Ezekiel 30

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

The word of Yahweh came 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, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: Wail, “Woe is the coming 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.

The day is near. The day is near for Yahweh. It will be a day of clouds, a time of doom for 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.

Then a sword will come against Egypt, and there will be anguish in Cush when the killed people fall in Egypt— when they take her wealth, and when her foundations are ruined.

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.

Cush and Put, Lydia and all Arabia, and Libya, together with the people belonging to the covenant—they will all fall 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.

Yahweh says this: So the ones who support Egypt will fall, and the pride of her strength will go down. From Migdol to Syene their soldiers will fall by the sword—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.

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

They will be appalled in the midst of the abandoned lands, and their cities will be among all the ruined cities.

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

Then they will know that I am Yahweh, when I set fire in Egypt, and when all of 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 messengers will go out from before me in ships to terrorize a secure Cush, and there will be anguish among them on the day of Egypt's doom. For behold! It is coming.

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

The Lord Yahweh says this: I will make an end of the multitudes of Egypt by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the 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 army with him, the terror of nations, will be brought to destroy the land; they will draw out their swords against Egypt and fill the land with those who have been 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 make the rivers into dry ground, and I will sell the land into the hand of wicked men. I will make the land and its fullness desolate by the hand of strangers—I, Yahweh, have spoken.

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.

The Lord Yahweh says this: I will destroy idols, and I will bring an end to the worthless idols of Memphis. There will no longer be a prince in the land of Egypt, and I will put terror on the land of Egypt.

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

Then I will make Pathros desolate and set fire in Zoan, and I will execute acts of judgment on Thebes.

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

For I will pour out my fury on Pelusium, the stronghold of Egypt, and cut off the multitude of Thebes.

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

Then I will set fire in Egypt; Pelusium will be in great agony, Thebes will be broken up, and Memphis will face enemies every day.

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 in Heliopolis and Bubastis will fall by the sword, and their cities will 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.

In Tahpanhes, the day will hold back its light when I break the yoke of Egypt there, and the pride of her strength will be finished. There will be a cloud covering her, and her daughters will walk into captivity.

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

I will execute acts of judgment in Egypt, so they will know that I am Yahweh.'”

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

Then it came about in the eleventh year, in the first month, in the seventh day of the month, that the word of Yahweh 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, the king of Egypt. Behold! It has not been bound up, or set to heal with a bandage, so that it will become strong enough to grasp 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 the Lord Yahweh says this, 'Behold, I am against Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. For I will break his arm, both the strong one and the broken one, and I will make the sword fall from his hand.

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

Then I will scatter Egypt among the nations and disperse them among the lands.

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 place my sword in his hand so that I might destroy Pharaoh's arms. He will groan before the king of Babylon with the groans of a dying 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.

For I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, while Pharaoh's arms will fall. Then they will know that I am Yahweh, when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon; for he will attack the land of Egypt with it.

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

So I will scatter Egypt among the nations and disperse them through the lands. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.'”