Judgment of Egypt

¹In the tenth year [of the captivity of King Jehoiachin by the king of Babylon], in the tenth month, on the twelfth of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, set your face toward Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt. ³ Speak and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God,

⁸ ‘Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am going to bring a sword on you and cut off (destroy) both man and animal, ⁹ and the land of Egypt will be a desolation and a wasteland. And they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.

“Because you said, ‘The Nile is mine and I have made it,’ ¹⁰ behold (hear this), therefore, I am against you and against your rivers (the Nile, its tributaries), and I will make the land of Egypt a complete waste and a desolation, from [northern] Migdol to [southern] ^[a]Syene, even as far as the border of Ethiopia (Cush). ¹¹ No man’s foot will pass through it, no animal’s foot will pass through it, and it will not be inhabited for forty years. ¹² So I will make the land of Egypt a desolation [plundered and ruined] among desolated lands; and her cities, among cities that are laid waste, will be desolate forty years. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and [I will] disperse them through the lands.”

¹³ ‘For thus says the Lord God, “At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the nations among whom they were scattered. ¹⁴ I will reverse the fortunes of Egypt [as I will that of Israel] and cause them to return to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin, and there they will be a lowly kingdom. ¹⁵ It will be the lowliest of the kingdoms, and it will ^[b]never again exalt itself above the nations; I will diminish the Egyptians so they will never again rule over the nations. ¹⁶ And Egypt will never again have the confidence of the house of Israel; their wickedness will be remembered whenever Israel looks toward them [for help]. Then they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord God.”’”

¹⁷ In the twenty-seventh year [after King Jehoiachin was taken to Babylon], in the first month, on the first of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁸ “Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army ^[c]work hard [at My command] against Tyre; every [soldier’s] head became ^[d]bald and every shoulder was worn and peeled [from carrying loads of dirt and stones for siege works]. Yet he had no wages from Tyre [in proportion to the time and labor expended during the siege], either for himself or his army, for the work that he had done against it [for Me].” ¹⁹ Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. And he will carry off her wealth and capture her spoil and seize her plunder; and it shall be the wages for his army. ²⁰ I have given him the land of Egypt for the hard work which he did [against Tyre], because they did it for Me,” says the Lord God.

²¹ “In that day I will make a horn sprout for the house of Israel, and I will open your mouth among them, and they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord [when I renew their strength].”