1På den 12. dag i den tiende måned i det tiende år af vores eksil sagde Herren til mig:2„Du menneske, vend dig mod Egypten og profetér imod Farao og hele folket.3Sig til dem: Hør hvad Herren siger: Jeg vil straffe dig, Farao, Egyptens konge, det store uhyre[1] i Nilens vande. Du hævder, at Nildeltaet tilhører dig, og at du selv har skabt det.4Men jeg sætter kroge i dine kæber og får fiskene til at bide sig fast i dine skæl. Derefter trækker jeg dig op på land, så alle flodens fisk følger med.5Jeg slynger dig ud i ørkenen sammen med alle flodens fisk. Du får lov at ligge, hvor du faldt, ingen samler dig op for at begrave dig. Dit kød bliver føde for himlens fugle og for jordens vilde dyr.6Da vil Egyptens indbyggere forstå, at jeg er Herren. Du var det halmstrå, mit folk greb efter i nøden.7Du var som en kæp, mit folk ville støtte sig til, men du knækkede, og de vred skulderen af led. Da de forsøgte at læne sig op ad dig, brød du sammen, og de vred hoften af led.8Derfor siger Gud Herren til Egypten: Jeg sender en hær imod dig, som vil dræbe både mennesker og dyr.9Hele landet bliver lagt i ruiner. Da vil du indse, at jeg er Herren. Du hævder, at Nildeltaet tilhører dig, og at du selv har skabt det.10Derfor straffer jeg dig og din flod, rydder landet for mennesker og dyr fra Migdol i nord til Aswan i syd ved grænsen til Kush.11I 40 år skal det ligge øde, hverken mennesker eller dyr skal færdes der.12Jeg lægger dine byer i ruiner og gør landet til en ødemark i 40 år, som det er sket med de andre lande og byer. Jeg spreder dit folk blandt fremmede folkeslag.13Men efter 40 år vil jeg samle dem igen og føre dem hjem fra de lande, jeg fordrev dem til.14Jeg vender deres skæbne, fører dem hjem til Patros, men det bliver et rige uden særlig betydning.15Egypten bliver mindre end de andre riger, de er for få til at herske over andre folkeslag.16Israel vil erkende, at de begik en stor fejl ved at søge til Egypten efter hjælp. Det vil de aldrig gøre igen. Da vil de indse, at jeg er Herren, deres Gud.”17På den første dag i den første måned i det 27. år af vores eksil sagde Herren til mig:18„Du menneske, kong Nebukadnezars hær har arbejdet hårdt for at besejre Tyrus. Deres hår og tøj er slidt af dem. Hverken kongen selv eller hæren fik løn for deres indsats imod Tyrus.19Derfor siger jeg, Herren: Jeg giver Egyptens land til Babyloniens kong Nebukadnezar. Han skal plyndre landet for al dets rigdom og dele krigsbyttet mellem sine soldater, så de kan få deres løn.20Egyptens rigdom skal være deres belønning, fordi de ihærdigt arbejdede for mig, siger Herren.21Til den tid lader jeg en ny og stærk leder spire frem i Israel, og dig giver jeg inspiration til at tale til folket. Da skal de indse, at jeg er Herren.”
1In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: (Ez 20,1)2“Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt; (Es 19,1; Ez 2,1; Ez 6,2; Ez 32,2)3speak, and say, Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lies in the midst of his streams, that says, ‘My Nile is my own; I made it for myself.’ (Salm 74,13; Es 27,1; Es 51,9; Ez 13,8; Ez 29,9; Ez 32,2)4I will put hooks in your jaws, and make the fish of your streams stick to your scales; and I will draw you up out of the midst of your streams, with all the fish of your streams that stick to your scales. (2.Kong 19,28; Ez 19,9; Ez 38,4)5And I will cast you out into the wilderness, you and all the fish of your streams; you shall fall on the open field, and not be brought together or gathered. To the beasts of the earth and to the birds of the heavens I give you as food. (Jer 8,2; Jer 9,22; Ez 32,4)6Then all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the Lord. “Because you[1] have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel, (2.Kong 18,21; Es 36,6; Ez 6,7)7when they grasped you with the hand, you broke and tore all their shoulders; and when they leaned on you, you broke and made all their loins to shake.[2] (Es 20,5; Es 30,3; Es 30,5; Jer 2,36; Jer 37,5; Jer 37,7; Ez 17,17)8Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will bring a sword upon you, and will cut off from you man and beast, (Ez 14,17)9and the land of Egypt shall be a desolation and a waste. Then they will know that I am the Lord. “Because you[3] said, ‘The Nile is mine, and I made it,’ (Ez 13,8; Ez 29,3; Ez 29,6)10therefore, behold, I am against you and against your streams, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of Cush. (Ez 29,9; Ez 30,6; Ez 30,12)11No foot of man shall pass through it, and no foot of beast shall pass through it; it shall be uninhabited forty years. (Ez 32,13; Ez 35,7)12And I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the midst of desolated countries, and her cities shall be a desolation forty years among cities that are laid waste. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them through the countries. (Jer 46,19; Ez 30,7; Ez 30,23; Ez 30,26)13“For thus says the Lord God: At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered, (Es 19,22; Jer 46,26)14and I will restore the fortunes of Egypt and bring them back to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin, and there they shall be a lowly kingdom. (Es 11,11; Ez 30,14; Ez 39,25)15It shall be the most lowly of the kingdoms, and never again exalt itself above the nations. And I will make them so small that they will never again rule over the nations. (Ez 30,13)16And it shall never again be the reliance of the house of Israel, recalling their iniquity, when they turn to them for aid. Then they will know that I am the Lord God.” (Es 30,2; Es 36,4; Es 36,6; Klag 4,17; Ez 6,7; Ez 29,6)17In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: (Ez 20,1)18“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre. Every head was made bald, and every shoulder was rubbed bare, yet neither he nor his army got anything from Tyre to pay for the labor that he had performed against her. (Ez 2,1; Ez 26,7)19Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and he shall carry off its wealth[4] and despoil it and plunder it; and it shall be the wages for his army. (Jer 46,13; Ez 30,4; Ez 30,10; Ez 30,24; Ez 32,11; Ez 32,12)20I have given him the land of Egypt as his payment for which he labored, because they worked for me, declares the Lord God. (Es 43,3)21“On that day I will cause a horn to spring up for the house of Israel, and I will open your lips among them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.” (Salm 132,17; Ez 6,7; Ez 16,63; Ez 24,27; Ez 33,22; Luk 1,69)