Dirge for Egypt

1The word of the LORD came again to me, saying, 2“Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,

“Wail, ‘Alas for the day!’

3“For the day is near,

Even the day of the LORD is near,

It will be a cloudy day;

A time of doom for the nations.

4“A sword will come upon Egypt,

And anguish and trembling will be in Ethiopia (Cush),

When the slain fall in Egypt

And they [of Babylon] carry away her great mass of people and her riches

And her foundations are torn down. 5Ethiopia (Cush), Put, Lud, all [a]Arabia, Libya (Cub) and the people of the land of the covenant [the Jews who had taken refuge in Egypt] will fall with the Egyptians by the sword.”

6‘Thus says the LORD,

“Those who uphold and support Egypt will fall

And the pride of her power will come down;

From Migdol [in the north] to Syene [in the south]

They will fall within her by the sword,”

Says the Lord GOD.

7“And they will be desolate

In the midst of countries that are desolated;

And her cities will be

Among cities that are devastated [by plunder and slavery].

8“And they will know [without any doubt] that I am the LORD,

When I have set a fire in Egypt

And all her helpers are shattered and destroyed. 9On that day [swift] messengers will go from Me in ships to frighten the careless and unsuspecting Ethiopians, and there will be anguish and trembling in them as in the day of [judgment for] Egypt; for behold, it is coming!”

10‘Thus says the Lord GOD,

“I will also make the great people of Egypt cease

By the hand of [b]Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.

11“He and his people with him,

The most violent and 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“And I will make the rivers [of the Nile delta] dry

And sell the land into the hands of evil men;

I will make the land desolate

And all that is in it,

By the hand of strangers. I the LORD have spoken.”

13‘Thus says the Lord GOD,

“I will also destroy the idols

And I will put an end to the images in Memphis;

There will no longer be a prince of the land of Egypt.

And I will put fear in the land of Egypt.

14“I will make Pathros desolate,

Set fire to Zoan

And execute judgments and punishments on Thebes.

15“I will pour out My wrath on Pelusium,

The stronghold of Egypt,

And I will cut off (destroy) the population of Thebes.

16“I will set fire to Egypt;

Pelusium will writhe in [great] anguish,

Thebes shall be torn open

And Memphis shall be in daily distress.

17“The young men of On (Aven) and of Pi-beseth

Will fall by the sword,

And the women [and children] will go into captivity.

18“In Tehaphnehes the day will be dark

When I break the yoke bars and dominion of Egypt there.

Then the pride of her power will come to an end;

A cloud [of disasters] will cover her,

And her daughters will go into captivity.

19“In this way I will bring judgment and punishment on Egypt.

Then they shall know [without any doubt] that I am the LORD.”’”

Victory for Babylon

20In the eleventh year [after King Jehoiachin was taken to Babylon], 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 broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and behold, it has not been bound up to heal or wrapped with a bandage, so that it may be strong to hold and wield the sword. 22Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt and will break his arms, both the strong one and the broken, and I will make the sword fall from his hand. 23I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and will disperse them throughout the lands. 24I 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 will groan before him (Nebuchadnezzar) with the groanings of a [mortally] wounded man. 25But I will strengthen and hold up the arms of the king of Babylon and the arms of Pharaoh will fall down. Then the people [of Egypt] will know that I am the LORD, when I put My sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt. 26When I scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them through the lands, then they will know [without any doubt] that I am the LORD.’”