Ezekiel 30

1 Another message from the Lord came to me, saying,

The word of the LORD came again to me, saying,

2 “Son of man, prophesy and announce that this is what the Lord God says: Weep! This is a terrible day!

"Son of man, prophesy, and say, 'Thus says the LORD: "Wail, 'Alas for the day.'

3 The day is soon coming—the Day of the Lord is near. It will be a gloomy, cloudy day, a time of judgment for the nations.

For the day is near, even the day of the LORD is near; it shall be a day of clouds, a time of the nations.

4 A sword will come to attack Egypt, and there will be anguish in Cush when people are killed in Egypt, when it's robbed of its wealth and the country ruined.

A sword shall come on Egypt, and anguish shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt; and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be broken down.

5 Cush, Put, and Lud, and many other peoples, as well as Arabia, Kub, and the people of the promised land, they all, like Egypt, will be killed by the sword.

Ethiopia, and Put, and Lud, and all the mixed people, and Cub, and the children of the land that is allied with them, shall fall with them by the sword."'

6 This is what the Lord says: Egypt's allies will fall, and the country will lose its prestigious position. From Migdol in the north to Syene in the south, they will be killed by the sword, declares the Lord God.

"Thus says the LORD: 'They also who uphold Egypt shall fall; and the pride of her power shall come down: from the tower of Syene shall they fall in it by the sword,' says the LORD.

7 Egypt will become more of a wasteland than any other country, and its towns will be left in ruins.

'They shall be desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate; and her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are wasted.

8 Then they will acknowledge that I am the Lord when I set fire to Egypt and all its allies are crushed.

They shall know that I am the LORD, when I have set a fire in Egypt, and all her helpers are destroyed.

9 At that time I will send messengers in ships to shock Cush out of its sense of security. They will tremble in fear when disasters hit Egypt. Watch out! It's definitely coming!

In that day shall messengers go forth from before me in ships to make the careless Ethiopians afraid; and there shall be anguish on them, as in the day of Egypt; for, look, it comes.'

10 This is what the Lord God says: I will use Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to take away Egypt's wealth.

"Thus says the LORD: 'I will also make the multitude of Egypt to cease, by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.

11 He and his army from the cruelest nation in the world will be brought to destroy the country. They will use their swords to attack Egypt, and they will fill the land with dead bodies.

He and his people with him, the terrible of the nations, shall be brought in to destroy the land; and they shall draw their swords against Egypt, and fill the land with the slain.

12 I will dry up the rivers and sell the land to wicked people. Using these foreigners I will ruin the land and everything in it. I the Lord have spoken.

I will make the rivers dry, and will sell the land into the hand of evil men; and I will make the land desolate, and all that is in it, by the hand of strangers: I, the LORD, have spoken it.'

13 This is what the Lord God says: I'm going to destroy the idols and get rid of the images in Memphis. There won't be a prince in Egypt any longer, and I will make everyone in the country terrified.

"Thus says the LORD: 'I will also destroy the idols, and I will cause the images to cease from Memphis; and there shall be no more a prince from the land of Egypt: and I will put a fear in the land of Egypt.

14 I will destroy Pathros, set Zoan on fire, and punish Thebes.

I will make Pathros desolate, and will set a fire in Zoan, and will execute judgments on No.

15 I will pour out my wrath on Pelusium, Egypt's fortress town, and wipe out the army at Thebes.

I will pour my wrath on Sin, the stronghold of Egypt; and I will cut off the multitude of No.

16 I will set fire to Egypt, Pelusium will suffer, Thebes will be ripped apart, and Memphis will face trouble every day.

I will set a fire in Egypt: Sin shall be in great anguish, and No shall be broken up; and Memphis shall have adversaries in the daytime.

17 The young soldiers of Heliopolis and Bubastis will fall by the sword, and the people from those towns will be taken captive.

The young men of On and of Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword; and these cities shall go into captivity.

18 It will be a dark day in Tahpanhes when I break Egypt's power and bring to an end their proud strength. It will be under a cloud as the people go into captivity.

At Tehaphnehes also the day shall withdraw itself, when I shall break there the yokes of Egypt, and the pride of her power shall cease in her: as for her, a cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall go into captivity.

19 This is how I'm going to punish Egypt, and they will acknowledge that I am the Lord.”

Thus will I execute judgments on Egypt; and they shall know that I am the LORD.'"

20 On the seventh day of the first month of the eleventh year, a message from the Lord came to me, saying,

It happened in the eleventh year, in the first month, in the seventh day of the month, that the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

21 “Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt. You can see that it hasn't been bandaged up to heal it, or put it in a splint to provide enough strength to hold a sword.

"Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and look, it has not been bound up, to apply healing medicines, to put a bandage to bind it, that it be strong to hold the sword.

22 So this is what the Lord God says: Watch out, because I'm condemning Pharaoh king of Egypt! I will break his arms, both the one that's still good and the one already broken, and I will make him drop his sword.

Therefore thus says the LORD: 'Look, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms, the strong arm, and that which was broken; and I will cause the sword to fall out of his hand.

23 I will scatter the Egyptians among the different nations and countries.

I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries.

24 I will make the arms of the king of Babylon strong, and put my sword in his hand, but I will break Pharaoh's arms, and he will moan in pain like someone who's about to die.

I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and put my sword in his hand: but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he shall groan before him with the groanings of a deadly wounded man.

25 I will make the arms of Babylon's king strong, but Pharaoh's arms will drop to his sides, weak and useless. Then they will acknowledge that I am the Lord, when I put my sword in the hand of the king of Babylon and he uses it to attack Egypt.

I will hold up the arms of the king of Babylon; and the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall stretch it out on the land of Egypt.

26 When I scatter the Egyptians among the different nations and countries, they will acknowledge that I am the Lord.”

I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them through the countries; and they shall know that I am the LORD.'"