Ezekiel 29

Judgment of Egypt

1In the 1tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2“Son of man, set your face against 2Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all 3Egypt. 3Speak and say, ‘This is what the Lord 4God says: “Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, The great 56monster that lies in the midst of his 7canals, That 8has said, ‘My Nile is mine, and I myself have made it.’4I will put 9hooks in your jaws And make the fish of your 10canals cling to your scales. And I will bring you up out of the midst of your 11canals, And all the fish of your 12canals will cling to your scales.5I will 13abandon you to the wilderness, you and all the fish of your 14canals; You will fall on the 15open field; you will not be brought together or 1617gathered. I have given you for 18food to the animals of the earth and to the birds of the sky.6Then all the inhabitants of Egypt will know that I am the Lord, Because they have been only a 19staff made of reed to the house of Israel.7When they took hold of you with the hand, You 20broke and tore all their 21hands; And when they leaned on you, You broke and made all their hips 22shake.”

8‘Therefore the Lord God says this: “Behold, I am going to 23bring upon you a sword, and I will cut off from you human and animal life. 9The 24land of Egypt will become a desolation and place of ruins. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

“Because 25you 26said, ‘The Nile is mine, and I have made it,’ 10therefore, behold, I am 27against you and against your 28canals, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from Migdol to Syene and as far as the border of 29Cush. 11A human foot will 30not pass through it, nor will the foot of an animal pass through it, and it will not be inhabited for forty years. 12So I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the 31midst of deserted lands. And her cities, in the midst of cities that are laid waste, will be desolate for forty years; and I will 32scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands.”

13‘For this is what the Lord God says: “At the end of forty years I will 33gather the Egyptians from the peoples 34among whom they were scattered. 14And I will restore the fortunes of Egypt and bring them back to the land of 35Pathros, to the land of their origin, and there they will be a lowly kingdom. 15It will be the 36lowest of the kingdoms, and it will not raise itself above the nations again. And I will make them small so that they will not 37rule over the nations. 16And it will no longer be a kingdom on which 38the house of Israel relies, 3940bringing to mind the guilt of their having turned 41to Egypt. Then they will know that I am the Lord God.”’”

17Now in the 42twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 18“Son of man, 43Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army labor 44hard against Tyre; every head 45had a 46bald spot and every shoulder was rubbed raw. But he and his army acquired no wages from Tyre for the labor that he had 47performed against it.” 19Therefore this is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I am going to 48give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. And he will carry off her 49wealth and capture her spoils and seize her plunder; and it will be wages for his army. 20I have given him the land of Egypt for his labor which he 5051performed, because they acted for Me,” declares the Lord God.

21“On that day I will make a 52horn sprout for the house of Israel, and I will 5354open your mouth among them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”