Ezekiel 30

1 Yahweh gave me another message. [He said, ]

The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

2 “You human, prophesy [about what will happen to Egypt]. Say, ‘This is what Yahweh the Lord says: “Weep and wail [DOU], because terrible things will happen some day.

“Son of man, prophesy and say, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: Wail, “Woe is the coming day.”

3 That day is near, the day when I, Yahweh, [will punish people]; it will be a day of [dark] clouds and disaster for [many] nations.

The day is near. The day is near for Yahweh. It will be a day of clouds, a time of doom for nations.

4 [An enemy army] [PRS] will come to attack Egypt with their swords, and there will be great distress [among the people] in Ethiopia. [Many] people will be killed in Egypt; everything valuable will be taken away, and [even] the foundations [of the buildings] will be torn down.

Then a sword will come against Egypt, and there will be anguish in Cush when the killed people fall in Egypt— when they take her wealth, and when her foundations are ruined.

5 [Soldiers of] Ethiopia, Libya, Lydia, and from all of Arabia, and [all the other] groups who are their allies, will be killed in the battles.”

Cush and Put, Lydia and all Arabia, and Libya, together with the people belonging to the covenant—they will all fall by the sword.

6 This is what [I], Yahweh say: “The allies of Egypt will be defeated, and the power that [the people of Egypt] are proud of will end. From Migdol [city in the north] to Aswan [city in the south], the soldiers of Egypt will be killed by their enemies’ swords”; [that is what I], Yahweh the Lord, declare.

Yahweh says this: So the ones who support Egypt will fall, and the pride of her strength will go down. From Migdol to Syene their soldiers will fall by the sword—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.

7 Egypt will become the most deserted country in the world, and its cities will be ruined, surrounded by ruined cities [in nearby nations].

They will be appalled in the midst of the abandoned lands, and their cities will be among all the ruined cities.

8 Then, when I cause [everything in] Egypt to be burned in fires, and all their allies are defeated, people will know that I, Yahweh, [have the power to do what I say that I will do].

Then they will know that I am Yahweh, when I set fire in Egypt, and when all of her helpers are destroyed.

9 At that time, I will send messengers to go [swiftly up the Nile River] in boats to cause the people of Ethiopia who (are complacent/confident/think that nothing terrible will happen to them) to become afraid. They will be terrified [PRS] when Egypt is destroyed; and it will soon be that time!”

In that day messengers will go out from before me in ships to terrorize a secure Cush, and there will be anguish among them on the day of Egypt's doom. For behold! It is coming.

10 This is what [I], Yahweh the Lord, say: “By the power of [MTY] of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon I will get rid of very many people in Egypt.

The Lord Yahweh says this: I will make an end of the multitudes of Egypt by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon.

11 Nebuchadnezzar and his army, whose soldiers are extremely ruthless, will come to destroy Egypt. They will pull out their swords and fill Egypt with [the corpses of] those whom they have killed.

He and his army with him, the terror of nations, will be brought to destroy the land; they will draw out their swords against Egypt and fill the land with those who have been killed.

12 I will cause the Nile [River] to become dry, and I will sell the nation to evil men. By the power [MTY] of foreigners I will ruin the land and everything that is in it. [That will surely happen because] I, Yahweh, have predicted it.”

I will make the rivers into dry ground, and I will sell the land into the hand of wicked men. I will make the land and its fullness desolate by the hand of strangers—I, Yahweh, have spoken.

13 This is [also] what [I], Yahweh the Lord, say: “I will cause the idols and statues [of idols] [DOU] in Memphis [city] to be destroyed. No longer will there be a king in Egypt, and all over the land, people will be terrified. I will cause [the people of] Egypt to be very afraid.

The Lord Yahweh says this: I will destroy idols, and I will bring an end to the worthless idols of Memphis. There will no longer be a prince in the land of Egypt, and I will put terror on the land of Egypt.

