< Ezekiel 29 >

1 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the LORD’s word came to me, saying,
In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, came the word of the Lord unto me, saying,
2 “Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt.
Son of man, set thy face against Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and against all Egypt.
3 Speak and say, ‘The Lord GOD says: “Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great monster that lies in the middle of his rivers, that has said, ‘My river is my own, and I have made it for myself.’
Speak and say, Thus hath said the Lord Eternal, Behold, I will be against thee, O Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great crocodile that lieth in the midst of his streams, who hath said, Mine is my stream, and I have made it for myself.
4 I will put hooks in your jaws, and I will make the fish of your rivers stick to your scales. I will bring you up out of the middle of your rivers, with all the fish of your rivers which stick to your scales.
But I will put hooks in thy jaws, and I will fasten the fish of thy streams on thy scales; and I will bring thee up out of the midst of thy streams, with all the fish of thy streams which shall stick fast on thy scales.
5 I’ll cast you out into the wilderness, you and all the fish of your rivers. You’ll fall on the open field. You won’t be brought together or gathered. I have given you for food to the animals of the earth and to the birds of the sky.
And I will cast thee out into the wilderness, thee with all the fish of thy streams; upon the open field shalt thou fall; thou shalt not be brought in, nor gathered up: to the beasts of the field and to the fowls of the heaven have I given thee for food.
6 “‘“All the inhabitants of Egypt will know that I am the LORD, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel.
And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the Lord; because they have been a reed-staff to the house of Israel.
7 When they took hold of you by your hand, you broke and tore all their shoulders. When they leaned on you, you broke and paralyzed all of their thighs.”
When they took hold of thee with the hand, thou wast cracked, and didst rend for them all the shoulder: and when they leaned upon thee, thou wast broken, and madest all their loins to be at a stand.
8 “‘Therefore the Lord GOD says: “Behold, I will bring a sword on you, and will cut off man and animal from you.
Therefore thus hath said the Lord Eternal, Behold, I will bring a sword upon thee, and I will cut off out of thee man and beast.
9 The land of Egypt will be a desolation and a waste. Then they will know that I am the LORD. “‘“Because he has said, ‘The river is mine, and I have made it,’
And the land of Egypt shall be changed into a waste and ruin, and they shall know that I am the Lord; because he hath said, The stream is mine, and I have made it.
10 therefore, behold, I am against you and against your rivers. I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from the tower of Seveneh even to the border of Ethiopia.
Therefore, behold, I will be against thee, and against thy streams, and I will render the land of Egypt a mass of ruins, a waste, and a wilderness, from Migdol to Seveneh even up to the border of Ethiopia.
11 No foot of man will pass through it, nor will any animal foot pass through it. It won’t be inhabited for forty years.
There shall not pass through it the foot of man, and the foot of beast shall not pass through it, and it shall not be inhabited forty years.
12 I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the middle of the countries that are desolate. Her cities among the cities that are laid waste will be a desolation forty years. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries.”
And I will render the land of Egypt a desolate land in the midst of desolated countries, and her cities among the cities that are ruined shall be desolate forty years: and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries.
13 “‘For the Lord GOD says: “At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples where they were scattered.
For thus hath said the Lord Eternal, [only] at the end of forty years will I gather the Egyptians from the people whither they shall have been scattered;
14 I will reverse the captivity of Egypt, and will cause them to return into the land of Pathros, into the land of their birth. There they will be a lowly kingdom.
And I will bring back the captivity of Egypt, and will cause them to return into the land of Pathros, into the land of their own origin: and they shall be there an unimportant kingdom.
15 It will be the lowest of the kingdoms. It won’t lift itself up above the nations any more. I will diminish them so that they will no longer rule over the nations.
Among the kingdoms it shall be the lowest; neither shall it raise itself any more above the nations: and I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations.
16 It will no longer be the confidence of the house of Israel, bringing iniquity to memory, when they turn to look after them. Then they will know that I am the Lord GOD.”’”
And it shall be no more unto the house of Israel for a dependence, bringing [their] iniquity to remembrance, when they turned after them: and they shall know that I am the Lord Eternal.
17 It came to pass in the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, in the first day of the month, the LORD’s word came to me, saying,
And it came to pass in the seven and twentieth year, in the first month, on the first of the month, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
18 “Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyre. Every head was made bald, and every shoulder was worn; yet he had no wages, nor did his army, from Tyre, for the service that he had served against it.
Son of man, Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath caused his army to perform a great service against Tyre; every head hath been made bald, and every shoulder hath been rubbed sore: yet no reward hath come to him or to his army from Tyre, for the service that he hath performed against it.
19 Therefore the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. He will carry off her multitude, take her plunder, and take her prey. That will be the wages for his army.
Therefore thus hath said the Lord Eternal, Behold, I will give unto Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon the land of Egypt; and he shall carry away its multitude, and take its spoil, and plunder its prey: and this shall be the reward for his army.
20 I have given him the land of Egypt as his payment for which he served, because they worked for me,’ says the Lord GOD.
As his recompense for that which he hath served against it, have I given him the land of Egypt, for that which they had done against me, saith the Lord Eternal.
21 “In that day I will cause a horn to sprout for the house of Israel, and I will open your mouth among them. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”
On that day will I cause to grow a horn for the house of Israel, and unto thee will I open the mouth in the midst of them: and they shall know that I am the Lord.

< Ezekiel 29 >