Ezekiel 30

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

Yahweh gave me another message. [He said, ]

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

“You human, prophesy [about what will happen to Egypt]. Say, ‘This is what Yahweh the Lord says: “Weep and wail [DOU], because terrible things will happen some 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.

That day is near, the day when I, Yahweh, [will punish people]; it will be a day of [dark] clouds and disaster for [many] 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.

[An enemy army] [PRS] will come to attack Egypt with their swords, and there will be great distress [among the people] in Ethiopia. [Many] people will be killed in Egypt; everything valuable will be taken away, and [even] the foundations [of the buildings] will be torn 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.

[Soldiers of] Ethiopia, Libya, Lydia, and from all of Arabia, and [all the other] groups who are their allies, will be killed in the battles.”

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.

This is what [I], Yahweh say: “The allies of Egypt will be defeated, and the power that [the people of Egypt] are proud of will end. From Migdol [city in the north] to Aswan [city in the south], the soldiers of Egypt will be killed by their enemies’ swords”; [that is what I], Yahweh the Lord, declare.

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

Egypt will become the most deserted country in the world, and its cities will be ruined, surrounded by ruined cities [in nearby nations].

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

Then, when I cause [everything in] Egypt to be burned in fires, and all their allies are defeated, people will know that I, Yahweh, [have the power to do what I say that I will do].

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!

At that time, I will send messengers to go [swiftly up the Nile River] in boats to cause the people of Ethiopia who (are complacent/confident/think that nothing terrible will happen to them) to become afraid. They will be terrified [PRS] when Egypt is destroyed; and it will soon be that time!”

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

This is what [I], Yahweh the Lord, say: “By the power of [MTY] of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon I will get rid of very many people in Egypt.

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.

Nebuchadnezzar and his army, whose soldiers are extremely ruthless, will come to destroy Egypt. They will pull out their swords and fill Egypt with [the corpses of] those whom they have killed.

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 cause the Nile [River] to become dry, and I will sell the nation to evil men. By the power [MTY] of foreigners I will ruin the land and everything that is in it. [That will surely happen because] I, Yahweh, have predicted 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.

This is [also] what [I], Yahweh the Lord, say: “I will cause the idols and statues [of idols] [DOU] in Memphis [city] to be destroyed. No longer will there be a king in Egypt, and all over the land, people will be terrified. I will cause [the people of] Egypt to be very afraid.

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

I will cause the Pathros [area in southern Egypt] to be abandoned. I will start fires in Zoan [city in northeast Egypt] and punish [the people in] Thebes, [the capital of southern Egypt].

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

I will pour out my punishment [MTY] on [the fortress in] Pelusium [at the eastern end of Egypt], and I will get rid of very many people in Thebes.

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

I will burn Egypt by fires; [the people in] Pelusium will suffer severe pain. [Enemies] will conquer Thebes, and [the people in] Memphis will constantly be terrified.

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

[Many] young men in Heliopolis and Bubastis [cities in northern Egypt] will be killed by [their enemies] swords, and the others [from those cities] will be captured and taken [to Babylon].

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.

It will be a dark day [of destruction] at Tahpenes [city in northeast Egypt] when I cause the power [MET] of Egypt to end; that country will no longer be proud of being strong. [It will be as though] a dark cloud will cover Egypt, because the people of its villages will be captured and forced to go [to Babylon].”

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

That is how I will punish Egypt, and people will know that I, Yahweh, [have the power to do what I say that I will do].’”

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

Almost eleven years [after we had been taken to Babylon], on the seventh day of the first month [of that year], Yahweh gave me another message. [He said, ]

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.

“You human, I [have enabled the army of Nebuchadnezzar to defeat the army of] the King of Egypt. [It is as though] I have broken one of the arms of the King of Egypt, and it has not been bandaged in order that it could be healed, and it has not been put in splints in order that [after it heals] the arm will be strong [enough] to hold a 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, this is what [I], Yahweh the Lord, say: ‘I am the enemy of the King of Egypt. [I will completely destroy the power of Egypt; it is as though] now I will break both of the king’s arms, the good/strong one and the broken one, and cause the sword to fall from his hand.

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

I will cause the people of Egypt to be scattered among the nations [DOU].

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.

[It is as though] I will strengthen the arms of the King of Babylon and put a sword in his hand, and [as though] I will break the arms of the king of Egypt, and he will groan in front of the King of Babylon like [SIM] a soldier who is wounded and about to die.

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 cause the power [MTY] of the King of Babylon to become greater, and the power of the king of Egypt will be useless [MET]. When that happens, when I give power to the army of the King of Babylon, they will use that power to attack Egypt.

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

I will cause the people of Egypt to be scattered among the nations [DOU]. And when that happens, the people [of Egypt] will know that I, Yahweh, [have the power to do what I say that I will do] [DOU].’”