30 The Lord gave this message to me: 2 ‘Son of man, prophesy to the people. Say to them, “This is what the Almighty Lord says:
Weep and cry aloud, ‘Help! The day of great trouble is coming!’
3 Yes, that day will be very soon. It is the day of the Lord .
It will be a day of dark clouds,
when the Lord will punish the nations.
4 An enemy army will attack Egypt.
The people of Ethiopia will be afraid.
Many people in Egypt will die in the battle.
Enemies will carry away Egypt's riches.
They will knock down Egypt's buildings.
5 Soldiers from other nations will also die in the battle.
They are soldiers from Ethiopia, Put, Lydia, Libya, and Arabia,
as well as men who belong to my own people.
6 This is what the Lord says:
All the people who help Egypt will die in the battle.
Egypt will no longer be proud of her great power.
Egypt's soldiers will die everywhere, from Migdol to Aswan.
That is what the Almighty Lord says.
7 Egypt will become like a desert among other deserts.
Its cities will become heaps of stones.
8 I will burn Egypt with fire.
I will destroy all those who fight to help Egypt.
Then they will know that I am the Lord .
9 At that time, I will send messengers in ships to Ethiopia. I will stop the Ethiopian people being proud of their power. Instead, the news about Egypt's trouble will make them very afraid. That day is coming soon! Be careful!
10 This is what the Almighty Lord says:
I will use King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon to destroy Egypt's army.
11 The king and his army will come to destroy the land.
They are a nation of cruel people.
They will attack Egypt's people with their swords.
They will fill the land with dead bodies.
12 I will cause the Nile river to become dry.
I will put the land under the power of evil men.
Foreigners will destroy the land of Egypt
and everything that is in it.
That is what I, the Lord , say.
13 The Almighty Lord says this:
I will destroy Egypt's idols and the false gods in Memphis.
Egypt will no longer have its own ruler.
I will cause Egypt's people to be very afraid.
14 I will make Pathros a desert.
I will burn Zoan with fire.
I will punish the city of Thebes.
15 I will punish Egypt's strong city of Pelusium.
I will show the people there that I am very angry.
I will destroy all the soldiers in Thebes.
16 Yes, I will destroy all of Egypt with fire!
The people of Pelusium will suffer with great pain.
Enemies will knock down the walls of Thebes.
The people of Memphis will live in fear every day.
17 The young men of Heliopolis and Bubastis will die in the war.
Enemies will take the other people from those cities as their prisoners.
18 It will be a very dark day in Tahpanhes
when I destroy Egypt's strength.
Egypt will not be proud of her great power any more.
A dark cloud will cover the land.
Enemies will take away the people from Egypt's villages as prisoners.
19 That is how I will punish Egypt.
Then they will know that I am the Lord .” ’
20 The Lord gave this message to me on the 7th day of the first month, in the 11th year:
21 ‘Son of man, I have removed the strength of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. It is as if I have broken his arm and nobody has helped it to mend. He will never again have the power to fight battles. 22 So this is what the Almighty Lord says: Listen! I have become the enemy of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. I will make him like a man with two broken arms. I will break his strong arm and his broken arm. He will not be able to fight at all! 23 I will cause the Egyptian people to run away to live in foreign countries. 24 I will make the king of Babylon powerful, to fight battles on my behalf. But I will cause Pharaoh to be weak. He will cry in pain when the king of Babylon attacks. He will receive wounds that cause him to die. 25 Yes, I will make the king of Babylon strong. But Pharaoh, king of Egypt, will become weak. I will give the king of Babylon power to fight on my behalf. He will use that power to attack Egypt. Then they will know that I am the Lord . 26 I will send the Egyptian people away to many different countries. They will live among other nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord . ’
30 The word of the Lord came to me again. He said, 2 “Son of man, [ a ] speak for me. Say, ‘This is what the Lord God says:
“‘Cry and say,
“A terrible day is coming.”
3 That day is near!
Yes, the Lord ’s day for judging is near.
It will be a cloudy day,
the time for judging the nations.
4 A sword will come against Egypt!
People in Ethiopia will shake with fear, when Egypt falls.
The army of Babylon will take the Egyptians as prisoners.
Egypt’s foundations will be torn down.
