1 T he word of the Lord came again to me saying,

2 “ Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “ Wail, ‘Alas for the day!’

3 “ For the day is near, Even the day of the Lord is near; It will be a day of clouds, A time of doom for the nations.

4 “ A sword will come upon Egypt, And anguish will be in Ethiopia; When the slain fall in Egypt, They take away her wealth, And her foundations are torn down.

5 E thiopia, Put, Lud, all Arabia, Libya and the people of the land that is in league will fall with them by the sword.”

6 ‘ Thus says the Lord, “Indeed, those who support 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.

7 “ They will be desolate In the midst of the desolated lands; And her cities will be In the midst of the devastated cities.

8 “ And they will know that I am the Lord, When I set a fire in Egypt And all her helpers are broken.

9 O n that day messengers will go forth from Me in ships to frighten secure Ethiopia; and anguish will be on them as on the day of Egypt; for behold, it comes!”

10 ‘ Thus says the Lord God, “ I will also make the hordes of Egypt cease By the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.

11 “ He and his people with him, 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.

12 “ Moreover, I will make the Nile canals dry And sell the land into the hands of evil men. And I will make the land desolate And all that is in it, By the hand of strangers; I the Lord have spoken.”

13 ‘ Thus says the Lord God, “I will also destroy the idols And make the images cease from Memphis. And there will no longer be a prince in the land of Egypt; And I will put fear in the land of Egypt.

14 “ I will make Pathros desolate, Set a fire in Zoan And execute judgments on Thebes.

15 “ I will pour out My wrath on Sin, The stronghold of Egypt; I will also cut off the hordes of Thebes.

16 “ I will set a fire in Egypt; Sin will writhe in anguish, Thebes will be breached And Memphis will have distresses daily.

17 “ The young men of On and of Pi-beseth Will fall by the sword, And the women will go into captivity.

18 “ In Tehaphnehes the day will be dark When I 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.

19 “ Thus I will execute judgments on Egypt, And they will know that I am the Lord.”’” Victory for Babylon

20 I n the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh of the month, the word of the Lord came to me saying,

21 “ Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, behold, it has not been bound up for healing or wrapped with a bandage, that it may be strong to hold the sword.

22 T herefore thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt and will break his arms, both the strong and the broken; and I will make the sword fall from his hand.

23 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands.

24 F or I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put 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.

25 T hus 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 stretches it out against the land of Egypt.

26 W hen I scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands, then they will know that I am the Lord.’”