14 I will cause the Pathros [area in southern Egypt] to be abandoned. I will start fires in Zoan [city in northeast Egypt] and punish [the people in] Thebes, [the capital of southern Egypt].

Then I will make Pathros desolate and set fire in Zoan, and I will execute acts of judgment on Thebes.

15 I will pour out my punishment [MTY] on [the fortress in] Pelusium [at the eastern end of Egypt], and I will get rid of very many people in Thebes.

For I will pour out my fury on Pelusium, the stronghold of Egypt, and cut off the multitude of Thebes.

16 I will burn Egypt by fires; [the people in] Pelusium will suffer severe pain. [Enemies] will conquer Thebes, and [the people in] Memphis will constantly be terrified.

Then I will set fire in Egypt; Pelusium will be in great agony, Thebes will be broken up, and Memphis will face enemies every day.

17 [Many] young men in Heliopolis and Bubastis [cities in northern Egypt] will be killed by [their enemies] swords, and the others [from those cities] will be captured and taken [to Babylon].

The young men in Heliopolis and Bubastis will fall by the sword, and their cities will go into captivity.

18 It will be a dark day [of destruction] at Tahpenes [city in northeast Egypt] when I cause the power [MET] of Egypt to end; that country will no longer be proud of being strong. [It will be as though] a dark cloud will cover Egypt, because the people of its villages will be captured and forced to go [to Babylon].”

In Tahpanhes, the day will hold back its light when I break the yoke of Egypt there, and the pride of her strength will be finished. There will be a cloud covering her, and her daughters will walk into captivity.

19 That is how I will punish Egypt, and people will know that I, Yahweh, [have the power to do what I say that I will do].’”

I will execute acts of judgment in Egypt, so they will know that I am Yahweh.'”

20 Almost eleven years [after we had been taken to Babylon], on the seventh day of the first month [of that year], Yahweh gave me another message. [He said, ]

Then it came about in the eleventh year, in the first month, in the seventh day of the month, that the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

21 “You human, I [have enabled the army of Nebuchadnezzar to defeat the army of] the King of Egypt. [It is as though] I have broken one of the arms of the King of Egypt, and it has not been bandaged in order that it could be healed, and it has not been put in splints in order that [after it heals] the arm will be strong [enough] to hold a sword.

“Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Behold! It has not been bound up, or set to heal with a bandage, so that it will become strong enough to grasp a sword.

22 Therefore, this is what [I], Yahweh the Lord, say: ‘I am the enemy of the King of Egypt. [I will completely destroy the power of Egypt; it is as though] now I will break both of the king’s arms, the good/strong one and the broken one, and cause the sword to fall from his hand.

Therefore the Lord Yahweh says this, 'Behold, I am against Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. For I will break his arm, both the strong one and the broken one, and I will make the sword fall from his hand.

23 I will cause the people of Egypt to be scattered among the nations [DOU].

Then I will scatter Egypt among the nations and disperse them among the lands.

24 [It is as though] I will strengthen the arms of the King of Babylon and put a sword in his hand, and [as though] I will break the arms of the king of Egypt, and he will groan in front of the King of Babylon like [SIM] a soldier who is wounded and about to die.

I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and place my sword in his hand so that I might destroy Pharaoh's arms. He will groan before the king of Babylon with the groans of a dying man.

25 I will cause the power [MTY] of the King of Babylon to become greater, and the power of the king of Egypt will be useless [MET]. When that happens, when I give power to the army of the King of Babylon, they will use that power to attack Egypt.

For I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, while Pharaoh's arms will fall. Then they will know that I am Yahweh, when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon; for he will attack the land of Egypt with it.

26 I will cause the people of Egypt to be scattered among the nations [DOU]. And when that happens, the people [of Egypt] will know that I, Yahweh, [have the power to do what I say that I will do] [DOU].’”

So I will scatter Egypt among the nations and disperse them through the lands. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.'”