Ezekiel 29

1 In the tenth year, in the tenth [month], on the twelfth of the month, a word of YHWH has been to me, saying,

On the twelfth day of the tenth month of the tenth year, a message from the Lord came to me, saying,

2 “Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy concerning him, and concerning Egypt—all of it.

“Son of man, face towards Pharaoh king of Egypt and prophesy against him and the whole of Egypt.

3 Speak, and you have said, Thus said Lord YHWH: Behold, I [am] against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt! The great dragon that is crouching in the midst of his floods, Who has said, My flood [is] my own, And I have made it [for] myself.

Tell him that this is what the Lord God says: Watch out, because I'm condemning you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, you great monster lying in your rivers, who says, ‘The Nile belongs to me; I made it myself.’

4 And I have put hooks in your jaws, And I have caused the fish of your floods to cleave to your scales, And I have caused you to come up from the midst of your floods, And every fish of your floods cleaves to your scales.

I'm going to put hooks in your jaws and make the fish in your river stick to your scales. I will pull you up out of your river, and all the fish will stick to your scales.

5 And I have left you in the wilderness, You and every fish of your floods, You fall on the face of the field, You are not gathered nor assembled, I have given you for food to the beast of the earth and to the bird of the heavens.

I will throw you and the fish away, leaving you in the desert. Your body will fall on the ground and be left in the open. It won't be collected or taken to be buried. I'll leave you as food for wild animals and birds of prey.

6 And all inhabitants of Egypt have known That I [am] YHWH, Because of their being a staff of reed to the house of Israel.

Then everyone in Egypt will know that I am the Lord. When you had to deal with the people of Israel you were like a flimsy walking stick made from a reed.

7 In their taking hold of you by your hand, You crush and have torn every shoulder of theirs, And in their leaning on you you are broken, And have caused all their thighs to stand.

When Israel grabbed hold of you, you split apart, damaging their shoulder. When they leaned on you, you broke, putting their backs out.

8 Therefore, thus said Lord YHWH: Behold, I am bringing in a sword against you, And have cut off man and beast from you.

So this is what the Lord God says: I will attack you with a sword and kill both people and animals.

9 And the land of Egypt has been for a desolation and a ruin, And they have known that I [am] YHWH, Because he said: The flood [is] mine, and I made [it].

Egypt will become an empty wasteland. Then they will know that I am the Lord. Because you said, ‘The Nile belongs to me; I made it,’

10 Therefore, behold, I [am] against you, and against your floods, And have given the land of Egypt for ruins, A dry place, a desolation, from Migdol to Syene, And to the border of Cush.

that's why I'm condemning you and your river. I will ruin Egypt, making it into an empty wasteland all the way from Migdol in the north to Syene in the south, and up to the border with Cush.

11 A foot of man does not pass over into it, Indeed, the foot of beast does not pass into it, Nor is it inhabited forty years.

No one, human or animal, will travel that way or live there for forty years.

12 And I have made the land of Egypt a desolation, In the midst of desolate lands, And its cities, in the midst of cities [that are] laid waste, Are a desolation [for] forty years, And I have scattered the Egyptians among nations, And I have dispersed them through lands.

I will make Egypt more of a wasteland than any other country, and its towns will lie in ruins for forty years among all the other ruined towns. I will scatter the Egyptians among the different nations and countries.

13 But thus said Lord YHWH: At the end of forty years I gather the Egyptians Out of the peoples to where they have been scattered,

However, this is what the Lord God says: After forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the different countries where they were scattered.

14 And I have turned back [to] the captivity of Egypt, And I have brought them back [To] the land of Pathros, to the land of their birth, And they have been a low kingdom there.

I will bring Egypt out of captivity and take them back to the land of Pathros, where they originally came from. Their kingdom will be insignificant.

15 It is lowest of the kingdoms, And it does not lift itself up above the nations anymore, And I have made them few, So as not to rule among nations.

Egypt will be the lowest of kingdoms and won't ever be more important than other nations again. I will bring Egypt down so that it won't ever be able to rule over the nations again.

16 And it is no longer for confidence to the house of Israel, Bringing iniquity to remembrance, By their turning after them, And they have known that I [am] Lord YHWH.”

The people of Israel won't ever trust in Egypt again; instead they will be reminded them of their sin when they turned to the Egyptians for help. Then they will know that I am the Lord God.”

17 And it comes to pass, in the twenty-seventh year, in the first [month], on the first of the month, a word of YHWH has been to me, saying,

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

18 “Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Has caused his force to serve a great service against Tyre, Every head [is] bald—every shoulder peeled, And neither he, nor his force, had reward out of Tyre, For the service that he served against it.

“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army work really hard in the siege against Tyre. The soldiers had their hair worn off their heads, and their shoulders rubbed raw. However, he and his army didn't gain any benefit from Tyre for all the work they did in attacking it.

19 Therefore, thus said Lord YHWH: Behold, I am giving the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, And he has taken away its store, And has taken its spoil, and taken its prey, And it has been a reward to his force.

So this is what the Lord God says: I'm going to give Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon who will seize everything valuable. He will loot the country, robbing it to pay his army.

20 I have given to him his wage for which he labored—The land of Egypt, in that they worked for Me, A declaration of Lord YHWH.

I'm rewarding him for all his work by giving him Egypt because the work they did was for me, declares the Lord God.

21 In that day I cause a horn to shoot up for the house of Israel, And I give an opening to your mouth in their midst, And they have known that I [am] YHWH!”

At that time I will give power back to the people of Israel and I will help you speak to them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”