Judgment on Egypt
Ezekiel 29, verse 1. In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Ezekiel 29, verse 2. “Son of man, set your face toward Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt. Ezekiel 29, verse 3. Speak and say, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Behold, I am against you, O Pharaoh king of Egypt, O great dragon who lies in the midst of his rivers and says, ‘The rivers are mine, for I made them.’ Ezekiel 29, verse 4. But I shall put hooks in your jaws and join the fish of your rivers to your wings, and I shall bring you and all the fish of your river up from the midst of your river. Ezekiel 29, verse 5. Then I will quickly cast down you and all the fish of your river. You will fall to the surface of the plain, and you will not be gathered and buried. I will give you as food to the wild animals of the field and to the birds of the heavens. Ezekiel 29, verse 6. Then all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the Lord, because they were a staff made of reed to the house of Israel. Ezekiel 29, verse 7. For when they took hold of you with their hand, you broke it, and when every hand conquered them and they rested their hand on you, you crushed it and broke all their backs.” Ezekiel 29, verse 8. ‘Therefore thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will bring a sword against you, and destroy man and cattle from you. Ezekiel 29, verse 9. Thus the land of Egypt shall be destroyed and become a desert. Then they will know that I am the Lord, because you say, ‘The rivers are mine, and I made them.’ Ezekiel 29, verse 10. Therefore, behold, I am against you and against all your rivers, and I shall turn the land of Egypt into a desert, to the sword and to destruction, from Migdol to Syene, as far as the borders of Ethiopia. Ezekiel 29, verse 11. Neither foot of man nor foot of cattle will pass through it, and it will be uninhabited for forty years. Ezekiel 29, verse 12. I shall make the land of Egypt a destruction in the midst of a land laid waste, and her cities will be laid waste for forty years. I shall scatter Egypt among the nations and disperse them like chaff throughout the countries.” Ezekiel 29, verse 13. ‘Yet, thus says the Lord: “At the end of forty years, I shall gather the Egyptians from the nations where they were scattered. Ezekiel 29, verse 14. I shall bring back the captives of the Egyptians and cause them to dwell in the land of Pathros, in the land from which they were taken; but they will be a lowly dominion. Ezekiel 29, verse 15. Alongside all the dominions, it will not be exalted any longer among the nations, for I shall make them to be very small, so as not to be great among the nations. Ezekiel 29, verse 16. So they shall no longer be to the house of Israel as an expectation to remind them to follow after their lawlessness. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”’”
Babylon Will Plunder Egypt
Ezekiel 29, verse 17. Again it came to pass in the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Ezekiel 29, verse 18. “Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre. Every head was made bald, and every shoulder rubbed raw; yet there was no reward to him nor his army serving against Tyre, for the labor they expended on it. Ezekiel 29, verse 19. Therefore thus says the Lord and Master: ‘Behold, I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will plunder it and carry off her spoil. It will be the wages for his army. Ezekiel 29, verse 20. As compensation for his service in which he served against Tyre, I will give him the land of Egypt,’ says the Lord and Master. Ezekiel 29, verse 21. “In that day a horn shall spring forth for all the house of Israel, and I will give you an open mouth in the midst of them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”