1 I n the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, 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 S peak, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against you, O Pharaoh king of Egypt, O great monster who lies in the midst of his rivers, Who has said, ‘My River is my own; I have made it for myself.’

4 B ut I will put hooks in your jaws, And cause the fish of your rivers to stick to your scales; I will bring you up out of the midst of your rivers, And all the fish in your rivers will stick to your scales.

5 I will leave you in the wilderness, You and all the fish of your rivers; You shall fall on the open field; You shall not be picked up or gathered. I have given you as food To the beasts of the field And to the birds of the heavens.

6 “ Then all the inhabitants of Egypt Shall know that I am the Lord, Because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel.

7 W hen they took hold of you with the hand, You broke and tore all their shoulders; When they leaned on you, You broke and made all their backs quiver.”

8 ‘ Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Surely I will bring a sword upon you and cut off from you man and beast.

9 A nd the land of Egypt shall become desolate and waste; then they will know that I am the Lord, because he said, ‘The River is mine, and I have made it. ’

10 I ndeed, therefore, I am against you and against your rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, from Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of Ethiopia.

11 N either foot of man shall pass through it nor foot of beast pass through it, and it shall be uninhabited forty years.

12 I will make the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate; and among the cities that are laid waste, her cities shall be desolate forty years; and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries.”

13 ‘ Yet, thus says the Lord God: “At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered.

14 I will bring back the captives of Egypt and cause them to return to the land of Pathros, to the land of their origin, and there they shall be a lowly kingdom.

15 I t shall be the lowliest of kingdoms; it shall never again exalt itself above the nations, for I will diminish them so that they will not rule over the nations anymore.

16 N o longer shall it be the confidence of the house of Israel, but will remind them of their iniquity when they turned to follow them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord God.”’” Babylonia Will Plunder Egypt

17 A nd it came to pass in the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

18 “ Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre; every head was made bald, and every shoulder rubbed raw; yet neither he nor his army received wages from Tyre, for the labor which they expended on it.

19 T herefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Surely I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; he shall take away her wealth, carry off her spoil, and remove her pillage; and that will be the wages for his army.

20 I have given him the land of Egypt for his labor, because they worked for Me,’ says the Lord God.

21 ‘ In that day I will cause the horn of the house of Israel to spring forth, and I will open your mouth to speak in their midst. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.’”