Ezekiel 29

Judgment Against Pharaoh and Egypt

Pharaoh the Crocodile

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

2 “Son of man, turn your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt and prophesy against him and against all Egypt.

3 Speak and say, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: Look, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great monster lying in the middle of his rivers, who says, “My Nile is mine; I made it myself.”

4 I will put hooks in your jaws, make the fish of your rivers stick to your scales, and pull you up out of the middle of your rivers, with all the fish clinging to your scales.

5 I will toss you into the wilderness, you and all the fish of your rivers. You will fall on the open field and not be gathered or buried. I have given you as food to the beasts of the earth and the birds of the sky.

6 Then all who live in Egypt will know that I am the LORD, because you were nothing but a broken reed to the house of Israel.

7 When they grabbed hold of you, you splintered and tore their shoulders. When they leaned on you, you broke and made all their backs collapse.

8 Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Look, I am bringing a sword against you, and I will wipe out both people and animals from you.

9 The land of Egypt will become a desolation and a ruin. Then they will know that I am the LORD, because you said, “The Nile is mine, and I made it.”

Egypt Made Desolate

10 “Therefore look, I am against you and against your rivers. I will make the land of Egypt a complete ruin, from Migdol to Syene, even to the border of Cush.

11 No human foot will pass through it, and no animal foot will pass through it. It will not be inhabited for forty years.

12 I will make the land of Egypt a desolation among desolated lands, and her cities will be a desolation among ruined cities for forty years. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them through the lands.”

13 “For this is what the Lord GOD says: At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples where they were scattered.

14 I will restore the fortunes of Egypt and bring them back to the land of Pathros, to the land of their origin. There they will be a lowly kingdom.

15 It will be the lowest of kingdoms and will never again lift itself above the nations. I will make them so small they will no longer rule over the nations.

16 It will never again be a source of confidence for the house of Israel, but will remind them of their guilt when they turned to Egypt for help. Then they will know that I am the Lord GOD.”

Egypt Given to Babylon

17 In the twenty-seventh year, first month, first day, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

18 “Son of man, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre. Every head was made bald and every shoulder rubbed bare, yet he and his army got no wages from Tyre for the labor they performed against it.

19 Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Look, I am giving the land of Egypt to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. He will carry off her wealth, plunder her goods, and seize her spoil. That will be the wages for his army.

20 I have given him the land of Egypt as payment for his labor, because they worked for Me,” declares the Lord GOD.

A Future Hope for Israel

21 “On that day I will make a horn grow for the house of Israel, and I will open your mouth among them. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”