Chapter 30

Lament over Egypt

1 The word of the Lord came again to me saying,

2 “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord 1God,

“aWail, ‘Alas for the day!’

3 “For the day is near,

Even athe day of the Lord is near;

It will be a day of bclouds,

A time of doom for the nations.

4 “A sword will come upon Egypt,

And anguish will be in 1Ethiopia;

When the slain fall in Egypt,

They atake away her 2wealth,

And her foundations are torn down.

5 “1Ethiopia, Put, Lud, all 2aArabia, 3Libya and the 4people of the land 5that is in league will fall with them by the sword.”

6 ‘Thus says the Lord,

“Indeed, those who support aEgypt will fall

And the pride of her power will come down;

From Migdol to Syene

They will fall within her by the sword,”

Declares the Lord God.

7 “They will be desolate

In the amidst of the desolated lands;

And her cities will be

In the midst of the devastated cities.

8 “And they will aknow that I am the Lord,

When I set a bfire in Egypt

And all her helpers are broken.

9 “On that day amessengers will go forth from Me in ships to frighten bsecure 1Ethiopia; and canguish will be on them as on the day of Egypt; for behold, it comes!”

10 ‘Thus says the Lord God,

“aI will also make the 1hordes of Egypt cease

By the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.

11 “He and his people with him,

aThe most ruthless of the nations,

Will be brought in to destroy the land;

And they will draw their swords against Egypt

And fill the land with the slain.

12 “Moreover, I will make the aNile canals dry

And bsell the land into the hands of evil men.

And I will make the land desolate

And 1all that is in it,

By the hand of strangers; I the Lord have spoken.”

13 ‘Thus says the Lord God,

“I will also adestroy the idols

And make the 1images cease from 2bMemphis.

And there will no longer be a prince in the land of Egypt;

And I will put fear in the land of Egypt.

14 “I will make aPathros desolate,

Set a fire in bZoan

And execute judgments on 1cThebes.

15 “I will pour out My wrath on 1Sin,

The stronghold of Egypt;

I will also cut off the hordes of 2Thebes.

16 “I will set a fire in Egypt;

1Sin will writhe in anguish,

2Thebes will be breached

And 3Memphis will have 4distresses daily.

17 “The young men of 1aOn and of Pi-beseth

Will fall by the sword,

And 2the women will go into captivity.

18 “In aTehaphnehes the day will 1be bdark

When I cbreak there the yoke bars of Egypt.

Then the pride of her power will cease in her;

A cloud will cover her,

And her daughters will go into captivity.

19 “Thus I will aexecute judgments on Egypt,

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

Victory for Babylon

20 In the aeleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh of the month, the word of the Lord came to me saying,

21 “Son of man, I have abroken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, behold, it has not been bbound up 1for healing 2or wrapped with a bandage, that it may be strong to hold the sword.

22 “Therefore thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I am aagainst Pharaoh king of Egypt and will break his arms, both the strong and the bbroken; and I will make the sword cfall from his hand.

23 ‘I will ascatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands.

24 ‘For I will astrengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put bMy sword in his hand; and I will break the arms of Pharaoh, so that he will groan before him with the groanings of a wounded man.

25 ‘Thus I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fall. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I put My sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he astretches it out against the land of Egypt.

26 ‘When I scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands, then they will know that I am the Lord.’ ”