5 “‘Many people made peace agreements with Egypt. But all those people from Ethiopia, Put, Lud, all Arabia, Libya, and the people of Israel [ b ] will be destroyed!
6 “‘This is what the Lord says:
Those who support Egypt will fall!
The pride in her power will end.
The people in Egypt will be killed in battle,
all the way from Migdol to Aswan.
This is what the Lord God said!
7 Egypt will join the other countries that were destroyed.
Its cities will be among those that are in ruins.
8 I will start a fire in Egypt,
and all her helpers will be destroyed.
Then they will know that I am the Lord !
9 “‘At that time I will send out messengers. They will go in ships to carry the bad news to Ethiopia. Ethiopia now feels safe, but the people of Ethiopia will shake with fear when Egypt is punished. That time is coming!’”
10 This is what the Lord God says:
“I will use the king of Babylon.
I will use Nebuchadnezzar to destroy the people of Egypt.
11 Nebuchadnezzar and his people
are the most terrible of the nations,
and I will bring them to destroy Egypt.
They will pull out their swords against Egypt.
They will fill the land with dead bodies.
12 I will make the Nile River become dry land.
Then I will sell the dry land to evil people.
I will use strangers to make that land empty.
I, the Lord , have spoken!”
13 This is what the Lord God says:
“I will also destroy the idols in Egypt.
I will take the statues away from Memphis.
There will no longer be a leader in the land of Egypt.
I will put fear there instead.
14 I will make Pathros empty.
I will start a fire in Zoan.
I will punish Thebes.
15 I will pour out my anger against Pelusium, the fortress of Egypt!
I will destroy the people of Thebes.
16 I will start a fire in Egypt;
the city of Pelusium will ache with fear.
The soldiers will break into the city of Thebes,
and Memphis will have new troubles every day.
17 The young men of Heliopolis and Bubastis [ c ] will die in battle,
and the women will be taken away as prisoners.
18 It will be a dark day in Tahpanhes when I break Egypt’s control. [ d ]
Her proud power will be finished!
A cloud will cover Egypt,
and her daughters will be taken away as prisoners.
19 So I will punish Egypt.
Then they will know that I am the Lord !”
20 On the seventh day of the first month of the eleventh year of exile, [ e ] the word of the Lord came to me. He said, 21 “Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. No one will wrap his arm with a bandage. It will not heal, so his arm will not be strong enough to hold a sword.”
22 This is what the Lord God says: “I am against Pharaoh, king of Egypt. I will break both his arms, the strong arm and the arm that is already broken. I will make the sword fall from his hand. 23 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations. 24 I will make the arms of the king of Babylon strong. I will put my sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh. Then Pharaoh will cry out in pain, the kind of cry that a dying man makes. 25 So I will make the arms of the king of Babylon strong, but the arms of Pharaoh will fall. Then they will know that I am the Lord .
“I will put my sword in the hand of the king of Babylon. Then he will stretch the sword out against the land of Egypt. 26 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord !”
30 The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord God ; Howl ye, Woe worth the day!
3 For the day is near, even the day of the Lord is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen.
4 And the sword shall come upon Egypt, and great pain shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt, and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be broken down.
5 Ethiopia, and Libya, and Lydia, and all the mingled people, and Chub, and the men of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword.
6 Thus saith the Lord ; They also that uphold Egypt shall fall; and the pride of her power shall come down: from the tower of Syene shall they fall in it by the sword, saith the Lord God .
7 And they shall be desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are wasted.
8 And they shall know that I am the Lord , when I have set a fire in Egypt, and when all her helpers shall be destroyed.
9 In that day shall messengers go forth from me in ships to make the careless Ethiopians afraid, and great pain shall come upon them, as in the day of Egypt: for, lo, it cometh.
10 Thus saith the Lord God ; I will also make the multitude of Egypt to cease by the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon.
11 He and his people with him, the terrible of the nations, shall be brought to destroy the land: and they shall draw their swords against Egypt, and fill the land with the slain.
12 And I will make the rivers dry, and sell the land into the hand of the wicked: and I will make the land waste, and all that is therein, by the hand of strangers: I the Lord have spoken it.
13 Thus saith the Lord God ; I will also destroy the idols, and I will cause their images to cease out of Noph; and there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt: and I will put a fear in the land of Egypt.
