Ezekiel
Select chapter 30

Ezekiel 30

Lament over Egypt

1The word of the Lord came again to me saying, 2 “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord [a]God,

“Wail, ‘Alas for the day!’
3 “For the day is near,
Even the day of the Lord is near;
It will be a day of clouds,
A time of doom for the nations.
4 “A sword will come upon Egypt,
And anguish will be in [b]Ethiopia;
When the slain fall in Egypt,
They take away her [c]wealth,
And her foundations are torn down.

5 [d]Ethiopia, Put, Lud, all [e]Arabia, [f]Libya and the [g]people of the land [h]that is in league will fall with them by the sword.”

6 ‘Thus says the Lord,
“Indeed, those who support Egypt will fall
And the pride of her power will come down;
From Migdol to Syene
They will fall within her by the sword,”
Declares the Lord God.
7 “They will be desolate
In the midst of the desolated lands;
And her cities will be
In the midst of the devastated cities.
8 “And they will know that I am the Lord,
When I set a fire in Egypt
And all her helpers are broken.

9 On that day messengers will go forth from Me in ships to frighten secure [i]Ethiopia; and anguish will be on them as on the day of Egypt; for behold, it comes!”

10 ‘Thus says the Lord God,

“I will also make the [j]hordes of Egypt cease
By the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
11 “He and his people with him,
The most ruthless of the nations,
Will be brought in to destroy the land;
And they will draw their swords against Egypt
And fill the land with the slain.
12 “Moreover, I will make the Nile canals dry
And sell the land into the hands of evil men.
And I will make the land desolate
And [k]all that is in it,
By the hand of strangers; I the Lord have spoken.”

13 ‘Thus says the Lord God,

“I will also destroy the idols
And make the [l]images cease from [m]Memphis.
And there will no longer be a prince in the land of Egypt;
And I will put fear in the land of Egypt.
14 “I will make Pathros desolate,
Set a fire in Zoan
And execute judgments on [n]Thebes.
15 “I will pour out My wrath on [o]Sin,
The stronghold of Egypt;
I will also cut off the hordes of [p]Thebes.
16 “I will set a fire in Egypt;
[q]Sin will writhe in anguish,
[r]Thebes will be breached
And [s]Memphis will have [t]distresses daily.
17 “The young men of [u]On and of Pi-beseth
Will fall by the sword,
And [v]the women will go into captivity.
18 “In Tehaphnehes the day will [w]be dark
When I break there the yoke bars of Egypt.
Then the pride of her power will cease in her;
A cloud will cover her,
And her daughters will go into captivity.
19 “Thus I will execute judgments on Egypt,
And they will know that I am the Lord.”’”

Victory for Babylon

20 In the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh of the month, the word of the Lord came to me saying, 21 “Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, behold, it has not been bound up [x]for healing [y]or wrapped with a bandage, that it may be strong to hold the sword. 22 Therefore thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt and will break his arms, both the strong and the broken; and I will make the sword fall from his hand. 23 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands. 24 For I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put My sword in his hand; and I will break the arms of Pharaoh, so that he will groan before him with the groanings of a wounded man. 25 Thus I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fall. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I put My sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt. 26 When I scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands, then they will know that I am the Lord.’”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 30:2 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch
  2. Ezekiel 30:4 Lit Cush
  3. Ezekiel 30:4 Or multitude
  4. Ezekiel 30:5 Lit Cush
  5. Ezekiel 30:5 Or the mixed people
  6. Ezekiel 30:5 Or Cub
  7. Ezekiel 30:5 Lit sons
  8. Ezekiel 30:5 Lit of the covenant
  9. Ezekiel 30:9 Lit Cush
  10. Ezekiel 30:10 Or people; lit crowd, and so throughout the ch
  11. Ezekiel 30:12 Lit her fullness
  12. Ezekiel 30:13 Or futile ones
  13. Ezekiel 30:13 Or Noph
  14. Ezekiel 30:14 Or No
  15. Ezekiel 30:15 Or Pelusium
  16. Ezekiel 30:15 Or No
  17. Ezekiel 30:16 Or Pelusium
  18. Ezekiel 30:16 Or No
  19. Ezekiel 30:16 Or Noph
  20. Ezekiel 30:16 Or adversaries
  21. Ezekiel 30:17 Or Aven
  22. Ezekiel 30:17 Lit they
  23. Ezekiel 30:18 So with many mss and ancient versions; M.T. restrain
  24. Ezekiel 30:21 Lit to give healing
  25. Ezekiel 30:21 Lit to put a bandage, to wrap it
Ezekiel 30