Ezekiel 29

1 In the tenth year, on the twelfth day of the tenth month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

In the tenth year, in the tenth [month], on the twelfth of the month, a word of YHWH has been to me, saying,

2 “Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt and prophesy against him and against all Egypt.

“Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy concerning him, and concerning Egypt—all of it.

3 Speak to him and tell him that this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I am against you, O Pharaoh king of Egypt, O great monster who lies among his rivers, who says, ‘The Nile is mine; I made it myself.’

Speak, and you have said, Thus said Lord YHWH: Behold, I [am] against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt! The great dragon that is crouching in the midst of his floods, Who has said, My flood [is] my own, And I have made it [for] myself.

4 But I will put hooks in your jaws and cause the fish of your streams to cling to your scales. I will haul you up out of your rivers, and all the fish of your streams will cling to your scales.

And I have put hooks in your jaws, And I have caused the fish of your floods to cleave to your scales, And I have caused you to come up from the midst of your floods, And every fish of your floods cleaves to your scales.

5 I will leave you in the desert, you and all the fish of your streams. You will fall on the open field and will not be taken away or gathered for burial. I have given you as food to the beasts of the earth and the birds of the air.

And I have left you in the wilderness, You and every fish of your floods, You fall on the face of the field, You are not gathered nor assembled, I have given you for food to the beast of the earth and to the bird of the heavens.

6 Then all the people of Egypt will know that I am the LORD. For you were only a staff of reeds to the house of Israel.

And all inhabitants of Egypt have known That I [am] YHWH, Because of their being a staff of reed to the house of Israel.

7 When Israel took hold of you with their hands, you splintered, tearing all their shoulders; when they leaned on you, you broke, and their backs were wrenched.

In their taking hold of you by your hand, You crush and have torn every shoulder of theirs, And in their leaning on you you are broken, And have caused all their thighs to stand.

8 Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: I will bring a sword against you and cut off from you man and beast.

Therefore, thus said Lord YHWH: Behold, I am bringing in a sword against you, And have cut off man and beast from you.

9 The land of Egypt will become a desolate wasteland. Then they will know that I am the LORD. Because you said, ‘The Nile is mine; I made it,’

And the land of Egypt has been for a desolation and a ruin, And they have known that I [am] YHWH, Because he said: The flood [is] mine, and I made [it].

10 therefore I am against you and against your rivers. I will turn the land of Egypt into a ruin, a desolate wasteland from Migdol to Syene, and as far as the border of Cush.

Therefore, behold, I [am] against you, and against your floods, And have given the land of Egypt for ruins, A dry place, a desolation, from Migdol to Syene, And to the border of Cush.

11 No foot of man or beast will pass through, and it will be uninhabited for forty years.

A foot of man does not pass over into it, Indeed, the foot of beast does not pass into it, Nor is it inhabited forty years.

12 I will make the land of Egypt a desolation among desolate lands, and her cities will lie desolate for forty years among the ruined cities. And I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them throughout the countries.

And I have made the land of Egypt a desolation, In the midst of desolate lands, And its cities, in the midst of cities [that are] laid waste, Are a desolation [for] forty years, And I have scattered the Egyptians among nations, And I have dispersed them through lands.

13 For this is what the Lord GOD says: At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the nations to which they were scattered.

But thus said Lord YHWH: At the end of forty years I gather the Egyptians Out of the peoples to where they have been scattered,

14 I will restore Egypt from captivity and bring them back to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin. There they will be a lowly kingdom.

And I have turned back [to] the captivity of Egypt, And I have brought them back [To] the land of Pathros, to the land of their birth, And they have been a low kingdom there.

15 Egypt will be the lowliest of kingdoms and will never again exalt itself above the nations. For I will diminish Egypt so that it will never again rule over the nations.

It is lowest of the kingdoms, And it does not lift itself up above the nations anymore, And I have made them few, So as not to rule among nations.

16 Egypt will never again be an object of trust for the house of Israel, but will remind them of their iniquity in turning to the Egyptians. Then they will know that I am the Lord GOD.”

And it is no longer for confidence to the house of Israel, Bringing iniquity to remembrance, By their turning after them, And they have known that I [am] Lord YHWH.”

17 In the twenty-seventh year, on the first day of the first month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

And it comes to pass, in the twenty-seventh year, in the first [month], on the first of the month, a word of YHWH has been to me, saying,

18 “Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre. Every head was made bald and every shoulder made raw. But he and his army received no wages from Tyre for the labor they expended on it.

“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Has caused his force to serve a great service against Tyre, Every head [is] bald—every shoulder peeled, And neither he, nor his force, had reward out of Tyre, For the service that he served against it.

19 Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who will carry off its wealth, seize its spoil, and remove its plunder. This will be the wages for his army.

Therefore, thus said Lord YHWH: Behold, I am giving the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, And he has taken away its store, And has taken its spoil, and taken its prey, And it has been a reward to his force.

20 I have given him the land of Egypt as the reward for his labor, because it was done for Me, declares the Lord GOD.

I have given to him his wage for which he labored—The land of Egypt, in that they worked for Me, A declaration of Lord YHWH.

21 In that day I will cause a horn to sprout for the house of Israel, and I will open your mouth to speak among them. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”

In that day I cause a horn to shoot up for the house of Israel, And I give an opening to your mouth in their midst, And they have known that I [am] YHWH!”