⁵The people of Cush, Put, Lydia, Libya and the whole land of Arabia will be killed with swords. So will the Jews who live in Egypt. They went there from the covenant land of Israel. And the Egyptians will die too.” ’ ”

⁶The Lord says,

“Those who were going to help Egypt will die.

The strength Egypt was so proud of will fail.

Its people will be killed with swords

from Migdol all the way to Aswan,”

announces the Lord and King.

⁷“Egypt will be more empty than any other land.

Its cities will be completely destroyed.

⁸I will set Egypt on fire.

All those who came to help it will be crushed.

Then they will know that I am the Lord.

⁹“At that time I will send messengers out in ships. They will terrify the people of Cush who are so contented. Cush will suffer greatly when Egypt falls. And you can be sure it will fall.”

¹⁰The Lord and King says,

“I will put an end to the huge armies of Egypt.

I will use Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylonia, to do it.

¹¹He and his armies will attack the land and destroy it.

They will not show its people any pity at all.

They will use their swords against Egypt.

They will fill the land with dead bodies.

¹²I will dry up the streams of the Nile River.

I will sell the land to evil men.

I will use the powerful hands of strangers

to destroy the land and everything in it.

“I have spoken. I am the Lord.”

¹³The Lord and King says,

“I will destroy the statues of Egypt’s gods.

I will put an end to the gods

the people in Memphis worship.

Egypt will not have princes anymore.

I will spread fear all through the land.

¹⁴I will completely destroy Upper Egypt.

I will set Zoan on fire.

I will punish Thebes.

¹⁵I will pour out my burning anger on Pelusium.

It is a fort in eastern Egypt.

I will cut off the huge army of Thebes.

¹⁶I will set Egypt on fire.

Pelusium will groan with terrible pain.

Thebes will be ripped apart.

Memphis will suffer greatly

because of everything that happens.

¹⁷The young men of Heliopolis and Bubastis

will be killed with swords.

Their people will be taken away as prisoners.

¹⁸I will break Egypt’s power over other lands.

That will be a dark day for Tahpanhes.

There the strength Egypt was so proud of

will come to an end.

Egypt will be covered with clouds.

The people in its villages

will be taken away as prisoners.

¹⁹So I will punish Egypt.

Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

²⁰It was the 11th year since King Jehoiachin had been brought to Babylon as a prisoner. On the seventh day of the first month, a message came to me from the Lord. He said, ²¹“Son of man, I have broken the powerful arm of Pharaoh Hophra, the king of Egypt. No bandages have been put on his arm to heal it. It has not been put in a cast. So his arm will not be strong enough to use a sword. ²²I am against Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. I will break both of his arms. I will break his healthy arm and his broken one. His sword will fall from his hand. ²³I will scatter the people of Egypt among the nations. I will send them to other countries.

²⁴“I will make the arms of the king of Babylonia stronger. I will put my sword in his hand. But I will break the arms of Pharaoh. And he will groan in front of Nebuchadnezzar. He will cry out like someone dying from his wounds. ²⁵I will make the arms of the king of Babylonia stronger. But the arms of Pharaoh will not be able to help Egypt. I will put my sword in Nebuchadnezzar’s hand. He will get ready to use it against Egypt. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

²⁶“I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations. I will send them to other countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

A Cedar Tree in Lebanon

31It was the 11th year since King Jehoiachin had been brought to Babylon as a prisoner. On the first day of the third month, a message came to me from the Lord. He said, ²“Son of man, speak to Pharaoh Hophra, the king of Egypt. Also speak to his huge army. Tell him,

“ ‘Who can be compared with your majesty?

³Think about what happened to Assyria.

Once it was like a cedar tree in Lebanon.

It had beautiful branches

that provided shade for the forest.

It grew very high.

Its top was above all of the leaves.

⁴The waters fed it.

Deep springs made it grow tall.

Their streams flowed

all around its base.

They made their way

to all of the trees in the fields.

⁵So it grew higher

than any other tree in the fields.

It grew more limbs.

Its branches grew long.

They spread because they had plenty of water.

⁶All of the birds of the air

made their nests in its limbs.

All of the wild animals

had their babies under its branches.

All of the great nations

lived in its shade.

⁷Its spreading branches

made it majestic and beautiful.

