Ezekiel 29
New King James Version

Proclamation Against Egypt

29 In the tenth year, in the tenthmonth,on the twelfthdayof the month, the word of theLordcame to me, saying,²“Son of man,^(A)set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and^(B)against all Egypt.³Speak, and say, ‘Thus says the LordGod:

^(C)“Behold, Iamagainst you,
O Pharaoh king of Egypt,
O great^(D)monster who lies in the midst of his rivers,
^(E)Who has said, ‘My^[a]Riverismy own;
I have madeitfor myself.’
⁴But^(F)I will put hooks in your jaws,
And cause the fish of your rivers to stick to your scales;
I will bring you up out of the midst of your rivers,
And all the fish in your rivers will stick to your scales.
⁵I will leave you in the wilderness,
You and all the fish of your rivers;
You shall fall on the^[b]open^(G)field;
^(H)You shall not be picked up or^[c]gathered.
^(I)I have given you as food
To the beasts of the field
And to the birds of the heavens.

⁶“Then all the inhabitants of Egypt
Shall know that IamtheLord,
Because they have been a^(J)staff of reed to the house of Israel.
⁷^(K)When they took hold of you with the hand,
You broke and tore all their^[d]shoulders;
When they leaned on you,
You broke and made all their backs quiver.”

⁸‘Therefore thus says the LordGod: “Surely I will bring^(L)a sword upon you and cut off from you man and beast.⁹And the land of Egypt shall become^(M)desolate and waste; then they will know that IamtheLord, because he said, ‘The Riverismine, and I have madeit.’¹⁰Indeed, therefore, Iamagainst you and against your rivers,^(N)and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate,^(O)from^[e]MigdoltoSyene, as far as the border of Ethiopia.¹¹^(P)Neither foot of man shall pass through it nor foot of beast pass through it, and it shall be uninhabited forty years.¹²^(Q)I will make the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of the countriesthat aredesolate; and among the citiesthat arelaid waste, her cities shall be desolate forty years; and I will^(R)scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries.”

¹³‘Yet, thus says the LordGod: “At the^(S)end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered.¹⁴I will bring back the captives of Egypt and cause them to return to the land of Pathros, to the land of their origin, and there they shall be a^(T)lowly kingdom.¹⁵It shall be the lowliest of kingdoms; it shall never again exalt itself above the nations, for I will diminish them so that they will not rule over the nations anymore.¹⁶No longer shall it be^(U)the confidence of the house of Israel, but will remind them oftheiriniquity when they turned to follow them. Then they shall know that Iamthe LordGod.” ’ ”

Babylonia Will Plunder Egypt

¹⁷And it came to pass in the twenty-seventh year, in the firstmonth,on the firstdayof the month,thatthe word of theLordcame to me, saying,¹⁸“Son of man,^(V)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre; every headwasmade^(W)bald, and every shoulder rubbed raw; yet neither he nor his army received wages from Tyre, for the labor which they expended on it.¹⁹Therefore thus says the LordGod: ‘Surely I will give the land of Egypt to^(X)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; he shall take away her wealth, carry off her spoil, and remove her pillage; and that will be the wages for his army.²⁰I have given him the land of Egyptforhis labor, because they^(Y)worked for Me,’ says the LordGod.

²¹‘In that day^(Z)I will cause the^[f]horn of the house of Israel to spring forth, and I will^(AA)open your mouth to speak in their midst. Then they shall know that IamtheLord.’ ”