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Egypt Will Be Punished

30 The ·Lord spoke his word [L word of the Lord came] to me, saying: “·Human [T Son of man; 2:1], prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord God says:

·Cry [Wail] ·and say [Alas; L Hah],
“·The terrible day is coming [L …for the day].”

[L For] The day is near;
    the ·Lord’s day of judging [L Day of the Lord] is near.
It is a ·cloudy day [day of clouds; C perhaps storm clouds, or indicating the presence of God; Joel 2:2; Ex. 19:9]
    and a time ·when the nations will be judged [L for the nations].

An ·enemy will attack [L sword will come against] Egypt,
    and Cush [C Ethiopia] will ·tremble with fear [be in anguish].
When the ·killing begins [L slain fall] in Egypt,
    her wealth will be ·taken away [carried off],
and her foundations will be torn down.

Cush, Put, ·Lydia [L Lud; 27:10], all ·Arabia [or all the foreigners; or all the mercenaries], ·Libya [L Kub], and ·some of my people who had made an agreement with Egypt [or the people of allied lands; L the sons of the land of the covenant] will fall ·dead in war [L by the sword with them].

“‘This is what the Lord says:

·Those who fight on Egypt’s side [Egypt’s supporters] will fall.
    The power she is proud of will ·be lost [collapse; come down].
From Migdol [C in northern Egypt] to ·Aswan [L Syene; C in southern Egypt],
    the people will fall ·dead in war [L by the sword]
says the Lord God.

They will be ·the most deserted [L desolate in the midst of desolate] lands.
Egypt’s cities will be ·the worst [L in the midst] of cities that lie in ruins.

Then they will know that I am the Lord
    when I set fire to Egypt
and when all ·those nations on her side [her helpers/allies] are crushed.

“‘·At that time [L On that day] I will send messengers in ships to frighten Cush [C Ethiopia], which ·now feels safe [is over-confident; or is complacent]. ·The people of Cush will tremble with fear [L Anguish will come upon them] ·when Egypt is punished [L in the day of Egypt]. And [L look; T behold] that time is sure to come.

10 “‘This is what the Lord God says:

I will destroy ·great numbers of people in [L the hordes of] Egypt
·through the power [L by the hand] of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.

11 Nebuchadnezzar and his ·army [or people],
    the ·cruelest army [most ruthless] of any nation,
    will be brought in to destroy the land.
They will draw their swords against Egypt
    and will fill the land with ·those they kill [the slain].

12 I will make the streams of the Nile River become dry land,
    and then I will sell the land to evil people.
I will ·destroy [desolate] the land and everything in it
    through the ·power [L hand] of foreigners.

I, the Lord, have spoken.

Egypt’s Idols Are Destroyed

13 “‘This is what the Lord God says:
I will destroy the idols
    and ·take away [put an end to] the ·statues of gods from the city of [L images in] Memphis.
There will no longer be a ·leader [prince] in the land of Egypt,
    and I will spread fear through the land of Egypt.

14 I will make ·southern Egypt [L Pathros] ·empty [a desolation]
    and ·start a fire in [or set fire to] Zoan
and ·punish [execute judgment on] Thebes.

15 And I will pour out my anger against Pelusium [C a fortess in the eastern delta of the Nile River],
    the ·strong place [stronghold] of Egypt.
I will ·destroy [cut off] ·great numbers of people in [the hordes/armies of] Thebes.

16 I will set fire to Egypt.
    Pelusium [v. 15] will ·be in great pain [writhe in agony].
·The walls of Thebes will be broken open [Thebes will be breached],
    and Memphis will ·have troubles [or face enemies] every day.

17 The young men of ·Heliopolis [L On; C six miles northeast of Cairo] and Bubastis [C the capital of northern Egypt; forty miles northeast of Cairo]
    will fall dead ·in war [L by the sword],
and ·the people [or the cities; L they] will be taken away as captives.

18 In Tahpanhes [C in northeast Egypt] the day will be dark
    when I break ·Egypt’s power [L the yoke of Egypt].
    Then ·she will no longer be proud of her power [her proud strength will cease].
A cloud will cover Egypt,
    and her ·villages [L daughters] will be captured and taken away.