Its roots went down deep

to where there was plenty of water.

⁸The cedar trees in my garden

were no match for it.

The pine trees

could not equal its limbs.

The plane trees

could not compare with its branches.

No tree in my garden

could match its beauty.

⁹I gave it many branches.

They made it beautiful.

All of the trees in my Garden of Eden

were jealous of it.’ ”

¹⁰So the Lord and King says, “The cedar tree grew very high. Its top was above all of the leaves. It was proud of how tall it was. ¹¹So I handed it over to the Babylonian ruler of the nations. I wanted him to punish it because it was so evil. I decided to get rid of it.

¹²“The Babylonians cut it down and left it there. They did not show it any pity at all. Some of its branches fell on the mountains. Others fell in all of the valleys. They lay broken in all of the stream beds in the land. All of the nations on earth came out from under its shade. And they went on their way. ¹³All of the birds of the air settled on the fallen tree. All of the wild animals moved among its branches.

¹⁴“So trees that receive plenty of water must never grow so high that it makes them proud. Their tops must never be above the rest of the leaves. No other trees that receive a lot of water must ever grow that high. They are appointed to die and go down into the earth below. They will join the other nations that go down into the grave.”

¹⁵The Lord and King says, “Assyria was like a cedar tree. But I brought it down to the grave. On that day I dried up the deep springs of water and covered them. I held its streams back. I shut off its rich supply of water. Because of that, Lebanon was dressed in darkness as if it were clothes. All of the trees in the fields dried up.

¹⁶“I brought the cedar tree down to the grave. It joined the other nations that go down there. I made the nations on earth shake because of the sound of its fall. Then all of the trees of Eden were comforted in the earth below. That included the finest and best trees in Lebanon. And it included all the trees that received plenty of water. ¹⁷Others also went down into the grave along with it. That included those that lived in its shade. And it included those nations that were going to help it. They joined those who had been killed with swords.

¹⁸“Which one of the trees of Eden can be compared with you? What tree is as glorious and majestic as you are? But you too will be brought down to the earth below. There you will join the trees of Eden. You will lie down with those who have not been circumcised. You will be among those who were killed with swords.

“That is what will happen to Pharaoh and his huge armies,” announces the Lord and King.

A Song of Sadness About Pharaoh

32It was the 12th year since King Jehoiachin had been brought to Babylon as a prisoner. On the first day of the 12th month, a message came to me from the Lord. He said, ²“Son of man, sing a song of sadness about Pharaoh Hophra, the king of Egypt. Tell him,

“ ‘You are like a lion among the nations.

You are like a monster in the sea.

You move around wildly in your rivers.

You churn the water with your feet.

You make the streams muddy.’ ”

³The Lord and King says,

“I will use a large crowd of people

to throw my net over you.

They will pull you up in it.

⁴Then I will throw you on the land.

I will toss you into an open field.

I will let all of the birds of the air settle on you.

I will let all of the wild animals eat you up.

⁵I will scatter the parts of your body all over the mountains.

I will fill the valleys with your remains.

⁶I will soak the land with your blood.

It will flow all the way to the mountains.

The valleys will be filled with the parts of your body.

⁷When I wipe you out,

I will put a cover over the heavens.

I will darken the stars.

I will cover the sun with a cloud.

The moon will stop shining.

⁸I will darken all of the bright lights

in the sky above you.

I will bring darkness over your land,”

announces the Lord and King.

⁹“The hearts of many people will be troubled.

That is because I will destroy you among the nations.

You had never known anything about those lands before.

¹⁰Many nations will be shocked

when they see what has happened to you.

Their kings will tremble with fear

when they find out about it.

I will get ready to use Nebuchadnezzar

as my sword against them.

On the day you fall from power,

each of the kings will tremble with fear.

Each will be afraid he is the next to die.”

¹¹The Lord and King says,

“I will send against you

the sword of the king of Babylonia.

¹²I will destroy your huge army.

They will be killed with the swords

of Babylonia’s mighty soldiers.

The soldiers will not show them any pity.

They will bring Egypt down in all of its pride.

Its huge armies will be thrown down.

¹³I will destroy all of its cattle

from the places where they have plenty of water.

Human feet will never stir the water up again.

The hoofs of cattle will…

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