Ezekiel 29

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

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

2 Son of man, let your face be turned against Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and be a prophet against him and against all Egypt:

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

3 Say to them, These are the words of the Lord: See, I am against you, Pharaoh, king of Egypt, the great river-beast stretched out among his Nile streams, who has said, The Nile is mine, and I have made it for myself.

Speak and say, 'Thus says the LORD: "Look, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great monster that lies in the midst of his rivers, that has said, 'My river is my own, and I have made it for myself.'

4 And I will put hooks in your mouth, and the fish of your streams will be hanging from your skin; and I will make you come up out of your streams, with all the fish of your streams hanging from your skin.

I will put hooks in your jaws, and I will make the fish of your rivers stick to your scales; and I will bring you up out of the midst of your rivers, with all the fish of your rivers which stick to your scales.

5 And I will let you be in the waste land, you and all the fish of your streams: you will go down on the face of the land; you will not be taken up or put to rest in the earth; I have given you for food to the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven.

I'll cast you forth into the wilderness, you and all the fish of your rivers. You'll fall on the open field. You won't be brought together, nor gathered. I have given you for food to the animals of the earth and to the birds of the sky.

6 And it will be clear to all the people of Egypt that I am the Lord, because you have been a false support to the children of Israel.

All the inhabitants of Egypt will know that I am the LORD, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel.

7 When they took a grip of you in their hands, you were crushed so that their arms were broken: and when they put their weight on you for support, you were broken and all their muscles gave way.

When they took hold of you with their hand, you splintered and dislocated their shoulders; and when they leaned on you, you shattered and caused their legs to be unsteady."

8 For this cause the Lord has said: See, I am sending a sword on you, cutting off from you man and beast.

"'Therefore thus says the LORD: "Look, I will bring a sword on you, and will cut off man and animal from you.

9 And the land of Egypt will be an unpeopled waste; and they will be certain that I am the Lord: because he has said, The Nile is mine, and I made it.

The land of Egypt shall be a desolation and a waste; and they shall know that I am the LORD. Because he has said, 'The river is mine, and I have made it;'

10 See, then, I am against you and against your streams, and I will make the land of Egypt an unpeopled waste, from Migdol to Syene, even as far as the edge of Ethiopia.

therefore, look, I am against you, and against your rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from the tower of Syene even to the border of Ethiopia.

11 No foot of man will go through it and no foot of beast, and it will be unpeopled for forty years.

No foot of man shall pass through it, nor foot of animal shall pass through it, neither shall it be inhabited forty years.

12 I will make the land of Egypt a waste among the countries which are made waste, and her towns will be unpeopled among the towns which have been made waste, for forty years: and I will send the Egyptians in flight among the nations and wandering through the countries.

I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the midst of the countries that are desolate; and her cities among the cities that are laid waste shall be a desolation forty years; and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries."

13 For this is what the Lord has said: At the end of forty years I will get the Egyptians together from the peoples where they have gone in flight:

"'For thus says the LORD: "At the end of forty years will I gather the Egyptians from the peoples where they were scattered;

14 I will let the fate of Egypt be changed, and will make them come back into the land of Pathros, into the land from which they came; and there they will be an unimportant kingdom.

and I will bring back the captivity of Egypt, and will cause them to return into the land of Pathros, into the land of their birth; and they shall be there a base kingdom.

15 It will be the lowest of the kingdoms, and never again will it be lifted up over the nations: I will make them small, so that they may not have rule over the nations.

It shall be the base of the kingdoms; neither shall it any more lift itself up above the nations: and I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations.

16 And Egypt will no longer be the hope of the children of Israel, causing sin to come to mind when their eyes are turned to them: and they will be certain that I am the Lord.

It shall be no more the confidence of the house of Israel, bringing iniquity to memory, when they turn to look after them: and they shall know that I am the LORD."'"

17 Now in the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

It came to pass in the seven and twentieth year, in the first month, in the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

18 Son of man, Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, made his army do hard work against Tyre, and the hair came off every head and every arm was rubbed smooth: but he and his army got no payment out of Tyre for the hard work which he had done against it.

"Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyre: every head was made bald, and every shoulder was worn; yet had he no wages, nor his army, from Tyre, for the service that he had served against it.

19 For this cause the Lord has said: See, I am giving the land of Egypt to Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon: he will take away her wealth, and take her goods by force and everything which is there; and this will be the payment for his army.

Therefore thus says the LORD: 'Look, I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and he shall carry off her multitude, and take her spoil, and take her prey; and it shall be the wages for his army.

20 I have given him the land of Egypt as the reward for his hard work, because they were working for me, says the Lord.

I have given him the land of Egypt as his recompense for which he served, because they worked for me,' says the LORD.

21 In that day I will make a horn put out buds for the children of Israel, and I will let your words come freely among them, and they will be certain that I am the Lord.

'In that day will I cause a horn to bud forth to the house of Israel, and I will give you the opening of the mouth in their midst; and they shall know that I am the LORD.'"