Ezekiel 29

A Prophecy Against Egypt

Judgment on Pharaoh

29In the tenth year, in the tenth month on the twelfth day, the word of the Lord came to me:^{p 2}“Son of man, set your face against^q Pharaoh king of Egypt^r and prophesy against him and against all Egypt.^{s 3}Speak to him and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“ ‘I am against you, Pharaoh^t king of Egypt,

you great monster^u lying among your streams.

You say, “The Nile^v belongs to me;

I made it for myself.”

⁴But I will put hooks^w in your jaws

and make the fish of your streams stick to your scales.

I will pull you out from among your streams,

with all the fish sticking to your scales.^x

⁵I will leave you in the desert,

you and all the fish of your streams.

You will fall on the open field

and not be gathered^y or picked up.

I will give you as food

to the beasts of the earth and the birds of the sky.^z

⁶Then all who live in Egypt will know that I am the Lord.

“ ‘You have been a staff of reed^a for the people of Israel. ⁷When they grasped you with their hands, you splintered^b and you tore open their shoulders; when they leaned on you, you broke and their backs were wrenched.^ac

⁸“ ‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will bring a sword against you and kill both man and beast.^{d 9}Egypt will become a desolate wasteland. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

“ ‘Because you said, “The Nile^e is mine; I made it,^f” ¹⁰therefore I am against you^g and against your streams, and I will make the land of Egypt^h a ruin and a desolate wasteⁱ from Migdol^j to Aswan,^k as far as the border of Cush.^{bl 11}The foot of neither man nor beast will pass through it; no one will live there for forty years.^{m 12}I will make the land of Egypt desolateⁿ among devastated lands, and her cities will lie desolate forty years among ruined cities. And I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them through the countries.^o

¹³“ ‘Yet this is what the Sovereign Lord says: At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the nations where they were scattered. ¹⁴I will bring them back from captivity and return them to Upper Egypt,^p the land of their ancestry. There they will be a lowly^q kingdom.^{r 15}It will be the lowliest of kingdoms and will never again exalt itself above the other nations.^s I will make it so weak that it will never again rule over the nations. ¹⁶Egypt will no longer be a source of confidence^t for the people of Israel but will be a reminder^u of their sin in turning to her for help.^v Then they will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.^w’ ”

Nebuchadnezzar’s Reward

¹⁷In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month on the first day, the word of the Lord came to me:^{x 18}“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar^y king of Babylon drove his army in a hard campaign against Tyre; every head was rubbed bare^z and every shoulder made raw.^a Yet he and his army got no reward from the campaign he led against Tyre. ¹⁹Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am going to give Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king^b of Babylon, and he will carry off its wealth. He will loot and plunder^c the land as pay for his army.^{d 20}I have given him Egypt^e as a reward for his efforts because he and his army did it for me, declares the Sovereign Lord.^f

²¹“On that day I will make a horn^cg grow for the Israelites, and I will open your mouth^h among them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.ⁱ”