14 And I will make Pathros desolate, and will set fire in Zoan, and will execute judgments in No.
15 And I will pour my fury upon Sin, the strength of Egypt; and I will cut off the multitude of No.
16 And I will set fire in Egypt: Sin shall have great pain, and No shall be rent asunder, and Noph shall have distresses daily.
17 The young men of Aven and of Pibeseth shall fall by the sword: and these cities shall go into captivity.
18 At Tehaphnehes also the day shall be darkened, when I shall break there the yokes of Egypt: and the pomp of her strength shall cease in her: as for her, a cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall go into captivity.
19 Thus will I execute judgments in Egypt: and they shall know that I am the Lord .
20 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first month, in the seventh day of the month, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
21 Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, lo, it shall not be bound up to be healed, to put a roller to bind it, to make it strong to hold the sword.
22 Therefore thus saith the Lord God ; Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms, the strong, and that which was broken; and I will cause the sword to fall out of his hand.
23 And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries.
24 And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and put my sword in his hand: but I will break Pharaoh's arms, and he shall groan before him with the groanings of a deadly wounded man.
25 But I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; and they shall know that I am the Lord , when I shall put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall stretch it out upon the land of Egypt.
26 And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them among the countries; and they shall know that I am the Lord .
30 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord [ a ] God says:
“ ( A ) Wail, ‘Woe for the day!’
3 For the day is near,
Indeed, ( B ) the day of the Lord is near;
It will be a day of ( C ) clouds,
A time of doom for the nations.
4 A sword will come upon Egypt,
And there will be trembling in [ b ] Cush;
When the slain fall in Egypt,
They will ( D ) take away her [ c ] wealth,
And her foundations will be torn down.
5 [ d ] Cush, Put, Lud, all [ e ] ( E ) Arabia, [ f ] Libya and the [ g ] people of the land [ h ] that is in league will fall with them by the sword.”
6 ‘This is what the Lord says:
“Indeed, those who support ( F ) 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 ( G ) midst of the desolated lands;
And her cities will be
In the midst of the devastated cities.
8 And they will ( H ) know that I am the Lord ,
When I set a ( I ) fire in Egypt
And all her helpers are broken.
9 On that day ( J ) messengers will go out from Me in ships to frighten ( K ) carefree [ i ] Cush; and ( L ) trembling will come on them as on the day of Egypt; for behold, it is coming!”
10 ‘This is what the Lord God says:
“ ( M ) 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,
( N ) 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 ( O ) Nile canals dry
And ( P ) 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 ‘This is what the Lord God says:
“I will also ( Q ) destroy the idols
And make the [ l ] images cease from [ m ] ( R ) 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 ( S ) Pathros desolate,
Set a fire in ( T ) Zoan
And execute judgments on [ n ] ( U ) Thebes.
15 I will pour out My wrath on [ o ] Sin,
The stronghold of Egypt;
I will also eliminate 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 ] ( V ) On and of Pi-beseth
Will fall by the sword,
And [ v ] the women will go into captivity.
18 In ( W ) Tehaphnehes the day will [ w ] be ( X ) dark
When I ( Y ) 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 So I will ( Z ) execute judgments on Egypt,
And they will know that I am the Lord .”’”
20 In the ( AA ) 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 ( AB ) broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, behold, it has not been ( AC ) bound up [ x ] for healing [ y ] or wrapped with a bandage, so that it may be strong to wield the sword. 22 Therefore this is what the Lord God says: ‘Behold, I am ( AD ) against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and I will break his arms, both the strong and the ( AE ) broken; and I will make the sword ( AF ) fall from his hand. 23 And I will ( AG ) scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands. 24 For I will ( AH ) strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put ( AI ) My sword in his hand; and I will break the arms of Pharaoh, so that he will groan before him with the groans of a wounded man. 25 So I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fail. Then they will know that I am the Lord , when I put My sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he ( AJ ) reaches out with it 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 .’”
30 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“‘Wail ( A ) and say,
“Alas for that day!”
3 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.
4 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 )
5 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 )
6 “‘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 .
7 “‘They will be desolate
among desolate lands,
and their cities will lie
among ruined cities. ( L )
8 Then they will know that I am the Lord ,
when I set fire ( M ) to Egypt
and all her helpers are crushed. ( N )
9 “‘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 .’”
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 ) ”
