Ezekiel 30

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

The word of Jehovah came again 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 Jehovah: Howl ye, Alas! alas for 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, the day of Jehovah is near! A day of clouds, the time of the nations is come.

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.

The sword shall come upon Egypt, and anguish shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt, and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations 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 Lybia, and Lydia, and all her auxiliaries, and Chub, and the men of every country that is in league, 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 Jehovah: They that uphold Egypt shall fall, and the pride of her power shall come down; from Migdol to Syene shall they fall in her by the sword, saith the Lord Jehovah.

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 laid waste in the midst of the lands that are laid waste, and her cities shall be amongst the cities that are desolate.

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 Jehovah, when I have brought a fire into Egypt, and all her helpers 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 me in ships, to make the confident Ethiopians afraid; and anguish shall come upon them, as in the day of Egypt; for behold, 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 saith the Lord Jehovah: I will make the multitude of Egypt to cease by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, 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 terrible of the nations, shall be brought to make the land desolate; and they shall draw their swords against Egypt, and 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 rivers dry, and I will sell the land into the hand of evil men; and I will lay waste the land and all that is therein, by the hand of strangers; I, Jehovah, 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 Jehovah: I will destroy the idols, and cause the images to cease out of Noph; and there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt; and I will bring fear upon 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 lay waste Pathros, and bring a fire upon Zoan, and execute judgments upon 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 out my fury upon Sin, the strength 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 bring a fire upon Egypt; Sin shall tremble, and No shall be broken through, and Noph shall be plundered by 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 On and of Pibeseth shall fall by the sword, and the women 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].”

At Tahpanhes also the day shall be darkened, when I shall break there the yoke of Egypt, and the pride of her strength shall cease within 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 upon Egypt; and they shall know that I am Jehovah.

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, ]

Now it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, that the word of Jehovah 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 Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and lo, it is not bound up, so as to have medicines applied to it; a bandage is not applied to it, to make it strong to 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 Jehovah: Behold, I am against Pharaoh, the king of Egypt; and I will break his arms, both the strong one, and that which was 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 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.

But I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and will put my sword into his hand, and break the arms of Pharaoh, so that he shall groan before him with the groanings of a deadly wounded man.

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 strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; and they shall know that I am Jehovah, when I shall put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall stretch it out 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 scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them among the countries, and they shall know that I am Jehovah.