Judgment against Pharaoh
1 On the twelfth day of the tenth month, during the tenth year of the captivity of king Jehoiachin, the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, set 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:
I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt,
the great monster that lies in the midst of his Nile,
who has said, “My river is my own,
and I have made it for myself.”
4 I 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 from the midst of your rivers,
along with all the fish of your rivers which stick to your scales.
5 I will cast you out into the wilderness,
you and all the fish of your rivers.
You will fall on the open field
and will not be gathered or picked up to bury.
I have given you as 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,
for they have been a mere staff of reed
to the Israelites.
7 When they took hold of you by your hand,
you broke and tore their shoulders.
When they leaned on you, you broke
and weakened their backs.’ “
The Desolation of Egypt
8 “Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I will bring a sword on you and will cut off from you, man and beast. 9 The land of Egypt will be a desolate waste. Then they will know that I am the LORD.
Because he has said: The river is mine, and I have made it, 10 therefore, I am against you and against your rivers. I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from Migdol to Syene, as far as the border with Ethiopia. 11 No foot of man or beast will pass through it. It will be uninhabited for 40 years.
12 I will make the land of Egypt a desolation among desolate countries. Her cities among the cities that are laid waste will be a desolation for 40 years. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and will disperse them throughout the countries.
13 For the Lord GOD says: At the end of 40 years I will gather the Egyptians from the nations where they were scattered. 14 I will reverse the captivity of Egypt and will cause them to return to the land of Pathros, into the land of their birth. They will be a lowly kingdom there.
15 It will be the lowest of the kingdoms. They will no longer exalt themselves over other nations. I will reduce them, so they will never again rule over other nations. 16 They will no longer be the confidence of the Israelites, but a reminder of their iniquity, when Israel turned to Egypt. Then they will know that I am the Lord GOD.’ ”
Egypt the Reward of Nebuchadnezzar
17 It came to pass on the first day of the first month, in the 27th year that king Jehoiachin was taken into captivity, the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 18 “Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon made his army serve so arduously against Tyre that every head was made bald and every shoulder was worn, yet he received no wages from Tyre, nor did his army, for the service that he had expended against it.
19 Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. He will carry off her wealth and take her plunder and her prey. That will be the wages for his army. 20 I have given him the land of Egypt as his payment for which he served, because they worked for me,’ declares the Lord GOD.
21 On that day I will cause a horn to sprout for the Israelites, and I will open your mouth among them. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”