Ezekiel 29

1In the tenth year, in the tenth month, in the twelfth day of the month, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

2Son of man, set thy face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and against all Egypt:

3Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself.

4But I will put hooks in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish of thy rivers to stick unto thy scales, and I will bring thee up out of the midst of thy rivers, and all the fish of thy rivers shall stick unto thy scales.

5And I will leave thee thrown into the wilderness, thee and all the fish of thy rivers: thou shalt fall upon the open fields; thou shalt not be brought together, nor gathered: I have given thee for meat to the beasts of the field and to the fowls of the heaven.footnote a

6And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the LORD, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel.

7When they took hold of thee by thy hand, thou didst break, and rend all their shoulder: and when they leaned upon thee, thou brakest, and madest all their loins to be at a stand.

8Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will bring a sword upon thee, and cut off man and beast out of thee.

9And the land of Egypt shall be desolate and waste; and they shall know that I am the LORD: because he hath said, The river is mine, and I have made it.

10Behold, therefore I am against thee, and against thy rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, from the tower of Syene even unto the border of Ethiopia.footnote bfootnote cfootnote d

11No foot of man shall pass through it, nor foot of beast shall pass through it, neither shall it be inhabited forty years.

12And I will make the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities among the cities that are laid waste shall be desolate forty years: and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries.

13Yet thus saith the Lord GOD; At the end of forty years will I gather the Egyptians from the people whither they were scattered:

14And I will bring again the captivity of Egypt, and will cause them to return into the land of Pathros, into the land of their habitation; and they shall be there a base kingdom.footnote efootnote f

15It shall be the basest of the kingdoms; neither shall it exalt itself any more above the nations: for I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations.

16And it shall be no more the confidence of the house of Israel, which bringeth their iniquity to remembrance, when they shall look after them: but they shall know that I am the Lord GOD.

17And it came to pass in the seven and twentieth year, in the first month, in the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

18Son of man, Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyrus: every head was made bald, and every shoulder was peeled: yet had he no wages, nor his army, for Tyrus, for the service that he had served against it:

19Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will give the land of Egypt unto Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall take her multitude, and take her spoil, and take her prey; and it shall be the wages for his army.footnote g

20I have given him the land of Egypt for his labour wherewith he served against it, because they wrought for me, saith the Lord GOD.footnote h

21In that day will I cause the horn of the house of Israel to bud forth, and I will give thee the opening of the mouth in the midst of them; and they shall know that I am the LORD.

A Prophecy against Pharaoh

1In the tenth year, on the twelfth day of the tenth month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2“Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt and prophesy against him and against all Egypt. 3Speak to him and tell him that this is what the Lord GOD says:Behold, I am against you,O Pharaoh king of Egypt,O great monster who liesamong his rivers,who says, ‘The Nile is mine;I made it myself.’

4But I will put hooks in your jawsand cause the fish of your streamsto cling to your scales.I will haul you up out of your rivers,and all the fish of your streamswill cling to your scales. 5I will leave you in the desert,you and all the fish of your streams.You will fall on the open fieldand will not be taken awayor gathered for burial.I have given you as foodto the beasts of the earthand the birds of the air. 6Then all the people of Egyptwill know that I am the LORD.For you were only a staff of reedsto the house of Israel. 7When Israel took hold of you with their hands,you splintered, tearing all their shoulders;when they leaned on you,you broke, and their backs were wrenched.footnote a

The Desolation of Egypt

8Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: I will bring a sword against you and cut off from you man and beast. 9The land of Egypt 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 rivers. I will turn the land of Egypt into a ruin, a desolate wasteland from Migdol to Syene, and as far as the border of Cush.footnote b 11No foot of man or beast will pass through, and it will be uninhabited for forty years.

12I will make the land of Egypt a desolation among desolate lands, and her cities will lie desolate for forty years among the ruined cities. And I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them throughout the countries.

13For this is what the Lord GOD says: At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the nations to which they were scattered. 14I will restore Egypt from captivityfootnote c and bring them back to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin. There they will be a lowly kingdom.

15Egypt will be the lowliest of kingdoms and will never again exalt itself above the nations. For I will diminish Egypt so that it will never again rule over the nations. 16Egypt will never again be an object of trust for the house of Israel, but will remind them of their iniquity in turning to the Egyptians. Then they will know that I am the Lord GOD.”

Egypt the Reward of Nebuchadnezzar

17In the twenty-seventh year, on the first day of the first month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 18“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre. Every head was made bald and every shoulder made raw. But he and his army received no wages from Tyre for the labor they expended on it.

19Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who will carry off its wealth, seize its spoil, and remove its plunder. This will be the wages for his army. 20I have given him the land of Egypt as the reward for his labor, because it was done for Me, declares the Lord GOD.

21In that day I will cause a horn to sprout for the house of Israel, and I will open your mouth to speak among them. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”