Ezekiel 29

Never a World Power Again

1-6 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day, God's Message came to me: "Son of man, confront Pharaoh king of Egypt. Preach against him and all the Egyptians. Tell him, 'God, the Master, says:
"'Watch yourself, Pharaoh, king of Egypt. I'm dead set against you, You lumbering old dragon, lolling and flaccid in the Nile, Saying, "It's my Nile. I made it. It's mine." I'll set hooks in your jaw; I'll make the fish of the Nile stick to your scales. I'll pull you out of the Nile, with all the fish stuck to your scales. Then I'll drag you out into the desert, you and all the Nile fish sticking to your scales. You'll lie there in the open, rotting in the sun, meat to the wild animals and carrion birds. Everybody living in Egypt will realize that I am God.

7-9  "'Because you've been a flimsy reed crutch to Israel so that when they gripped you, you splintered and cut their hand, and when they leaned on you, you broke and sent them sprawling—Message of God, the Master—I'll bring war against you, do away with people and animals alike, and turn the country into an empty desert so they'll realize that I am God.

10-11  "'Because you said, "It's my Nile. I made it. It's all mine," therefore I am against you and your rivers. I'll reduce Egypt to an empty, desolate wasteland all the way from Migdol in the north to Syene and the border of Ethiopia in the south. Not a human will be seen in it, nor will an animal move through it. It'll be just empty desert, empty for forty years.

12  "'I'll make Egypt the most desolate of all desolations. For forty years I'll make her cities the most wasted of all wasted cities. I'll scatter Egyptians to the four winds, send them off every which way into exile.

13-16  "'But,' says God, the Master, 'that's not the end of it. After the forty years, I'll gather up the Egyptians from all the places where they've been scattered. I'll put things back together again for Egypt. I'll bring her back to Pathros where she got her start long ago. There she'll start over again from scratch. She'll take her place at the bottom of the ladder and there she'll stay, never to climb that ladder again, never to be a world power again. Never again will Israel be tempted to rely on Egypt. All she'll be to Israel is a reminder of old sin. Then Egypt will realize that I am God, the Master.'"

17-18  In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, God's Message came to me: "Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, has worn out his army against Tyre. They've worked their fingers to the bone and have nothing to show for it.

19-20  "Therefore, God, the Master, says, 'I'm giving Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. He'll haul away its wealth, pick the place clean. He'll pay his army with Egyptian plunder. He's been working for me all these years without pay. This is his pay: Egypt. Decree of God, the Master.

21  "'And then I'll stir up fresh hope in Israel—the dawn of deliverance!— and I'll give you, Ezekiel, bold and confident words to speak. And they'll realize that I am God.'"

Ezekiel 29

A Prophecy Against Egypt

1 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month,t the word of the Lord came to me:2 “Son of man, turn towardt Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt.

3 Tell them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:
“‘Look, I am againstt you, Pharaoh king of Egypt,
the great monstert lying in the midst of its waterways,
who has said, “My Nile is my own, I made it for myself.”s

4 I will put hooks in your jaws
and stick the fish of your waterways to your scales.
I will haul you up from the midst of your waterways,
and all the fish of your waterways will stick to your scales.

5 I will leave you in the wilderness,
you and all the fish of your waterways;
you will fall in the open field and will not be gathered up or collected.s
I have given you as food to the beasts of the earth and the birds of the skies.

6 Then all those living in Egypt will know that I am the Lord
because they were a reed staffs for the house of Israel;

7 when they grasped you with their hand,t you broke and toret their shoulders,
and when they leaned on you, you splintered and caused their legs to be unsteady.t
8 “‘Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to bring a sword against you, and I will killt every person and every animal.

9 The land of Egypt will become a desolate ruin. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
Because he said, “The Nile is mine and I made it,”10 I am againstt you and your waterways. I will turn the land of Egypt into an utter desolate ruin from Migdols to Syene,s as far as the border with Ethiopia.11 No human foot will pass through it, and no animal’s foot will pass through it; it will be uninhabited for forty years.

12 I will turn the land of Egypt into a desolation in the midst of desolate lands; for forty years her cities will lie desolate in the midst of ruined cities. I will scatter Egypt among the nations and disperse them among foreign countries.
13 “‘For this is what the sovereign Lord says: At the end of forty yearss I will gather Egypt from the peoples where they were scattered.14 I will restore the fortunes of Egypt, and will bring them backs to the land of Pathros, to the land of their origin; there they will be an insignificant kingdom.15 It will be the most insignificant of the kingdoms; it will never again exalt itself over the nations. I will make them so small that they will not rule over the nations.

16 It will never again be Israel’s source of confidence, but a reminder of how they sinned by turning to Egypt for help.t Then they will know that I am the sovereign Lord.’”
17 In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month,s the word of the Lord came to me:18 “Son of man, King Nebuchadrezzart of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre.ss Every head was rubbed bald and every shoulder rubbed bare; yet he and his army received no wages from Tyre for the work he carried out against it.19 Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to give the land of Egypt to King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon. He will carry off her wealth, capture her loot, and seize her plunder; it will be his army’s wages.20 I have given him the land of Egypt as his compensation for attacking Tyret, because they did it for me, declares the sovereign Lord.

21 On that day I will make Israel powerful,t and I will give you the right to be heardt among them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”