Ezekiel 29

1 In the tenth year, in the tenth [month], in the twelfth of the month, hath a word of Jehovah been unto me, saying,

On the twelfth day of the tenth month of the tenth year, a message from the Lord came to me, saying,

2 'Son of man, set thy face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy concerning him, and concerning Egypt — all of it.

“Son of man, face towards Pharaoh king of Egypt and prophesy against him and the whole of Egypt.

3 Speak, and thou hast said: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Lo, I [am] against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt! The great dragon that is crouching in the midst of his floods, Who hath said, My flood [is] my own, And I — I have made it [for] myself.

Tell him that this is what the Lord God says: Watch out, because I'm condemning you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, you great monster lying in your rivers, who says, ‘The Nile belongs to me; I made it myself.’

4 And I have put hooks in thy jaws, And I have caused the fish of thy floods to cleave to thy scales, And I have caused thee to come up from the midst of thy floods, And every fish of thy floods to thy scales doth cleave.

I'm going to put hooks in your jaws and make the fish in your river stick to your scales. I will pull you up out of your river, and all the fish will stick to your scales.

5 And I have left thee in the wilderness, Thou and every fish of thy floods, On the face of the field thou dost fall, Thou art not gathered nor assembled, To the beast of the earth and to the fowl of the heavens I have given thee for food.

I will throw you and the fish away, leaving you in the desert. Your body will fall on the ground and be left in the open. It won't be collected or taken to be buried. I'll leave you as food for wild animals and birds of prey.

6 And known have all inhabitants of Egypt That I [am] Jehovah, Because of their being a staff of reed to the house of Israel.

Then everyone in Egypt will know that I am the Lord. When you had to deal with the people of Israel you were like a flimsy walking stick made from a reed.

7 In their taking hold of thee by thy hand, — thou art crushed, And hast rent to them all the shoulder, And in their leaning on thee thou art broken, And hast caused all their thighs to stand.

When Israel grabbed hold of you, you split apart, damaging their shoulder. When they leaned on you, you broke, putting their backs out.

8 Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah: Lo, I am bringing in against thee a sword, And have cut off from thee man and beast.

So this is what the Lord God says: I will attack you with a sword and kill both people and animals.

9 And the land of Egypt hath been for a desolation and a waste, And they have known that I [am] Jehovah. Because he said: The flood [is] mine, and I made [it].

Egypt will become an empty wasteland. Then they will know that I am the Lord. Because you said, ‘The Nile belongs to me; I made it,’

10 Therefore, lo, I [am] against thee, and against thy floods, And have given the land of Egypt for wastes, A waste, a desolation, from Migdol to Syene, And unto the border of Cush.

that's why I'm condemning you and your river. I will ruin Egypt, making it into an empty wasteland all the way from Migdol in the north to Syene in the south, and up to the border with Cush.

11 Not pass over into it doth a foot of man, Yea, the foot of beast doth not pass into it, Nor is it inhabited forty years.

No one, human or animal, will travel that way or live there for forty years.

12 And I have made the land of Egypt a desolation, In the midst of desolate lands, And its cities, in the midst of waste cities, Are a desolation forty years, And I have scattered the Egyptians among nations, And I have dispersed them through lands.

I will make Egypt more of a wasteland than any other country, and its towns will lie in ruins for forty years among all the other ruined towns. I will scatter the Egyptians among the different nations and countries.

13 But thus said the Lord Jehovah: At the end of forty years I gather the Egyptians Out of the peoples whither they have been scattered,

However, this is what the Lord God says: After forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the different countries where they were scattered.

14 And I have turned back [to] the captivity of Egypt, And I have brought them back [To] the land of Pathros, to the land of their birth, And they have been there a low kingdom.

I will bring Egypt out of captivity and take them back to the land of Pathros, where they originally came from. Their kingdom will be insignificant.

15 Of the kingdoms it is lowest, And it lifteth not up itself any more above the nations, And I have made them few, So as not to rule among nations.

Egypt will be the lowest of kingdoms and won't ever be more important than other nations again. I will bring Egypt down so that it won't ever be able to rule over the nations again.

16 And it is no more to the house of Israel for a confidence, Bringing iniquity to remembrance, By their turning after them, And they have known that I [am] the Lord Jehovah.'

The people of Israel won't ever trust in Egypt again; instead they will be reminded them of their sin when they turned to the Egyptians for help. Then they will know that I am the Lord God.”

17 And it cometh to pass, in the twenty and seventh year, in the first [month], in the first of the month, hath a word of Jehovah been unto me, saying:

On the first day of the first month of the twenty-seventh year, a message from the Lord came to me, saying,

18 'Son of man, Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, Hath caused his force to serve a great service against Tyre, Every head [is] bald — every shoulder peeled, And reward he had none, nor his force, out of Tyre, For the service that he served against it.

“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army work really hard in the siege against Tyre. The soldiers had their hair worn off their heads, and their shoulders rubbed raw. However, he and his army didn't gain any benefit from Tyre for all the work they did in attacking it.

19 Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah, Lo, I am giving to Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon the land of Egypt, And he hath taken away its store, And hath taken its spoil, and taken its prey, And it hath been a reward to his force.

So this is what the Lord God says: I'm going to give Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon who will seize everything valuable. He will loot the country, robbing it to pay his army.

20 His wage for which he laboured I have given to him, The land of Egypt — in that they wrought for Me, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.

I'm rewarding him for all his work by giving him Egypt because the work they did was for me, declares the Lord God.

21 In that day I cause to shoot up a horn to the house of Israel, And to thee I give an opening of the mouth in their midst, And they have known that I [am] Jehovah!'

At that time I will give power back to the people of Israel and I will help you speak to them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”