Jezekiel 29

1 In the twelfth year, in the tenth month, on the first [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 Pharao king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and against the whole of Egypt:

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

3 and say, Thus says the Lord; Behold, I am against Pharao, the great dragon that lies in the midst of his rivers, that says, The rivers are mine, and I made them.

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 And I will put hooks in your jaws, and I will cause the fish of your river to stick to your sides, and I will bring you up out of the midst of your river:

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 quickly cast down you and all the fish of your river: you shall fall on the face of the plain, and shall by no means be gathered, and shall not be brought together: I have given you for food to the wild beasts of the earth and to the fowls of the sky.

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 dwellers in Egypt shall know that I am the Lord, because you have been a staff 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 their hand, you did break: and when every hand was clapped against them, and when they leaned on you, you were utterly broken, and did crush the loins of them all.

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 Therefore thus says the Lord; Behold, I [will] bring a sword upon you, and will cut off from you man and beast;

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 shall be ruined and desert; and they shall know that I am the Lord; because you say, The rivers are mine, and I made them.

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 all your rivers, and I will give up the land of Egypt to desolation, and the sword, and destruction, from Magdol and Syene even to the borders of the Ethiopians.

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 No foot of man shall pass through it, and no foot of beast shall pass through it, and it shall not be inhabited 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 cause her land to be utterly destroyed in the midst of a land that is desolate, and her cities shall be [desolate] forty years in the midst of cities that are desolate: and I will disperse Egypt among the nations, and will utterly scatter them into the countries.

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 Thus says the Lord; After forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the nations among whom they have 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 turn the captivity of the Egyptians, and will cause them to dwell in the land of Phathore, in the land whence they were taken;

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 and it shall be a base kingdom beyond all [other] kingdoms; it shall not any more be exalted over the nations; and I will make them few in number, that they may not be [great] among the nations.

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 shall no more be to the house of Israel a confidence bringing iniquity to remembrance, when they follow after them; and they shall know that I am the Lord.

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 came to pass in the twenty-seventh year, on the first [day] 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, Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyre; every head was bald, and every shoulder peeled; yet there was no reward to him or to his army [serving] against Tyre, nor for the service wherewith they served 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 Thus says the Lord God; Behold, I [will] give to Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon the land of Egypt, and he shall take the plunder thereof, and seize the spoils thereof; and [it] shall be a reward 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 In return for his service wherewith he served against Tyre, I have given him the land of Egypt; thus 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 shall a horn spring forth for all the house of Israel, and I will give you an open mouth in the midst of them; 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.'”