Ezekiel 30

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

And the word of the Lord came unto 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 hath said the Lord Eternal, Wail ye, Woe unto 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 nigh is the day, yea nigh is the day of the Lord; a cloudy day; the time of the nations' [misfortune] shall it be.

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 into Egypt, and there shall be trembling in Ethiopia, when the slain fall in Egypt, and when they take away its multitude, and its foundations shall be broken down.

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 Put, and Lud, and all the confederates, and Cub, and all the men of the leagued land, 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 hath said the Lord, Yea, there shall fall those that uphold Egypt; and there shall come down the pride of her strength: from Migdol to Seveneh shall they fall in her by the sword, saith the Lord Eternal.

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 made desolate in the midst of the desolate countries, and its cities shall be counted in the midst of the cities that have been laid in ruins.

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 set fire to Egypt, and when all her helpers shall be broken.

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!”

On that day shall messengers go forth from my presence in ships to terrify the secure Ethiopians, and there shall be trembling among them, as on the day of Egypt; for, lo, it cometh.

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 hath said the Lord Eternal, I will also cause the multitude of Egypt to cease through the hand of Nebuchadrezzar 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 fiercest of nations, shall be brought to destroy the land; and they shall draw their swords against Egypt, and they 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 render the streams dry, and sell the land into the hand of evil men; and I will make the land desolate, and all that filleth it, by the hand 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 hath said the Lord Eternal, I will also destroy the idols, and I will cause false gods to cease out of Noph; and a prince out of the land of Egypt shall there not be any more: and I will lay fear on 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 make Pathros desolate, and set fire to Zo'an; and I will execute judgments in No.

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 my fury over Sin, the stronghold of Egypt; and I will cut off the multitude of No.

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 set fire to Egypt: Sin shall have great pain, and No shall be broken in, and [over] Noph shall the besiegers [prevail] by broad day.

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 Aven and of Pi-besseth 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 at Thechaphneches the day shall be darkened, when I break there the yoke-bars of Egypt, and the pride of her strength ceaseth therein: as for her, a cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall go 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].’”

Thus will I execute judgments on 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, on the seventh day of the month, that the word of the Lord came unto 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, the arm of Pharaoh the king of Egypt have I broken; and lo, it shall not be bound up to apply remedies, to put on a bandage to bind it up, to make it strong that it may grasp 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 hath said the Lord Eternal, Behold, I will be against Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and will break his arms, both the strong, and that which was 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 scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and I will disperse 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; but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he shall groan, with the groanings of a deadly wounded man before him.

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.

Yea I will make strong the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down: and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I place my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, that he may stretch it out over 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 scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them among the countries: and they shall know that I am the Lord.