1In the tenth year, in the tenth month on the twelfth day, the word of the Lord came to me:2‘Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt and prophesy against him and against all Egypt.3Speak to him and say: “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘ “I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, you great monster lying among your streams. You say, ‘The Nile belongs to me; I made it for myself.’4But I will put hooks in your jaws and make the fish of your streams stick to your scales. I will pull you out from among your streams, with all the fish sticking to your scales.5I will leave you in the desert, you and all the fish of your streams. You will fall on the open field and not be gathered or picked up. I will give you as food to the beasts of the earth and the birds of the sky.6Then all who live in Egypt will know that I am the Lord. ‘ “You have been a staff of reed for the people of Israel.7When they grasped you with their hands, you splintered and you tore open their shoulders; when they leaned on you, you broke and their backs were wrenched.[1]8‘ “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will bring a sword against you and kill both man and beast.9Egypt will become a desolate wasteland. Then they will know that I am the Lord. ‘ “Because you said, ‘The Nile is mine; I made it,’10therefore I am against you and against your streams, and I will make the land of Egypt a ruin and a desolate waste from Migdol to Aswan, as far as the border of Cush.[2]11The foot of neither man nor beast will pass through it; no-one will live there for forty years.12I will make the land of Egypt desolate among devastated lands, and her cities will lie desolate for forty years among ruined cities. And I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them through the countries.13‘ “Yet this is what the Sovereign Lord says: at the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the nations where they were scattered.14I will bring them back from captivity and return them to Upper Egypt, the land of their ancestry. There they will be a lowly kingdom.15It will be the lowliest of kingdoms and will never again exalt itself above the other nations. I will make it so weak that it will never again rule over the nations.16Egypt will no longer be a source of confidence for the people of Israel but will be a reminder of their sin in turning to her for help. Then they will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.” ’
Nebuchadnezzar’s reward
17In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month on the first day, the word of the Lord came to me:18‘Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon drove his army in a hard campaign against Tyre; every head was rubbed bare and every shoulder made raw. Yet he and his army got no reward from the campaign he led against Tyre.19Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am going to give Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will carry off its wealth. He will loot and plunder the land as pay for his army.20I have given him Egypt as a reward for his efforts because he and his army did it for me, declares the Sovereign Lord.21‘On that day I will make a horn[3] grow for the Israelites, and I will open your mouth among them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’
1In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: (Eze 20:1)2“Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt; (Isa 19:1; Eze 2:1; Eze 6:2; Eze 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.’ (Ps 74:13; Isa 27:1; Isa 51:9; Eze 13:8; Eze 29:9; Eze 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. (2Ki 19:28; Eze 19:9; Eze 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; Eze 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, (2Ki 18:21; Isa 36:6; Eze 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] (Isa 20:5; Isa 30:3; Isa 30:5; Jer 2:36; Jer 37:5; Jer 37:7; Eze 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, (Eze 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,’ (Eze 13:8; Eze 29:3; Eze 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. (Eze 29:9; Eze 30:6; Eze 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. (Eze 32:13; Eze 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; Eze 30:7; Eze 30:23; Eze 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, (Isa 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. (Isa 11:11; Eze 30:14; Eze 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. (Eze 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.” (Isa 30:2; Isa 36:4; Isa 36:6; La 4:17; Eze 6:7; Eze 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: (Eze 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. (Eze 2:1; Eze 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; Eze 30:4; Eze 30:10; Eze 30:24; Eze 32:11; Eze 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. (Isa 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.” (Ps 132:17; Eze 6:7; Eze 16:63; Eze 24:27; Eze 33:22; Lu 1:69)