Jezekiel 29

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

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

2 Son of man, set your face against Pharao king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and against the whole of Egypt:

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

3 and say, Thus says the Lord; Behold, I am against Pharao, the great dragon that lies in the midst of his rivers, that says, The rivers are mine, and I made them.

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.’

4 And I will put hooks in your jaws, and I will cause the fish of your river to stick to your sides, and I will bring you up out of the midst of your river:

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.

5 and I will quickly cast down you and all the fish of your river: you shall fall on the face of the plain, and shall by no means be gathered, and shall not be brought together: I have given you for food to the wild beasts of the earth and to the fowls of the sky.

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.

6 And all the dwellers in Egypt shall know that I am the Lord, because you have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel.

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.

7 When they took hold of you with their hand, you did break: and when every hand was clapped against them, and when they leaned on you, you were utterly broken, and did crush the loins of them all.

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.

8 Therefore thus says the Lord; Behold, I [will] bring a sword upon you, and will cut off from you man and beast;

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

9 and the land of Egypt shall be ruined and desert; and they shall know that I am the Lord; because you say, The rivers are mine, and I made them.

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,’

10 Therefore, behold, I am against you, and against all your rivers, and I will give up the land of Egypt to desolation, and the sword, and destruction, from Magdol and Syene even to the borders of the Ethiopians.

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.

11 No foot of man shall pass through it, and no foot of beast shall pass through it, and it shall not be inhabited for forty years.

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

12 And I will cause her land to be utterly destroyed in the midst of a land that is desolate, and her cities shall be [desolate] forty years in the midst of cities that are desolate: and I will disperse Egypt amongst the nations, and will utterly scatter them into the countries.

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.

13 Thus says the Lord; After forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the nations amongst whom they have been scattered;

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.

14 and I will turn the captivity of the Egyptians, and will cause them to dwell in the land of Phathore, in the land whence they were taken;

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.

15 and it shall be a base kingdom beyond all [other] kingdoms; it shall not any more be exalted over the nations; and I will make them few in number, that they may not be [great] amongst the nations.

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.

16 And they shall no more be to the house of Israel a confidence bringing iniquity to remembrance, when they follow after them; and they shall know that I am the Lord.

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.”

17 And it came to pass in the twenty-seventh year, on the first [day] of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

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

18 Son of man, Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyre; every head was bald, and every shoulder peeled; yet there was no reward to him or to his army [serving] against Tyre, nor for the service wherewith they served against it.

“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.

19 Thus says the Lord God; Behold, I [will] give to Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon the land of Egypt, and he shall take the plunder thereof, and seize the spoils thereof; and [it] shall be a reward for his army.

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.

20 In return for his service wherewith he served against Tyre, I have given him the land of Egypt; thus says the Lord God:

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

21 In that day shall a horn spring forth for all the house of Israel, and I will give you an open mouth in the midst of them; and they shall know that I am the Lord.

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.”