Ezekiel 30:1–26

A Lament Over Egypt

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

“ ‘Wail^j and say,

“Alas for that day!”

³For the day is near,^k

the day of the Lord^l is near—

a day of clouds,

a time of doom for the nations.

⁴A sword will come against Egypt,^m

and anguish will come upon Cush.^an

When the slain fall in Egypt,

her wealth will be carried away

and her foundations torn down.^o

⁵Cush and Libya,^p Lydia and all Arabia,^q Kub and the people^r of the covenant land will fall by the sword along with Egypt.^s

⁶“ ‘This is what the Lord says:

“ ‘The allies of Egypt will fall

and her proud strength will fail.

From Migdol to Aswan^t

they will fall by the sword within her,

declares the Sovereign Lord.

⁷“ ‘They will be desolate

among desolate lands,

and their cities will lie

among ruined cities.^u

⁸Then they will know that I am the Lord,

when I set fire^v to Egypt

and all her helpers are crushed.^w

⁹“ ‘On that day messengers will go out from me in ships to frighten Cush^x out of her complacency. Anguish^y will take hold of them on the day of Egypt’s doom, for it is sure to come.^z

¹⁰“ ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“ ‘I will put an end to the hordes of Egypt

by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar^a king of Babylon.^b

¹¹He and his army—the most ruthless of nations^c—

will be brought in to destroy the land.

They will draw their swords against Egypt

and fill the land with the slain.^d

¹²I will dry up^e the waters of the Nile^f

and sell the land to an evil nation;

by the hand of foreigners

I will lay waste^g the land and everything in it.

I the Lord have spoken.

¹³“ ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“ ‘I will destroy the idols^h

and put an end to the images in Memphis.ⁱ

No longer will there be a prince in Egypt,^j

and I will spread fear throughout the land.

¹⁴I will lay^k waste Upper Egypt,

set fire to Zoan^l

and inflict punishment on Thebes.^m

¹⁵I will pour out my wrath on Pelusium,

the stronghold of Egypt,

and wipe out the hordes of Thebes.

¹⁶I will set fireⁿ to Egypt;

Pelusium will writhe in agony.

Thebes will be taken by storm;

Memphis^o will be in constant distress.

¹⁷The young men of Heliopolis^p and Bubastis

will fall by the sword,

and the cities themselves will go into captivity.

¹⁸Dark will be the day at Tahpanhes^q

when I break the yoke of Egypt;^r

there her proud strength will come to an end.

She will be covered with clouds,

and her villages will go into captivity.^s

¹⁹So I will inflict punishment^t on Egypt,

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

Pharaoh’s Arms Are Broken

²⁰In the eleventh year, in the first month on the seventh day, the word of the Lord came to me:^{u 21}“Son of man, I have broken the arm^v of Pharaoh^w king of Egypt. It has not been bound up to be healed^x or put in a splint so that it may become strong enough to hold a sword. ²²Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt.^y I will break both his arms, the good arm as well as the broken one, and make the sword fall from his hand.^{z 23}I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them through the countries.^{a 24}I will strengthen^b the arms of the king of Babylon and put my sword^c in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan^d before him like a mortally wounded man. ²⁵I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fall limp. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I put my sword^e into the hand of the king of Babylon and he brandishes it against Egypt.^{f 26}I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them through the countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord.^g”