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

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

³Speak and say , ‘The Lord GOD says :

“Behold , I am against you , Pharaoh king of Egypt ,

the great monster that lies in the middle of his rivers ,

that has said , ‘My river is my own,

and I have made it for myself.’

⁴I will put hooks in your jaws ,

and I will make the fish of your rivers stick to your scales .

I will bring you up out of the middle of your rivers ,

with all the fish of your rivers which stick to your scales .

⁵I ’ll cast you out into the wilderness ,

you and all the fish of your rivers .

You ’ll fall on the open field .

You won’t be brought together or gathered .

I have given you for food to the animals of the earth

and to the birds of the sky .

⁶“‘“All the inhabitants of Egypt will know that I am the LORD , because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel .

⁷When they took hold of you by your hand , you broke and tore all their shoulders . When they leaned on you , you broke and paralysed all of their thighs.”

⁸“‘Therefore the Lord GOD says : “Behold , I will bring a sword on you , and will cut off man and animal from you .

⁹The land of Egypt will be a desolation and a waste . Then they will know that I am the LORD .

“‘“Because he has said, ‘The river is mine , and I have made it ,’

¹⁰therefore , behold , I am against you and against your rivers . I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation , from the tower of Seveneh even to the border of Ethiopia .

¹¹No foot of man will pass through it , nor will any animal foot pass through it . It won’t be inhabited for forty years .

¹²I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the middle of the countries that are desolate . Her cities amongst the cities that are laid waste will be a desolation forty years . I will scatter the Egyptians amongst the nations , and will disperse them through the countries.”

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

¹⁴I will reverse the captivity of Egypt , and will cause them to return into the land of Pathros , into the land of their birth . There they will be a lowly kingdom .

¹⁵It will be the lowest of the kingdoms . It won’t lift itself up above the nations any more . I will diminish them so that they will no longer rule over the nations .

¹⁶It will no longer be the confidence of the house of Israel , bringing iniquity to memory, when they turn to look after them . Then they will know that I am the Lord GOD .”’”

¹⁷It came to pass in the twenty-seventh year , in the first month , in the first day of the month , the LORD ’s word came to me , saying ,

¹⁸“Son of man , Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyre . Every head was made bald , and every shoulder was worn; yet he had no wages , nor did his army , from Tyre , for the service that he had served against it .

¹⁹Therefore the Lord GOD says : ‘Behold , I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. He will carry off her multitude , take her plunder , and take her prey . That will be the wages for his army .

²⁰I have given him the land of Egypt as his payment for which he served , because they worked for me ,’ says the Lord GOD .

²¹“In that day I will cause a horn to sprout for the house of Israel , and I will open your mouth amongst them . Then they will know that I am the LORD .”