Study Desk

In the ^(a)tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth of the month, the word of the Lord came to me saying,

"Son of man, set your face against ^(b)Pharaoh king of Egypt and prophesy against him and against all ^(c)Egypt.

Speak and say, ‘Thus says the Lord ^[a] God , "Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, The great ^[b](d)monster that lies in the midst of his ^[c]rivers, That ^(e)has said, ‘My Nile is mine, and I myself have made it.'

"I will put ^(f)hooks in your jaws And make the fish of your ^[d]rivers cling to your scales. And I will bring you up out of the midst of your ^[e]rivers, And all the fish of your ^[f]rivers will cling to your scales.

"I will ^(g)abandon you to the wilderness, you and all the fish of your ^[g]rivers; You will fall on the ^[h]open field; you will not be brought together or ^[i](h)gathered. I have given you for ⁽ⁱ⁾food to the beasts of the earth and to the birds of the sky.

"Then all the inhabitants of Egypt will know that I am the Lord , Because they have been only a ^(j)staff made of reed to the house of Israel.

"When they took hold of you with the hand, You ^(k)broke and tore all their ^[j]hands; And when they leaned on you, You broke and made all their loins ^[k]quake."

‘Therefore thus says the Lord God , "Behold, I will ^(l)bring upon you a sword and I will cut off from you man and beast.

The ^(m)land of Egypt will become a desolation and waste. Then they will know that I am the Lord . Because ^[l]you ⁽ⁿ⁾said, ‘The Nile is mine, and I have made it,'

therefore, behold, I am ^(o)against you and against your ^[m]rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from Migdol to Syene and even to the border of ^[n]Ethiopia.

A man's foot will ^(p)not pass through it, and the foot of a beast will not pass through it, and it will not be inhabited for forty years.

So I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the ^(q)midst of desolated lands. And her cities, in the midst of cities that are laid waste, will be desolate forty years; and I will ^(r)scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands."

‘For thus says the Lord God , "At the end of forty years I will ^(s)gather the Egyptians from the peoples ^[o]among whom they were scattered.

I will turn the fortunes of Egypt and make them return to the land of ^(t)Pathros, to the land of their origin, and there they will be a lowly kingdom.

It will be the ^(u)lowest of the kingdoms, and it will never again lift itself up above the nations. And I will make them so small that they will not ^(v)rule over the nations.

And it will never again be the ^(w)confidence of the house of Israel, ^[p](x)bringing to mind the iniquity of their having turned ^[q]to Egypt. Then they will know that I am the Lord God ."'"

Now in the ^(y)twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first of the month, the word of the Lord came to me saying,

"Son of man, ^(z)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army labor ^[r]hard against Tyre; every head was made ^(aa)bald and every shoulder was rubbed bare. But he and his army had no wages from Tyre for the labor that he had ^[s]performed against it."

Therefore thus says the Lord God , "Behold, I ^(ab)will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. And he will carry off her ^[t](ac)wealth and capture her spoil and seize her plunder; and it will be wages for his army.

I have given him the land of Egypt for his labor which he ^[u](ad)performed, because they acted for Me," declares the Lord God .

"On that day I will make a ^(ae)horn sprout for the house of Israel, and I will ^[v](af)open your mouth in their midst. Then they will know that I am the Lord ."

The word of the Lord came again to me saying,

"Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord ^[a] God , "^(a)Wail, ‘Alas for the day!'

"For the day is near, Even ^(b)the day of the Lord is near; It will be a day of ^(c)clouds, A time of doom for the nations.

"A sword will come upon Egypt, And anguish will be in ^[b]Ethiopia; When the slain fall in Egypt, They ^(d)take away her ^[c]wealth, And her foundations are torn down.

^[d]Ethiopia, Put, Lud, all ^[e](e)Arabia, ^[f]Libya and the ^[g]people of the land ^[h]that is in league will fall with them by the sword."

‘Thus says the Lord , "Indeed, those who support ^(f)Egypt will fall And the pride of her power will come down; From Migdol to Syene They will fall within her by the sword," Declares the Lord God .

"They will be desolate In the ^(g)midst of the desolated lands; And her cities will be In the midst of the devastated cities.

"And they will ^(h)know that I am the Lord , When I set a ⁽ⁱ⁾fire in Egypt And all her helpers are broken.

On that day ^(j)messengers will go forth from Me in ships to frighten ^(k)secure ^[i]Ethiopia; and ^(l)anguish will be on them as on the day of Egypt; for behold, it comes!"

‘Thus says the Lord God , "^(m)I will also make the ^[j]hordes of Egypt cease By the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.

"He and his people with him, ⁽ⁿ⁾The most ruthless of the nations, Will be brought in to destroy the land; And they will draw their swords against Egypt And fill the land with the slain.

"Moreover, I will make the ^(o)Nile canals dry And ^(p)sell the land into the hands of evil men. And I will make the land desolate And ^[k]all that is in it, By the hand of strangers; I the Lord have spoken."

‘Thus says the Lord God , "I will also ^(q)destroy the idols And make the ^[l]images cease from ^[m](r)Memphis. And there will no longer be a prince in the land of Egypt; And I will put fear in the land of Egypt.

"I will make ^(s)Pathros desolate, Set a fire in ^(t)Zoan And execute judgments on ^[n](u)Thebes.

"I will pour out My wrath on ^[o]Sin, The stronghold of Egypt; I will also cut off the hordes of ^[p]Thebes.

"I will set a fire in Egypt; ^[q]Sin will writhe in anguish, ^[r]Thebes will be breached And ^[s]Memphis will have ^[t]distresses daily.

"The young men of ^[u](v)On and of Pi-beseth Will fall by the sword, And ^[v]the women will go into captivity.

"In ^(w)Tehaphnehes the day will ^[w]be ^(x)dark When I ^(y)break there the yoke bars of Egypt. Then the pride of her power will cease in her; A cloud will cover her, And her daughters will go into captivity.

"Thus I will ^(z)execute judgments on Egypt, And they will know that I am the Lord ."'"

In the ^(aa)eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh of the month, the word of the Lord came to me saying,

"Son of man, I have ^(ab)broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, behold, it has not been ^(ac)bound up ^[x]for healing ^[y]or wrapped with a bandage, that it may be strong to hold the sword.

Therefore thus says the Lord God , ‘Behold, I am ^(ad)against Pharaoh king of Egypt and will break his arms, both the strong and the ^(ae)broken; and I will make the sword ^(af)fall from his hand.

I will ^(ag)scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands.

For I will ^(ah)strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put ^(ai)My sword in his hand; and I will break the arms of Pharaoh, so that he will groan before him with the groanings of a wounded man.

Thus I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fall. Then they will know that I am the Lord , when I put My sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he ^(aj)stretches it out against the land of Egypt.

When I scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands, then they will know that I am the Lord .'"