Scripture of the Day

Ezekiel 29–30 (Listen)

Prophecy Against Egypt

29:1 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, 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; 3 speak, 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.’
4   I 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.
5   And 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.

6 Then all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the LORD.

“Because you¹ have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel, 7 when 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 8 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will bring a sword upon you, and will cut off from you man and beast, 9 and the land of Egypt shall be a desolation and a waste. Then they will know that I am the LORD.

“Because you³ said, ‘The Nile is mine, and I made it,’ 10 therefore, 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. 11 No foot of man shall pass through it, and no foot of beast shall pass through it; it shall be uninhabited forty years. 12 And 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.

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, 14 and 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. 15 It 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. 16 And 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.”

17 In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: 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. 19 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and he shall carry off its wealth⁴ and despoil it and plunder it; and it shall be the wages for his army. 20 I have given him the land of Egypt as his payment for which he labored, because they worked for me, declares the Lord GOD.

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.”

A Lament for Egypt

30:1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD:

  “Wail, ‘Alas for the day!’
3     For the day is near,
    the day of the LORD is near;
  it will be a day of clouds,
    a time of doom for⁵ the nations.
4   A sword shall come upon Egypt,
    and anguish shall be in Cush,
  when the slain fall in Egypt,
    and her wealth⁶ is carried away,
    and her foundations are torn down.

5 Cush, and Put, and Lud, and all Arabia, and Libya,⁷ and the people of the land that is in league,⁸ shall fall with them by the sword.

6   “Thus says the LORD:
  Those who support Egypt shall fall,
    and her proud might shall come down;
  from Migdol to Syene
    they shall fall within her by the sword,
  declares the Lord GOD.
7   And they shall be desolated in the midst of desolated countries,
    and their cities shall be in the midst of cities that are laid waste.
8   Then they will know that I am the LORD,
    when I have set fire to Egypt,
    and all her helpers are broken.

9 “On that day messengers shall go out from me in ships to terrify the unsuspecting people of Cush, and anguish shall come upon them on the day of Egypt’s doom;⁹ for, behold, it comes!

10 “Thus says the Lord GOD:

  “I will put an end to the wealth of Egypt,
    by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
11   He and his people with him, the most ruthless of nations,
    shall be brought in to destroy the land,
  and they shall draw their swords against Egypt
    and fill the land with the slain.
12   And I will dry up the Nile
    and will sell the land into the hand of evildoers;
  I will bring desolation upon the land and everything in it,
    by the hand of foreigners;
  I am the LORD; I have spoken.

13 “Thus says the Lord GOD:

  “I will destroy the idols
    and put an end to the images in Memphis;
  there shall no longer be a prince from the land of Egypt;
    so I will put fear in the land of Egypt.
14   I will make Pathros a desolation
    and will set fire to Zoan
    and will execute judgments on Thebes.
15   And I will pour out my wrath on Pelusium,
    the stronghold of Egypt,
    and cut off the multitude¹⁰ of Thebes.
16   And I will set fire to Egypt;
    Pelusium shall be in great agony;
  Thebes shall be breached,
    and Memphis shall face enemies¹¹ by day.
17   The young men of On and of Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword,
    and the women¹² shall go into captivity.
18   At Tehaphnehes the day shall be dark,
    when I break there the yoke bars of Egypt,
  and her proud might shall come to an end in her;
    she shall be covered by a cloud,
    and her daughters shall go into captivity.
19   Thus I will execute judgments on Egypt.
    Then they will know that I am the LORD.”

Egypt Shall Fall to Babylon

20 In the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: 21 “Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and behold, it has not been bound up, to heal it by binding it with a bandage, so that it may become strong to wield the sword. 22 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt and will break his arms, both the strong arm and the one that was broken, and I will make the sword fall from his hand. 23 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them through the countries. 24 And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put my sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before him like a man mortally wounded. 25 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall. Then they shall 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. 26 And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”

(ESV)