19 So I will ·punish [execute judgments on] Egypt,
and they will know I am the Lord.’”

Egypt Becomes Weak

20 It was in the eleventh year [C since King Jehoiachin’s exile (1:2)], in the first month, on the seventh day of the month [C April 29, 587 bc]. The ·Lord spoke his word [L word of the Lord came] to me, saying: 21 “·Human [T Son of man; 2:1], I have broken the ·powerful arm [L arm] of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. It has not been ·tied [bound] up, so it will not get well. It has not been wrapped with a bandage, so it will not be strong enough to hold a sword in war. 22 So this is what the Lord God says: [L Look; T Behold] I am against Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. I will break his arms, both the strong arm and the broken arm, and I will make the sword fall from his hand. 23 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, spreading them among the countries. 24 I will make the arms of the king of Babylon strong and put my sword in his hand. But I will break the arms of Pharaoh. Then ·when he faces the king of Babylon [L before him] he will ·cry out in pain [groan] like a ·dying [mortally wounded] person. 25 So I will make the arms of the king of Babylon strong, but the arms of the king of Egypt will ·fall [become limp]. Then people will know that I am the Lord when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he ·uses it in war [wields it; extends it] against the land of Egypt. 26 Then I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, spreading them among the countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

A Lament Over Egypt

30 The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, prophesy and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘Wail(A) and say,
    “Alas for that day!”
For the day is near,(B)
    the day of the Lord(C) is near—
a day of clouds,
    a time of doom for the nations.
A sword will come against Egypt,(D)
    and anguish will come upon Cush.[a](E)
When the slain fall in Egypt,
    her wealth will be carried away
    and her foundations torn down.(F)

Cush and Libya,(G) Lydia and all Arabia,(H) Kub and the people(I) of the covenant land will fall by the sword along with Egypt.(J)

“‘This is what the Lord says:

“‘The allies of Egypt will fall
    and her proud strength will fail.
From Migdol to Aswan(K)
    they will fall by the sword within her,
declares the Sovereign Lord.
“‘They will be desolate
    among desolate lands,
and their cities will lie
    among ruined cities.(L)
Then they will know that I am the Lord,
    when I set fire(M) to Egypt
    and all her helpers are crushed.(N)

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

10 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘I will put an end to the hordes of Egypt
    by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar(R) king of Babylon.(S)
11 He and his army—the most ruthless of nations(T)
    will be brought in to destroy the land.
They will draw their swords against Egypt
    and fill the land with the slain.(U)
12 I will dry up(V) the waters of the Nile(W)
    and sell the land to an evil nation;
by the hand of foreigners
    I will lay waste(X) the land and everything in it.

I the Lord have spoken.

13 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘I will destroy the idols(Y)
    and put an end to the images in Memphis.(Z)
No longer will there be a prince in Egypt,(AA)
    and I will spread fear throughout the land.
14 I will lay(AB) waste Upper Egypt,
    set fire to Zoan(AC)
    and inflict punishment on Thebes.(AD)
15 I will pour out my wrath on Pelusium,
    the stronghold of Egypt,
    and wipe out the hordes of Thebes.
16 I will set fire(AE) to Egypt;
    Pelusium will writhe in agony.
Thebes will be taken by storm;
    Memphis(AF) will be in constant distress.
17 The young men of Heliopolis(AG) and Bubastis
    will fall by the sword,
    and the cities themselves will go into captivity.
18 Dark will be the day at Tahpanhes(AH)
    when I break the yoke of Egypt;(AI)
    there her proud strength will come to an end.
She will be covered with clouds,
    and her villages will go into captivity.(AJ)
19 So I will inflict punishment(AK) on Egypt,
    and they will know that I am the Lord.’”

Pharaoh’s Arms Are Broken

20 In the eleventh year, in the first month on the seventh day, the word of the Lord came to me:(AL) 21 “Son of man, I have broken the arm(AM) of Pharaoh(AN) king of Egypt. It has not been bound up to be healed(AO) or put in a splint so that it may become strong enough to hold a sword. 22 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt.(AP) I will break both his arms, the good arm as well as the broken one, and make the sword fall from his hand.(AQ) 23 I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them through the countries.(AR) 24 I will strengthen(AS) the arms of the king of Babylon and put my sword(AT) in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan(AU) before him like a mortally wounded man. 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(AV) into the hand of the king of Babylon and he brandishes it against Egypt.(AW) 26 I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them through the countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord.(AX)

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 30:4 That is, the upper Nile region; also in verses 5 and 9