Ezekiel 29

1 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the eleventh day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

In the tenth year, in the tenth month on the twelfth day of the month, the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

2 “Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and you shall prophesy about him and about all of Egypt.

“Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh, the king of Egypt; prophesy against him and against all of Egypt.

3 Speak, and you shall say: Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh, king of Egypt, you great dragon, who rests in the midst of your rivers. And you say: ‘Mine is the river, and I have made myself.’

Declare and say, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: Behold! I am against you, Pharaoh, king of Egypt. You, the great sea monster that lurks in the midst of the river, that says, “My river is my own. I have made it for myself.”

4 But I will place a bridle in your jaws. And I will adhere the fish of your rivers to your scales. And I will draw you out of the midst of your rivers, and all your fish will adhere to your scales.

For I will place hooks in your jaw, and the fish of your Nile will cling to your scales; I will lift you up from the middle of your river along with all the fish of the river that cling to your scales.

5 And I will cast you into the desert, with all the fish of your river. You will fall upon the surface of the earth; you will not be taken up, nor gathered together. I have given you to the beasts of the earth and to the birds of the air, to be devoured.

I will throw you down into the wilderness, you and all the fish from your river. You will fall on the open field; you will not be gathered nor lifted up. I will give you as food to the living things of the earth and to the birds of the heavens.

6 And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the Lord. For you have been a staff made of reed to the house of Israel.

Then all the inhabitants of Egypt will know that I am Yahweh, because they have been a reed stalk to the house of Israel.

7 When they took hold of you with the hand, you broke, and so you wounded all of their shoulders. And when they leaned on you, you shattered, and so you injured all of their lower backs.

When they took hold of you in their hand, you broke and tore open their shoulder; and when they leaned on you, you were broken, and you caused their legs to be unsteady.

8 Because of this, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will lead the sword over you, and I will destroy both man and beast from among you.

Therefore the Lord Yahweh says this: Behold! I will bring a sword against you. I will cut off both man and beast from you.

9 And the land of Egypt will be a desert and a wilderness. And they shall know that I am the Lord. For you have said, ‘The river is mine, and I have made it.’

So the land of Egypt will become desolate and a ruin. Then they will know that I am Yahweh, because the sea monster had said, “The river is mine, for I have made it.”

10 Therefore, behold, I am against you and against your rivers. And I will make the land of Egypt into a wilderness, destroyed by the sword from the tower of Syene all the way to the borders of Ethiopia.

Therefore, behold! I am against you and against your river, so I will give the land of Egypt over to desolation and waste, and you will become a wasteland from the Migdol to Syene and the borders of Cush.

11 The foot of man will not pass through it, and the foot of cattle will not walk in it. And it will be uninhabited for forty years.

No man's foot will pass through it, and no wild animal's foot will pass through it. It will not be inhabited for forty years.

12 And I will set the land of Egypt in desolation, in the midst of desolate lands, and its cities in the midst of overturned cites. And they will be desolate for forty years. And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and I will disperse them among the lands.

For I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the midst of uninhabited lands, and its cities in the midst of wasted cities will become a desolation for forty years; then I will scatter Egypt among the nations, and I will disperse them though the lands.

13 For thus says the Lord God: After the end of forty years, I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they had been scattered.

For the Lord Yahweh says this: At the end of forty years I will gather Egypt from the peoples among whom they were scattered.

14 And I will lead back the captivity of Egypt, and I will collect them in the land of Pathros, in the land of their nativity. And in that place, they will be a lowly kingdom.

I will restore the fortunes of Egypt and bring them back to the region of Pathros, to the land of their origin. Then they will be a lowly kingdom there.

15 It will be the lowest among the other kingdoms, and it will no longer be exalted above the nations. And I will diminish them, lest they rule over the Gentiles.

It will be the lowliest of the kingdoms, and it will not be lifted up any more among the nations. I will diminish them so they will no longer rule over nations.

16 And they will no longer be the confidence of the house of Israel, teaching iniquity, so that they may flee and follow them. And they shall know that I am the Lord God.”

The Egyptians will no longer be a reason for confidence for the house of Israel. Instead, they will be a reminder of the iniquity that Israel committed when they turned to Egypt for help. Then they will know that I am the Lord Yahweh.'”

17 And it happened that, in the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

Then it came about in the twenty-seventh year on the first of the first month, that the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

18 “Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, has caused his army to serve with great servility against Tyre. Every head was shaven, and every shoulder was stripped of hair. And wages have not been paid to him, nor to his army, for Tyre, for the service by which he served for me against it.

“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon stationed his army to do hard work against Tyre. Every head was rubbed until it was made bald, and every shoulder was made raw. Yet he and his army received no payment from Tyre for the hard work that he carried out against it.

19 Because of this, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will station Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, in the land of Egypt. And he will take its multitude, and he will prey upon its profits, and he will plunder its spoils. And this shall be the wages for his army

Therefore the Lord Yahweh says this, 'Behold! I am giving the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and he will take away its wealth, plunder its possessions, and carry off all he finds there; that will be his army's wages.

20 and for the work by which he has served against it. I have given to him the land of Egypt, because he has labored for me, says the Lord God.

I have given him the land of Egypt as the wages for the work they did for me—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.

21 In that day, a horn will spring forth for the house of Israel, and I will give to you an open mouth in their midst. And they shall know that I am the Lord.”

On that day I will make a horn sprout up for the house of Israel, and I make you speak in their midst, so that they will know that I am Yahweh.'”