Ezekiel 29
1 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth of the month, came the word of Yahweh unto 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 Son of man, Set thy face against Pharaoh, king of Egypt, And prophesy against him, and against Egypt all of it:
“You human, turn toward Egypt and proclaim the terrible things that will happen to the king of Egypt and all his people.
3 Speak, and thou shalt say— Thus, saith My Lord Yahweh Behold me! against thee O Pharaoh king of Egypt, The great Crocodile that lieth along in the midst of his rivers: Who saith— My river is, mine own, Since I myself made it me!
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 Therefore will I put hooks in thy jaws, And cause the fish of thy rivers to stick fast in thy scales, - And will bring thee up out of the midst of thy rivers, And, all the fish of thy rivers, to thy scales, shall stick fast;
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 stretch thee out towards the desert, Thee and all the fish of thy rivers, On the face of the field, shalt thou lie Thou shalt not be carried away nor shalt thou be gathered, To the wild beast of the earth and to the bird of the heavens, have I given thee for food.
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 So shall all the inhabitants of Egypt know that I, am Yahweh, Because they were a staff of reed 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 Whensoever they took hold of thee by the hand, thou didst run through, and tear open for them every hand, —And whensoever they leaned upon thee, thou didst break, and caused all their loins to halt.
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 saith My Lord Yahweh, Behold me! bringing upon thee a sword, - And I will cut off out of thee, man and beast;
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 shall become an astonishment and a desolation, So shall they know that, I, am Yahweh, —Because he said— The river is mine own, Since, I, myself 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 Therefore, behold me! against thee and against thy rivers, - And I will make the land of Egypt to be most desolate an astounding desolation, from Migdol to Syene even up to the boundary of Ethiopia:
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 The foot of man shall not pass through it, Nor shall the foot of beast, pass through it, Neither shall it be inhabited forty years:
For 40 years no one will walk through that area, and no one will live there.
12 So will I make the land of Egypt a desolation in the midst of lands made desolate And her cities—in the midst of cities that have been laid waste, shall become a desolation forty years, - And I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations, And scatter them throughout the lands.
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 For thus, saith My Lord Yahweh, — At the end of forty years, will I gather the Egyptians from among the peoples whither I had dispersed them;
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 will turn the captivity of the Egyptians, And will cause them to return To the land of Pathros Upon the land of their nativity, - And they shall become, there a kingdom abased:
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 More than [any of] the kingdoms, shall she be abased, And shall lift herself up no more over the nations, —Yea I will make them too small to rule over 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 So shall it become no more unto the house of Israel a security. Calling to mind iniquity, by their turning to follow them, - And they shall know that, I, am The Lord Yahweh.
[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 And it came to pass in the twenty-seventh year in the first month on the first of the month, that the word of Yahweh came unto 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 Son of man Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, hath made his army undergo a long service against Tyre, Every head, hath been made bald, and, Every shoulder, worn bare, — But pay, hath he had none nor hath his army, out of Tyre, for the service wherewith he hath served 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, saith My Lord Yahweh, Behold me! giving to Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, the land of Egypt, — And he shall carry off her multitude And capture her spoil And seize her prey, So shall she become pay for his army.
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 As a reward for his labour wherewith he hath served, have I given to him the land of Egypt, —in that they wrought for me, Declareth My Lord, Yahweh.
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 to bud a horn for the house of Israel, And to thee, will I give an opening of mouth in their midst, So shall they know that, I, am Yahweh.
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].'”
