Ezekiel

Against Egypt

On the tenth day of the twelfth month of the tenth year, the word of the Lord came to me with these words:

“Son of man, look toward Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and prophesy against all Egypt.

Say: This is the Lord’s message: I am against you, Pharaoh, king of Egypt! You huge monster, thrashing around in your streams, saying, ‘The Nile and its canals are mine; I made them.’

I will put hooks in your jaws and make the fish of your rivers cling to your scales.

I will drag you out of your rivers with all the fish still attached to your scales. I will throw you and the fish of your rivers into the wilderness. You will fall on the ground with no one to pick you up or bury you. I will hand you over to wild animals and the birds of the air

and all who live in Egypt will know that I am the Lord.”You have been only a staff of reed for Israel.

When they took hold of you, you broke in their hands; you tore open all their shoulders; when they leaned on you, you wrenched their backs.

That is why the Lord says: I am bringing the sword against you, and I will destroy both people and animals.

Egypt will become a wasteland and ruins; and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when Egypt is reduced to ruins and a wasteland.You said: ‘The Nile is mine, I made it.’

Because of that, I am coming against you in the midst of your streams. I will reduce Egypt to lonely ruins from Migdol to Aswan and to the border of Cush.

Neither foot of man nor hoof of an animal will tread its paths. Egypt will be uninhabited for forty years;

I will turn it into one of the wastelands; and, for forty years, its cities will be considered among the ruins. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them across other lands.

Thus says the Lord: After forty years, I will gather the Egyptians from among the nations where they were scattered;

I will bring back Egyptian captives to Pathros, the land of their birth. There, they will form a small kingdom,

weaker than other kingdoms, no longer strong enough to dominate other nations.

I will decrease their number, so that they may no longer conquer other lands. No longer will Israel be tempted to trust in Egypt, nor will they sin by turning to Egypt for help. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

Nebuchadnezzar Will Conquer Egypt

It happened on the first day of the first month of the twenty-seventh year, that the word of the Lord came to me:

“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, has mobilized his army for an expedition against Tyre. All are worn out, bald; their shoulders raw; but neither he nor his people have received any reward for this campaign against Tyre.

That is why the Lord says: I am going to give Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. He will take its riches, plunder it, and let his army have the loot as wages.

Because these people have worked for me, I will give Egypt to them as a reward—word of the Lord.

On that day, I will lift up the nation of Israel, and you will be able to speak among them again; and they will know that I am the Lord.