midst of desolate lands; for forty years her cities will lie desolate in the midst of ruined cities. I will scatter Egypt among the nations and disperse them among foreign countries.

^29:13“ ‘For this is what the sovereign Lord says: At the end of forty years¹⁵ I will gather Egypt from the peoples where they were scattered. ^29:14I will restore the fortunes of Egypt, and will bring them back¹⁶ to the land of Pathros, to the land of their origin; there they will be an insignificant kingdom. ^29:15It will be the most insignificant of the kingdoms; it will never again exalt itself over the nations. I will make them so small that they will not rule over the nations. ^29:16It will never again be Israel’s source of confidence, but a reminder of how they sinned by turning to Egypt for help.¹⁷ Then they will know that I am the sovereign Lord.’ ”

^29:17In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month,¹⁸ the word of the Lord came to me: ^29:18“Son of man, King Nebuchadrezzar¹⁹ of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre.²⁰ Every head was rubbed bald and every shoulder rubbed bare; yet he and his army received no wages from Tyre for the work he carried out against it. ^29:19Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to give the land of Egypt to King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon. He will carry off her wealth, capture her loot, and seize her plunder; it will be his army’s wages. ^29:20I have given him the land of Egypt as his compensation for attacking Tyre²¹, because they did it for me, declares the sovereign Lord. ^29:21On that day I will make Israel powerful,²² and I will give you the right to be heard²³ among them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

A Lament Over Egypt

^30:1The word of the Lord came to me: ^30:2“Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:

“ ‘Wail, “Alas, the day is here!”¹

^30:3For the day is near,

the day of the Lord is near;

it will be a day of storm clouds,²

it will be a time of judgment³ for the nations.

^30:4A sword will come against Egypt

and panic will overtake Ethiopia

when the slain fall in Egypt

and they carry away her wealth

and dismantle her foundations.

^30:5Ethiopia, Put, Lud, all the foreigners,⁴ Libya, and the people⁵ of the covenant land⁶ will die by the sword along with them.

^30:6“ ‘This is what the Lord says:

Egypt’s supporters will fall;

her confident pride will crumble.⁷

From Migdol to Syene⁸ they will die by the sword within her,

declares the sovereign Lord.

^30:7They will be desolate among desolate lands,

and their cities will be among ruined cities.

^30:8They will know that I am the Lord

when I ignite a fire in Egypt

and all her allies are defeated.⁹

^30:9On that day messengers will go out from me in ships to frighten overly confident Ethiopia; panic will overtake them on the day of Egypt’s doom;¹⁰ for beware—it is coming!

^30:10“ ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:

I will put an end to the hordes of Egypt,

by the hand of King Nebuchadrezzar¹¹ of Babylon.

^30:11He and his people with him,

the most terrifying of the nations,¹²

will be brought there to destroy the land.

They will draw their swords against Egypt,

and fill the land with corpses.

^30:12I will dry up the waterways

and hand the land over to¹³ evil men.

I will make the land and everything in it desolate by the hand of foreigners.

I, the Lord, have spoken!

^30:13“ ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:

I will destroy the idols,

and put an end to the gods of Memphis.

There will no longer be a prince from the land of Egypt;

so I will make the land of Egypt fearful.¹⁴

^30:14I will desolate Pathros,

I will ignite a fire in Zoan,

and I will execute judgments on Thebes.

^30:15I will pour out my anger upon Pelusium,¹⁵

the stronghold of Egypt;

I will cut off¹⁶ the hordes of Thebes.

^30:16I will ignite a fire in Egypt;

Syene¹⁷ will writhe in agony,

Thebes will be broken down,

and Memphis will face enemies every day.

^30:17The young men of On and of Pi-beseth¹⁸ will die by the sword;

and the cities will go¹⁹ into captivity.

^30:18In Tahpanhes the day will be dark²⁰

when I break the yoke of Egypt there.

Her confident pride will cease within her;

a cloud will cover her, and her daughters will go into captivity.

^30:19I will execute judgments on Egypt.

