Ezekiel 30

A Lament Over Egypt

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

“ ‘Wail^u and say,

“Alas for that day!”

For the day is near,^v

the day of the Lord^w is near—

a day of clouds,

a time of doom for the nations.

A sword will come against Egypt,^x

and anguish will come upon Cush.^y

When the slain fall in Egypt,

her wealth will be carried away

and her foundations torn down.^z

Cush and Libya,^a Lydia and all Arabia,^b Kub and the people^c of the covenant land will fall by the sword along with Egypt.^d

“ ‘This is what the Lord says:

“ ‘The allies of Egypt will fall

and her proud strength will fail.

From Migdol to Aswan^e

they will fall by the sword within her,

declares the Sovereign Lord.

“ ‘They will be desolate

among desolate lands,

and their cities will lie

among ruined cities.^f

Then they will know that I am the Lord,

when I set fire^g to Egypt

and all her helpers are crushed.^h

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

“ ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

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

by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar^l king of Babylon.^m

He and his army—the most ruthless of nationsⁿ—

will be brought in to destroy the land.

They will draw their swords against Egypt

and fill the land with the slain.^o

I will dry up^p the waters of the Nile^q

and sell the land to an evil nation;

by the hand of foreigners

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

I the Lord have spoken.

“ ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“ ‘I will destroy the idols^s

and put an end to the images in Memphis.^t

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

and I will spread fear throughout the land.

I will lay^v waste Upper Egypt,

set fire to Zoan^w

and inflict punishment on Thebes.^x

I will pour out my wrath on Pelusium,

the stronghold of Egypt,

and wipe out the hordes of Thebes.

I will set fire^y to Egypt;

Pelusium will writhe in agony.

Thebes will be taken by storm;

Memphis^z will be in constant distress.

The young men of Heliopolis^a and Bubastis

will fall by the sword,

and the cities themselves will go into captivity.

Dark will be the day at Tahpanhes^b

when I break the yoke of Egypt;^c

there her proud strength will come to an end.

She will be covered with clouds,

and her villages will go into captivity.^d

So I will inflict punishment^e on Egypt,

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

Pharaoh’s Arms Are Broken

In the eleventh year, in the first month on the seventh day, the word of the Lord came to me:^f “Son of man, I have broken the arm^g of Pharaoh^h king of Egypt. It has not been bound up to be healedⁱ or put in a splint so that it may become strong enough to hold a sword. Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt.^j I will break both his arms, the good arm as well as the broken one, and make the sword fall from his hand.^k I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them through the countries.^l I will strengthen^m the arms of the king of Babylon and put my swordⁿ in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan^o before him like someone mortally wounded. I 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^p into the hand of the king of Babylon and he brandishes it against Egypt.^q I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them through the countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord.^r”