Ezekiel 30

NIV — New International Version Bible (NIV)

NLT — New Living Translation Bible (NLT)

Verse 1

The word of the Lord came to me:

This is another message that came to me from the Lord:

Verse 2

“Son of man, prophesy and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘Wail and say,
“Alas for that day!”

“Son of man, prophesy and give this message from the Sovereign Lord:

“Weep and wail
for that day,

Verse 3

For the day is near,
the day of the Lord is near—
a day of clouds,
a time of doom for the nations.

for the terrible day is almost here—
the day of the Lord!
It is a day of clouds and gloom,
a day of despair for the nations.

Verse 4

A sword will come against Egypt,
    and anguish will come upon Cush.^[a]
When the slain fall in Egypt,
    her wealth will be carried away
    and her foundations torn down.

A sword will come against Egypt,
and those who are slaughtered will cover the ground.
Its wealth will be carried away
and its foundations destroyed.
The land of Ethiopia^[a] will be ravished.

Verse 5

Cush and Libya, Lydia and all Arabia, Kub and the people of the covenant land will fall by the sword along with Egypt.

Ethiopia, Libya, Lydia, all Arabia,^[b]
and all their other allies
will be destroyed in that war.

Verse 6

“‘This is what the Lord says:

“‘The allies of Egypt will fall
and her proud strength will fail.
From Migdol to Aswan
they will fall by the sword within her,
declares the Sovereign Lord.

“For this is what the Lord says:
All of Egypt’s allies will fall,
    and the pride of her power will end.
From Migdol to Aswan^[c]
    they will be slaughtered by the sword,
    says the Sovereign Lord.

Verse 7

“‘They will be desolate
among desolate lands,
and their cities will lie
among ruined cities.

Egypt will be desolate,
surrounded by desolate nations,
and its cities will be in ruins,
surrounded by other ruined cities.

Verse 8

Then they will know that I am the Lord,
when I set fire to Egypt
and all her helpers are crushed.

And the people of Egypt will know that I am the Lord
when I have set Egypt on fire
and destroyed all their allies.

Verse 9

“‘On that day messengers will go out from me in ships to frighten Cush out of her complacency. Anguish will take hold of them on the day of Egypt’s doom, for it is sure to come.

At that time I will send swift messengers in ships
    to terrify the complacent Ethiopians.
Great panic will come upon them
    on that day of Egypt’s certain destruction.
Watch for it!
    It is sure to come!

Verse 10

“‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘I will put an end to the hordes of Egypt
by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.

“For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
By the power of King Nebuchadnezzar^[d] of Babylon,
I will destroy the hordes of Egypt.

Verse 11

He and his army—the most ruthless of nations—
will be brought in to destroy the land.
They will draw their swords against Egypt
and fill the land with the slain.

He and his armies—the most ruthless of all—
will be sent to demolish the land.
They will make war against Egypt
until slaughtered Egyptians cover the ground.

Verse 12

I will dry up the waters of the Nile
and sell the land to an evil nation;
by the hand of foreigners
I will lay waste the land and everything in it.

I the Lord have spoken.

I will dry up the Nile River
    and sell the land to wicked men.
I will destroy the land of Egypt and everything in it
    by the hands of foreigners.
    I, the Lord, have spoken!

Verse 13

“‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘I will destroy the idols
and put an end to the images in Memphis.
No longer will there be a prince in Egypt,
and I will spread fear throughout the land.

“This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
I will smash the idols^[e] of Egypt
and the images at Memphis.^[f]
There will be no rulers left in Egypt;
terror will sweep the land.

Verse 14

I will lay waste Upper Egypt,
set fire to Zoan
and inflict punishment on Thebes.

I will destroy southern Egypt,^[g]
set fire to Zoan,
and bring judgment against Thebes.^[h]

Verse 15

I will pour out my wrath on Pelusium,
the stronghold of Egypt,
and wipe out the hordes of Thebes.

I will pour out my fury on Pelusium,^[i]
the strongest fortress of Egypt,
and I will stamp out
the hordes of Thebes.

Verse 16

I will set fire to Egypt;
Pelusium will writhe in agony.
Thebes will be taken by storm;
Memphis will be in constant distress.

Yes, I will set fire to all Egypt!
Pelusium will be racked with pain;
Thebes will be torn apart;
Memphis will live in constant terror.

Verse 17

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

The young men of Heliopolis and Bubastis^[j] will die in battle,
and the women^[k] will be taken away as slaves.

Verse 18

Dark will be the day at Tahpanhes
    when I break the yoke of Egypt;
    there her proud strength will come to an end.
She will be covered with clouds,
    and her villages will go into captivity.

When I come to break the proud strength of Egypt,
it will be a dark day for Tahpanhes, too.
A dark cloud will cover Tahpanhes,
and its daughters will be led away as captives.

Verse 19

So I will inflict punishment on Egypt,
and they will know that I am the Lord.’”

Pharaoh’s Arms Are Broken

And so I will greatly punish Egypt,
and they will know that I am the Lord.”

The Broken Arms of Pharaoh

Verse 20

In the eleventh year, in the first month on the seventh day, the word of the Lord came to me:

On April 29,^[l] during the eleventh year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, this message came to me from the Lord:

Verse 21

“Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt. It has not been bound up to be healed or put in a splint so that it may become strong enough to hold a sword.

“Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. His arm has not been put in a cast so that it may heal. Neither has it been bound up with a splint to make it strong enough to hold a sword.

Verse 22

Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt. I will break both his arms, the good arm as well as the broken one, and make the sword fall from his hand.

Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am the enemy of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt! I will break both of his arms—the good arm along with the broken one—and I will make his sword clatter to the ground.

Verse 23

I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them through the countries.

I will scatter the Egyptians to many lands throughout the world.

Verse 24

I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put my sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before him like a mortally wounded man.

I will strengthen the arms of Babylon’s king and put my sword in his hand. But I will break the arms of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he will lie there mortally wounded, groaning in pain.

Verse 25

I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fall limp. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he brandishes it against Egypt.

I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, while the arms of Pharaoh fall useless to his sides. And when I put my sword in the hand of Babylon’s king and he brings it against the land of Egypt, Egypt will know that I am the Lord.

Verse 26

I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them through the countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, dispersing them throughout the earth. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”