Ezekiel 30

1 Yahweh gave me another message. [He said, ]

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

2 “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.

Son of man prophesy, and say: Thus saith the Lord God: Howl ye, Woe, woe to the day:

3 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.

For the day is near, yea the day of the Lord is near: a cloudy day, it shall be the time of the nations.

4 [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.

And the sword shall come upon Egypt: and there shall be dread in Ethiopia, when the wounded shall fall in Egypt, and the multitude thereof shall be taken away, and the foundations thereof shall be destroyed.

5 [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.”

Ethiopia, and Libya, and Lydia, and all the rest of the crowd, and Chub, and the children of the land of the covenant, shall fall with them by the sword.

6 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.

Thus saith the Lord God: They also that uphold Egypt shall fall, and the pride of her empire shall be brought down: from the tower of Syene shall they fall in it by the sword, saith the Lord the God of hosts.

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

And they shall be desolate in the midst of the lands that are desolate, and the cities thereof shall be in the midst of the cities that are wasted.

8 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].

And they shall know that I am the Lord: when I shall have set a fire in Egypt, and all the helpers thereof shall be destroyed.

9 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!”

In that day shall messengers go forth from my face in ships to destroy the confidence of Ethiopia, and there shall be dread among them in the day of Egypt: because it shall certainly come.

10 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.

Thus saith the Lord God: I will make the multitude of Egypt to cease by the hand of Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon.

11 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.

He and his people with him, the strongest of nations, shall be brought to destroy the land: and they shall draw their swords upon Egypt: and shall fill the land with the slain.

12 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.”

And I will make the channels of the rivers dry, and will deliver the land into the hand of the wicked: and will lay waste the land and all that is therein by the hands of strangers, I the Lord have spoken it.

13 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.

Thus saith the Lord God: I will also destroy the idols, and I will make an end of the idols of Memphis: and there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt: and I will cause a terror in the land of Egypt.

14 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].

And I will destroy the land of Phatures, and will make a fire in Taphnis, and will execute judgments in Alexandria.

15 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.

And I will pour out my indignation upon Pelusium the strength of Egypt, and will cut off the multitude of Alexandria.

16 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.

And I will make a fire in Egypt: Pelusium shall be in pain like a woman in labour, and Alexandria shall be laid waste, and in Memphis there shall be daily distresses.

17 [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].

The young men of Heliopolis, and of Bubastus shall fall by the sword, and they themselves shall go into captivity.

18 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].”

And in Taphnis the day shall be darkened, when I shall break there the sceptres of Egypt, and the pride of her power shall cease in her: a cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall be led into captivity.

19 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].’”

And I will execute judgments in Egypt: and they shall know that I am the Lord.

20 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, ]

And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first month, in the seventh day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

21 “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.

Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharao king of Egypt: and behold it is not bound up, to be healed, to be tied up with clothes, and swathed with linen, that it might recover strength, and hold the sword.

22 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.

Therefore, thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I come against Pharao king of Egypt, and I will break into pieces his strong arm, which is already broken: and I will cause the sword to fall out of his hand:

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

And I will disperse Egypt among the nations, and scatter them through the countries.

24 [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.

And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and will put my sword in his hand: and I will break the arms of Pharao, and they shall groan bitterly being slain before his face.

25 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.

And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and the arms of Pharao shall fall: and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall have given my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall have stretched it forth upon the land of Egypt.

26 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].’”

And I will disperse Egypt among the nations, and will scatter them through the countries, and they shall know that I am the Lord.