The chat will start when you send the first message.
1In the tenth year of our exile , on the twelfth day of the tenth month, Yahweh spoke to me, saying,[#29:1 This would have been January of 586 BC, six months before the fall of Jerusalem and fifteen years before Nebuchadnezzar invaded Egypt. Chapters 29–32 contain seven prophecies against Egypt.]
2“Son of man, turn toward Hophra king of Egypt and prophesy against him and against all Egypt.[#29:2 Or “Pharaoh,” which means “king.” Hophra, mentioned in Jer. 44:30, was the fourth king of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egyptian pharaohs. He reigned from 589 to 570 BC.]
3Tell them what I, Lord Yahweh , say:
“ ‘Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt—
the great monster wallowing in its waterways.
You boasted: “I made the Nile River for myself, and I own it!”
4I will put hooks through your jaws,
and make the fish of the Nile stick to your scales.
Then I will drag you out of your waterways
with all your fish clinging to your scales.
5I will leave you and all your fish
on the ground to die in the desert.
You will die in the open field,
and I will feed you
to the wild animals and the birds of heaven,
and no one will collect your bones or bury them.
6Then all the inhabitants of Egypt will know that I am Yahweh .
“ ‘The Lord says to Egypt :
You have been no help whatsoever to my people, Israel;
you are nothing more than a crutch of flimsy reeds!
7Wherever they grasped you, you broke in their hands
and splinters pierced their hands.
Whenever they leaned on you, you collapsed,
and sent them sprawling.
8“ ‘So, Lord Yahweh says to you: I will bring war against you to eliminate both people and animals.
9The land of Egypt will become an empty desert, and they will know that I am Yahweh . Because you boasted, “The Nile is mine, I made it. It’s all mine ,”
10therefore, I am your enemy and the enemy of your waterways. I will reduce Egypt to a desolate, empty desert, from Migdol in the north to Syene in the south , as far as the border of Ethiopia.[#29:10 Migdol was a fortress in northern Egypt where Jews found refuge (see Jer. 44:1; 46:14).; #29:10 Syene is modern Aswan in southern Egypt.; #29:10 Or “Cush.” To the Egyptians all the territory south of Aswan was known as Cush, which was called Ethiopia in Greco-Roman times and included portions of modern Sudan.]
11No person or animal will pass through it. For forty years it will remain uninhabited.
12I will turn Egypt into the most desolate of lands, and for forty years its cities will be the most desolate of ruined cities. And I will scatter your people among the nations and disperse them among foreign lands.
13“ ‘However, Lord Yahweh says this: After forty years, I will gather the Egyptians back from the nations where I scattered them.[#29:13 Like the exiled Israelites, the Egyptians were promised that they, too, would be brought back to their land.]
14I will bring the Egyptian captives back and restore them to the way they were before in their homeland of Pathros. There they will be an insignificant kingdom.[#29:14 That is, southern Egypt.]
15Egypt will be the weakest kingdom of all and no longer dominate other nations. For I will reduce it so that it will never again rule over the nations.
16It will never again be strong enough for the people of Israel to trust in. Its fate will be a reminder of Israel’s sin when they put their confidence in Egypt to help them. Then they will know that I am Lord Yahweh .’ ”
17In the twenty-seventh year of our exile , on the first day of the first month, Yahweh spoke to me, saying:
18“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has taken his army and launched an attack against Tyre and inflicted a heavy toll upon his soldiers . Their helmets have rubbed their heads bare, and their heavy loads made their shoulders raw and chafed, yet neither Nebuchadnezzar nor his army gained any reward from the campaign he led against Tyre.[#29:18 The Babylonian siege against Tyre lasted thirteen years.]
19I, Lord Yahweh , will hand Egypt over to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. He will carry off its riches and loot the wealth of Egypt to pay the wages of his army.
20I am giving him Egypt as a reward for the labor he has undertaken on my behalf. I, Lord Yahweh , have spoken!
21“At that time, I will raise up a new day of power for the people of Israel. And Ezekiel, I will open your mouth, and when you speak, the people will listen to you. Then they will know that I am Yahweh .”[#29:21 Or literally “a horn.” The horn of an ox or ram was a symbol of power, authority, and prosperity. God was decreeing that he would cause Israel to grow strong again.]