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1The word of the Lord came to me:
2“Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:
“‘Wail, “Alas, the day is here!”
3For the day is near,
the day of the Lord is near;
it will be a day of storm clouds,
it will be a time of judgment for the nations.
4A sword will come against Egypt
and panic will overtake Ethiopia
when the slain fall in Egypt
and they carry away her wealth
and dismantle her foundations.
5Ethiopia, Put, Lud, all the foreigners, Libya, and the people of the covenant land will die by the sword along with them.[#tn The same expression appears in Exod 12:38; Jer 25:20; 50:37; Neh 13:3. It may refer to foreign mercenaries serving in the armies of the nations listed here.; #tn Heb “sons.”; #tn The expression “sons of the covenant land” possibly refers to Jews living in Egypt (Jer 44).]
6“‘This is what the Lord says:
Egypt’s supporters will fall;
her confident pride will crumble.
From Migdol to Syene they will die by the sword within her,
declares the sovereign Lord .
7They will be desolate among desolate lands,
and their cities will be among ruined cities.
8They will know that I am the Lord
when I ignite a fire in Egypt
and all her allies are defeated.
9On that day messengers will go out from me in ships to frighten overly confident Ethiopia; panic will overtake them on the day of Egypt’s doom; for beware – it is coming![#tn Heb “in the day of Egypt.” The word “doom” has been added in the translation to clarify the nature of this day.]
10“‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:
I will put an end to the hordes of Egypt,
by the hand of King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon.
11He and his people with him,
the most terrifying of the nations,
will be brought there to destroy the land.
They will draw their swords against Egypt,
and fill the land with corpses.
12I will dry up the waterways
and hand the land over to evil men.
I will make the land and everything in it desolate by the hand of foreigners.
I, the Lord , have spoken!
13“‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:
I will destroy the idols,
and put an end to the gods of Memphis.
There will no longer be a prince from the land of Egypt;
so I will make the land of Egypt fearful.
14I will desolate Pathros,
I will ignite a fire in Zoan,
and I will execute judgments on Thebes.
15I will pour out my anger upon Pelusium,[#tn Heb “Sin” (so KJV, NASB), a city commonly identified with Pelusium, a fortress on Egypt’s northeastern frontier.]
the stronghold of Egypt;
I will cut off the hordes of Thebes.
16I will ignite a fire in Egypt;
Syene will writhe in agony,
Thebes will be broken down,
and Memphis will face enemies every day.
17The young men of On and of Pi-beseth will die by the sword;[#sn On and Pi-beseth are generally identified with the Egyptian cities of Heliopolis and Bubastis.]
and the cities will go into captivity.
18In Tahpanhes the day will be dark[#sn In Zeph 1:15 darkness is associated with the day of the Lord.]
when I break the yoke of Egypt there.
Her confident pride will cease within her;
a cloud will cover her, and her daughters will go into captivity.
19I will execute judgments on Egypt.
Then they will know that I am the Lord .’”
20In the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me:[#tn April 29, 587 b.c.]
21“Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Look, it has not been bandaged for healing or set with a dressing so that it might become strong enough to grasp a sword.[#sn The expression “breaking the arm” indicates the removal of power (Ps 10:15; 37:17; Job 38:15; Jer 48:25).; #sn This may refer to the event recorded in Jer 37:5.]
22Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and I will break his arms, the strong arm and the broken one, and I will make the sword drop from his hand.[#tn The word h!nn@h indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.; #tn Or “I challenge you.” The phrase “I am against you” may be a formula for challenging someone to combat or a duel. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:201-2, and P. Humbert, “Die Herausforderungsformel ‘h!nn#n' ?l?K>,’” ZAW 45 (1933): 101-8.]
23I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them among foreign countries.
24I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and I will place my sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan like the fatally wounded before the king of Babylon.[#tn Heb “him”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.]
25I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fall limp. Then they will know that I am the Lord when I place my sword in the hand of the king of Babylon and he extends it against the land of Egypt.
26I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among foreign countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord .”