< Ezekiel 30 >

1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2 “Son of man, prophesy and say: Thus says the Lord God: Wail: ‘Woe, woe to the day!’
“Son of man, prophesy and declare that this is what the Lord GOD says: Wail, ‘Alas for that day!’
3 For the day is near, and the day of the Lord is approaching! It is a day of gloom; it will be the time of the Gentiles.
For the day is near, the Day of the LORD is near. It will be a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations.
4 And the sword will come to Egypt. And there will be dread in Ethiopia, when the wounded will have fallen in Egypt, and its multitude will have been taken away, and its foundations will have been destroyed.
A sword will come against Egypt, and there will be anguish in Cush when the slain fall in Egypt, its wealth is taken away, and its foundations are torn down.
5 Ethiopia, and Libya, and Lydia, and all the rest of the common people, and Chub, and the sons of the land of the covenant, will fall with them by the sword.
Cush, Put, and Lud, and all the various peoples, as well as Libya and the men of the covenant land, will fall with Egypt by the sword.
6 Thus says the Lord God: And those who prop up Egypt will fall, and the arrogance of its reign will be brought down. They will fall in it by the sword, before the tower of Syene, says the Lord, the God of hosts.
For this is what the LORD says: The allies of Egypt will fall, and her proud strength will collapse. From Migdol to Syene they will fall by the sword within her,
7 And they will be scattered into the midst of desolate lands, and its cities will be in the midst of cities that have been deserted.
They will be desolate among desolate lands, and their cities will lie among ruined cities.
8 And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I will have brought a fire into Egypt, and when all its helpers will have been worn away.
Then they will know that I am the LORD when I set fire to Egypt and all her helpers are shattered.
9 In that day, messengers will go forth from my face in Greek warships, in order to crush the confidence of Ethiopia. And there will be dread among them in the day of Egypt; for without doubt, it will happen.
On that day messengers will go out from Me in ships to frighten Cush out of complacency. Anguish will come upon them on the day of Egypt’s doom. For it is indeed coming.
10 Thus says the Lord God: By the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, I will cause the multitude of Egypt to cease.
This is what the Lord GOD says: I will put an end to the hordes of Egypt by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
11 He, and his people with him, the strongest of the Gentiles, will be brought forth in order to destroy the land. And they will draw their swords over Egypt. And they will fill the land with the slain.
He and his people with him, the most ruthless of the nations, will be brought in to destroy the land. They will draw their swords against Egypt and fill the land with the slain.
12 And I will cause the channels of the rivers to dry up. And I will deliver the land into the hand of the most wicked. And by the hands of foreigners, I will utterly destroy the land and its plenitude. I, the Lord, have spoken.
I will make the streams dry up and sell the land to the wicked. By the hands of foreigners I will bring desolation upon the land and everything in it.
13 Thus says the Lord God: And I will destroy the graven images, and I will cause the idols of Memphis to cease. And there will no longer be a commander of the land of Egypt. And I will send terror upon the land of Egypt.
This is what the Lord GOD says: I will destroy the idols and put an end to the images in Memphis. There will no longer be a prince in Egypt, and I will instill fear in that land.
14 And I will destroy the land of Pathros, and I will send a fire upon Tahpanhes, and I will execute judgments in Alexandria.
I will lay waste Pathros, set fire to Zoan, and execute judgment on Thebes.
15 And I will pour out my indignation upon Pelusium, the strength of Egypt, and I will kill the multitude of Alexandria.
I will pour out My wrath on Pelusium, the stronghold of Egypt, and cut off the crowds of Thebes.
16 And I will send a fire upon Egypt. Pelusium will be in pain, like a woman giving birth. And Alexandria will be utterly destroyed. And in Memphis, there will be anguish every day.
I will set fire to Egypt, Pelusium will writhe in anguish, Thebes will be split open, and Memphis will face daily distress.
17 The young men of Heliopolis and Pibeseth will fall by the sword, and the young women will be led into captivity.
The young men of On and Pi-beseth will fall by the sword, and those cities will go into captivity.
18 And in Tahpanhes, the day will grow black, when, in that place, I will break the scepters of Egypt. And the arrogance of her authority will fail within her; a gloom will cover her. Then her daughters will be led into captivity.
The day will be darkened in Tahpanhes when I break the yoke of Egypt and her proud strength comes to an end. A cloud will cover her, and her daughters will go into captivity.
19 And I will execute judgments in Egypt. And they shall know that I am the Lord.”
So I will execute judgment on Egypt, and they will know that I am the LORD.”
20 And it happened that, in the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
In the eleventh year, on the seventh day of the first month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
21 “Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. And behold, it has not been wrapped, so that it might be restored to health; it has not been bound with cloths, or bandaged with linen, so that, having recovered strength, it would be able to hold the sword.
“Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt. See, it has not been bound up for healing, or splinted for strength to hold the sword.
22 Because of this, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and I will shatter his strong arm, which has already been broken. And I will cast the sword away from his hand.
Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt. I will break his arms, both the strong one and the one already broken, and will make the sword fall from his hand.
23 And I will disperse Egypt among the nations, and I will scatter them among the lands.
I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them throughout the lands.
24 And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon. And I will put my sword into his hand. And I will break the arms of Pharaoh. And they will groan acutely, when they are slain before his face.
I will strengthen the arms of Babylon’s king and place My sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, who will groan before him like a mortally wounded man.
25 And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon. And the arms of Pharaoh will fall. And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I will have given my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and when he will have extended it over the land of Egypt.
I will strengthen the arms of Babylon’s king, but Pharaoh’s arms will fall limp. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I place My sword in the hand of Babylon’s king, and he wields it against the land of Egypt.
26 And I will disperse Egypt among the nations, and I will scatter them among the lands. And they shall know that I am the Lord.”
I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them throughout the lands. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”

< Ezekiel 30 >