Ezekiel 29

1 In the tenth yeere, and in the tenth moneth in the twelfth day of the moneth, the word of the Lord came vnto me, saying,

Almost ten [after we had been taken to Babylonia], on the twelfth day of the tenth [of that year], Yahweh gave me another message. [He said to me],

2 Sonne of man, set thy face against Pharaoh the King of Egypt, and prophecie against him, and against all Egypt.

“You human, turn toward Egypt and proclaim the terrible things that will happen to the king of Egypt and all his people.

3 Speake, and say, Thus sayth the Lord God, Beholde, I come against thee, Pharaoh King of Egypt, the great dragon, that lieth in the middes of his riuers, which hath saide, The riuer is mine, and I haue made it for my selfe.

Give the king this message from [me], Yahweh the Lord: ‘You king of Egypt, I am your enemy; [you are like] [MET] a great monster/crocodile that lies in the [along the Nile River]. You say, “The Nile [River] is mine; I made it [for myself].”

4 But I will put hookes in thy chawes, and I will cause the fish of thy riuers to sticke vnto thy scales, and I will drawe thee out of the middes of thy riuers, and all the fishe of thy riuers shall sticke vnto thy scales.

But [it will be as though] I will put hooks in your jaws and drag you out [from the river] onto the land, with fish sticking to your scales.

5 And I will leaue thee in the wildernes, both thee and al the fish of thy riuers: thou shalt fal vpon ye open field: thou shalt not be brought together, nor gathered: for I haue giue thee for meat to the beasts of the field, and to the foules of heauen.

I will leave you and all those fish to die in the desert; you will fall onto the ground, and your [corpse] will not be picked up and buried, because I have declared that your flesh will be food for the wild animals and birds.

6 And al the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the Lord, because they haue ben a staffe of reede to the house of Israel.

When that happens, all the people of Egypt will know that it is I, Yahweh, [who have the power to do what I say that I will do]. The Israeli people [trusted that you would help them]. But you have been [like] [MET] a reed pole in their hands.

7 When they tooke holde of thee with their hand, thou diddest breake, and rent all their shoulder: and when they leaned vpon thee, thou brakest and madest all their loynes to stand vpright.

And when they leaned on that pole, it splintered and tore open their shoulders. When they leaned on you, [it was as though] you were a pole that broke, and as a result you wrenched their backs.

8 Therefore thus sayeth the Lord God, Beholde, I will bring a sworde vpon thee, and destroy man and beast out of thee,

Therefore, this is what [I], Yahweh the Lord, say: “I will bring [your enemies to attack] you with their swords, and they will kill your people and your animals.

9 And the land of Egypt shalbe desolate, and waste, and they shall know that I am ye Lord: because he hath said, The riuer is mine, and I haue made it,

Egypt will become an empty desert. Then the people of Egypt will know that I, Yahweh, [have the power to do what I say that I will do].” You [proudly] said, “The Nile [River] is mine; I made it!”

10 Behold, therefore I come vpon thee, and vpon thy riuers, and I will make the land of Egypt vtterly waste and desolate from the towre of Seueneh, euen vnto the borders of the blacke Mores.

Therefore I am opposed to you and your streams, and I will cause Egypt to be ruined, and cause it to be an empty desert, from Migdol [in the north] to Aswan [in the south], as far [south] as the border of Ethiopia.

11 No foote of man shall passe by it, nor foote of beast shall passe by it, neither shall it be inhabited fourtie yeeres.

For 40 years no one will walk through that area, and no one will live there.

12 And I wil make the land of Egypt desolate in the middes of the countries, that are desolate, and her cities shall be desolate among the cities that are desolate, for fourtie yeeres: and I wil scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and wil disperse them through the countreis.

Egypt will be barren/empty, and it will be surrounded by other desolate nations. The cities in Egypt will be empty and deserted for 40 years, surrounded by ruined cities in nearby nations. I will cause the people of Egypt to be scattered to countries [far away].

13 Yet thus saieth the Lord God, At the end of fourtie yeeres will I gather the Egyptians from the people, where they were scattered,

But this is what [I], Yahweh the Lord, [also] say: “At the end of 40 years, I will enable the people of Egypt to return home [again] from the nations to which they were scattered.

14 And I wil bring againe the captiuitie of Egypt, and will cause them to returne into the land of Pathros, into the lande of their habitation, and they shalbe there a small kingdome.

I will bring back the people of Egypt who had been captured, and I will enable them to live again in the Pathros area [in the south], where they lived previously. But Egypt will be a very unimportant [DOU] kingdom.

15 It shall be the smallest of the kingdomes, neither shall it exalt it selfe any more aboue the nations: for I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule the nations.

It will be the least important of [all] the nations; it will never again be greater than the nearby countries. I will cause Egypt to be very weak, with the result that it will never again rule over other nations.

16 And it shall be no more the confidence of the house of Israel, to bring their iniquitie to remembrance by looking after them, so shall they knowe, that I am the Lord God.

[When that happens, the leaders of] Israel will no longer be tempted to ask Egypt to help them. Egypt will be punished, and that will cause the Israeli people to not forget that they previously sinned by trusting that Egypt could help them. And the people of Israel will know that I, Yahweh the Lord, [have the power to do what I say that I will do].” '”

17 In the seuen and twentieth yeere also in the first moneth, and in the first day of the moneth, came the word of the Lord vnto me, saying,

Almost twenty-seven years [after we had been taken to Babylonia], on the first day [of the new year], Yahweh gave me this message:

18 Sonne of man, Nebuchad-nezzar King of Babel caused his armie to serue a great seruice against Tyrus: euery head was made balde, and euery shoulder was made bare: yet had he no wages, nor his armie for Tyrus, for the seruice that he serued against it.

“You human, the army of king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon fought very hard against Tyre, with the result that their heads were rubbed bare and their shoulders became (raw/full of blisters). But Nebuchadnezzar and his army did not get any valuable things from Tyre to reward them for their hard work [to destroy Tyre].

19 Therefore thus sayth the Lord God, Beholde, I will giue the land of Egypt vnto Nebuchad-nezzar the King of Babel, and he shall take her multitude, and spoyle her spoyle, and take her pray, and it shall be the wages for his armie.

Therefore, this is what [I], Yahweh the Lord, say: 'I will enable King Nebuchadnezzar’s army to conquer Egypt. They will carry away from there all the valuable things, in order that the king can give them to his soldiers.

20 I haue giuen him the land of Egypt for his labour, that he serued against it, because they wrought for me, sayth the Lord God.

I will enable them to conquer Egypt as a reward for what they did [to Tyre], because [I], Yahweh say that [it was as though] his army was working for me, [doing what I wanted them to do, when they destroyed Tyre].

21 In that day will I cause the horne of the house of Israel to growe, and I will giue thee an open mouth in the middes of them, and they shall knowe that I am the Lord.

And some day Israel will become a glorious nation [MET] again. When that happens, I will cause the Israeli people to respect what you say [MTY]. And then they will know that [it has happened because] I, Yahweh, [have the power to do what I say that I will do].'”