Then they will know that I am the Lord.’ ”

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Footnotes

1 January 7, 587 b.c.
2 Heb “set your face against.”
3 Or “I challenge you.” The phrase “I am against you” may be a formula for challenging someone to combat or a duel. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (), 1:, and P. Humbert, “Die Herausforderungsformel ‘hinnenî êlêkâ,’ ” 45 (1933): 101–8.
4 Heb “jackals,” but many medieval Hebrew read correctly “the serpent.” The Hebrew term appears to refer to a serpent in Exod 7:9–10, 12; Deut 32:33; and Ps 91:13. It also refers to large creatures that inhabit the sea (Gen 1:21; Ps 148:7). In several passages it is associated with the sea or with the multiheaded sea monster Leviathan (Job 7:12; Ps 74:13; Isa 27:1; 51:9). Because of the Egyptian setting of this prophecy and the reference to the creature’s scales (v. 4), many understand a crocodile to be the referent here (e.g., “a great crocodile”; “you monster crocodile”; “a giant crocodile”).
5 In Egyptian theology Pharaoh owned and controlled the Nile. See J. D. Currid, Ancient Egypt and the Old Testament, 240–44.
6 Some Hebrew , the , and the read “buried.”
7 Compare Isa 36:6.
8 The Hebrew consonantal text (Kethib) has “by your hand,” but the marginal reading (Qere) has simply “by the hand.” The reads “with their hand.”
9 Or perhaps “dislocated.”
10 Heb “you caused to stand for them all their hips.” An emendation which switches two letters but is supported by the yields the reading “you caused all their hips to shake.” See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (), 2:. In 2 Kgs 18:21 and Isa 36:6 trusting in the Pharaoh is compared to leaning on a staff. The oracle may reflect Hophra’s attempt to aid Jerusalem (Jer 37:5–8).
11 Heb “I will cut off from you.”
12 Or “I challenge you.” The phrase “I am against you” may be a formula for challenging someone to combat or a duel. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (), 1:, and P. Humbert, “Die Herausforderungsformel ‘hinnenî êlêkâ,’ ” 45 (1933): 101–8.
13 This may refer to a site in the Egyptian Delta which served as a refuge for Jews (Jer 44:1; 46:14).
14 Syene is known today as Aswan.
15 In Ezek 4:4–8 it was said that the house of Judah would suffer forty years.
16 Thus the Masoretic Text. The , , and translate as though the Hebrew read “cause to inhabit.”
17 Heb “reminding of iniquity when they turned after them.”
18 April 26, 571 b.c.
19 Heb “Nebuchadrezzar” is a variant and more correct spelling of Nebuchadnezzar, as the Babylonian name Nabu-kudurri-usur has an “r” rather than an “n” (so also in v. 19).
20 Nebuchadnezzar besieged Tyre from 585 to 571 b.c. For location see ; ; ; ; .
21 Heb “for which he worked,” referring to the assault on Tyre (v. 18).
22 Heb “I will cause a horn to sprout for the house of Israel.” The horn is used as a figure for military power in the OT (Ps 92:10). A similar expression is made about the Davidic dynasty in Ps 132:17.
23 Heb “I will grant you an open mouth.”
1 Heb “Alas for the day.”
2 Heb “a day of clouds.” The expression occurs also in Joel 2:2 and Zeph 1:15; it recalls the appearance of God at Mount Sinai (Exod 19:9, 16, 18).
3 Heb “a time.” The words “of judgment” have been added in the translation for clarification (see the following verses).
4 The same expression appears in Exod 12:38; Jer 25:20; 50:37; Neh 13:3. It may refer to foreign mercenaries serving in the armies of the nations listed here.
5 Heb “sons.”
6 The expression “sons of the covenant land” possibly refers to Jews living in Egypt (Jer 44).
7 Heb “come down.”
8 Syene is known as Aswan today.
9 Heb “all who aid her are broken.”
10 Heb “in the day of Egypt.” The word “doom” has been added in the translation to clarify the nature of this day.
11 Heb “Nebuchadrezzar” is a variant and more correct spelling of Nebuchadnezzar, as the Babylonian name Nabu-kudurri-usur has an “r” rather than an “n.”
12 The Babylonians were known for their cruelty (2 Kgs 25:7).
13 Heb “and I will sell the land into the hand of.”
14 Heb “I will put fear in the land of Egypt.”
15 Heb “Sin” (so , ), a city commonly identified with Pelusium, a fortress on Egypt’s northeastern frontier.
16 Or “kill.”
17 The reads “Syene,” which is Aswan in the south. The reads Sin, which has already been mentioned in v. 15.
18 On and Pi-beseth are generally identified with the Egyptian cities of Heliopolis and Bubastis.
19 Heb “they will go.” The pronoun and verb are feminine plural, indicating that the cities just mentioned are the antecedent of the pronoun and the subject of the verb. The translation makes this clear by stating the subject as “the cities.”
20 In Zeph 1:15 darkness is associated with the day of the Lord.