Proclamation Against Egypt
1 In the tenth year, in the tenthmonth,on the twelfthdayof the month, the word of theLordcame to me, saying,
2 “Son of man,set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, andagainst all Egypt.
3 Speak, and say, ‘Thus says the LordGod:
# “Behold, Iamagainst you,
O Pharaoh king of Egypt,
# O greatmonster who lies in the midst of his rivers,
# Who has said, ‘My Riverismy own;
I have madeitfor myself.’
4 ButI will put hooks in your jaws,
And cause the fish of your rivers to stick to your scales;
I will bring you up out of the midst of your rivers,
And all the fish in your rivers will stick to your scales.
5 I will leave you in the wilderness,
You and all the fish of your rivers;
# You shall fall on the openfield;
# You shall not be picked up or gathered.
# I have given you as food
To the beasts of the field
And to the birds of the heavens.
6 “Then all the inhabitants of Egypt
Shall know that IamtheLord,
# Because they have been astaff of reed to the house of Israel.
7 When they took hold of you with the hand,
You broke and tore all their shoulders;
When they leaned on you,
You broke and made all their backs quiver.”
8 ‘Therefore thus says the LordGod: “Surely I will bringa sword upon you and cut off from you man and beast.
9 And the land of Egypt shall becomedesolate and waste; then they will know that IamtheLord, because he said, ‘The Riverismine, and I have madeit.’
10 Indeed, therefore, Iamagainst you and against your rivers,and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate,from MigdoltoSyene, as far as the border of Ethiopia.
11 Neither foot of man shall pass through it nor foot of beast pass through it, and it shall be uninhabited forty years.
12 I will make the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of the countriesthataredesolate; and among the citiesthatarelaid waste, her cities shall be desolate forty years; and I willscatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries.”
13 ‘Yet, thus says the LordGod: “At theend of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered.
14 I will bring back the captives of Egypt and cause them to return to the land of Pathros, to the land of their origin, and there they shall be alowly kingdom.
15 It shall be the lowliest of kingdoms; it shall never again exalt itself above the nations, for I will diminish them so that they will not rule over the nations anymore.
16 No longer shall it bethe confidence of the house of Israel, but will remind them oftheiriniquity when they turned to follow them. Then they shall know that Iamthe LordGod.” ’ ”
Babylonia Will Plunder Egypt
17 And it came to pass in the twenty-seventh year, in the firstmonth,on the firstdayof the month,thatthe word of theLordcame to me, saying,
18 “Son of man,Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre; every headwasmadebald, and every shoulder rubbed raw; yet neither he nor his army received wages from Tyre, for the labor which they expended on it.
19 Therefore thus says the LordGod: ‘Surely I will give the land of Egypt toNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; he shall take away her wealth, carry off her spoil, and remove her pillage; and that will be the wages for his army.
20 I have given him the land of Egyptforhis labor, because theyworked for Me,’ says the LordGod.
21 ‘In that dayI will cause the horn of the house of Israel to spring forth, and I willopen your mouth to speak in their midst. Then they shall know that IamtheLord.’ ”