Judgment of Egypt

1In the tenth year [of the captivity of King Jehoiachin by the king of Babylon], in the tenth month, on the twelfth of the month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2“Son of man, set your face toward Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt. 3Speak and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,

“Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt,

The great monster that lies in the midst of his rivers,

[Boastfully] declaring, ‘My Nile is my own, and I have made it for myself.’

4“I will put hooks in your jaws

And [I will] make the fish of your rivers stick to your scales.

And I will pull you up from the midst of your rivers,

And all the fish of your rivers will stick to your scales.

5“I will abandon you to the wilderness, you and all the fish of your rivers;

You will fall on the open field; and you will not be gathered up or buried.

I have given you as food to the [wild] animals of the earth and the birds of the sky.

6“And all the inhabitants of Egypt will know [without any doubt] that I am the LORD,

Because they have been [only] a staff made of [fragile] reeds to the house of Israel.

7“When they (Israel) grasped you (Egypt) by the hand,

You broke and tore apart their hands;

When they leaned on you,

You broke and strained their backs.”

8‘Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I am going to bring a sword on you and cut off (destroy) both man and animal, 9and the land of Egypt will be a desolation and a wasteland. And they will know [without any doubt] that I am the LORD.

“Because you said, ‘The Nile is mine and I have made it,’ 10behold (hear this), therefore, I am against you and against your rivers (the Nile, its tributaries), and I will make the land of Egypt a complete waste and a desolation, from [northern] Migdol to [southern] [a]Syene, even as far as the border of Ethiopia (Cush). 11No man’s foot will pass through it, no animal’s foot will pass through it, and it will not be inhabited for forty years. 12So I will make the land of Egypt a desolation [plundered and ruined] among desolated lands; and her cities, among cities that are laid waste, will be desolate forty years. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and [I will] disperse them through the lands.”

13‘For thus says the Lord GOD, “At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the nations among whom they were scattered. 14I will reverse the fortunes of Egypt [as I will that of Israel] and cause them to return to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin, and there they will be a lowly kingdom. 15It will be the lowliest of the kingdoms, and it will [b]never again exalt itself above the nations; I will diminish the Egyptians so they will never again rule over the nations. 16And Egypt will never again have the confidence of the house of Israel; their wickedness will be remembered whenever Israel looks toward them [for help]. Then they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord GOD.”’”

17In the twenty-seventh year [after King Jehoiachin was taken to Babylon], in the first month, on the first of the month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 18“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army [c]work hard [at My command] against Tyre; every [soldier’s] head became [d]bald and every shoulder was worn and peeled [from carrying loads of dirt and stones for siege works]. Yet he had no wages from Tyre [in proportion to the time and labor expended during the siege], either for himself or his army, for the work that he had done against it [for Me].” 19Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. And he will carry off her wealth and capture her spoil and seize her plunder; and it shall be the wages for his army. 20I have given him the land of Egypt for the hard work which he did [against Tyre], because they did it for Me,” says the Lord GOD.

21“In that day I will make a horn sprout for the house of Israel, and I will open your mouth among them, and they will know [without any doubt] that I am the LORD [when I renew their strength].”

[a] 10 Coptic Souan, Senon; Arab Aswan.
[b] 15 There are few stronger contrasts in any modern country than between the ancient glory, dignity, power, and wealth of Egypt and its later diminished significance.
[c] 18 The siege against Tyre lasted about thirteen years.
[d] 18 Probably from constantly wearing war helmets.