Ezekiel 29
Open in the reader1In the tenth year, on the twelfth day of the tenth month, the word of He-Who-Is came to me, saying,
2“Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Two-Straits and prophesy against him and against all Two-Straits.
3Speak to him and tell him that this is what the Lord He-Who-Is says: Behold, I am against you, O Pharaoh king of Two-Straits, O great monster who lies among his rivers, who says, ‘The Nile is mine; I made it myself.’
4But I will put hooks in your jaws and cause the fish of your streams to cling to your scales. I will haul you up out of your rivers, and all the fish of your streams will cling to your scales.
5I will leave you in the desert, you and all the fish of your streams. You will fall on the open field and will not be taken away or gathered for burial. I have given you as food to the beasts of the earth and the birds of the air.
6Then all the people of Two-Straits will know that I am He-Who-Is. For you were only a staff of reeds to the house of Strives-with-God.
7When Strives-with-God took hold of you with their hands, you splintered, tearing all their shoulders; when they leaned on you, you broke, and their backs were wrenched.
8Therefore this is what the Lord He-Who-Is says: I will bring a sword against you and cut off from you man and beast.
9The land of Two-Straits will become a desolate wasteland. Then they will know that I am He-Who-Is. Because you said, ‘The Nile is mine; I made it,’
10therefore I am against you and against your rivers. I will turn the land of Two-Straits into a ruin, a desolate wasteland from Tower to Syene, and as far as the border of Cush.
11No foot of man or beast will pass through, and it will be uninhabited for forty years.
12I will make the land of Two-Straits a desolation among desolate lands, and her cities will lie desolate for forty years among the ruined cities. And I will disperse the Two-Straitsians among the nations and scatter them throughout the countries.
13For this is what the Lord He-Who-Is says: At the end of forty years I will gather the Two-Straitsians from the nations to which they were scattered.
14I will restore Two-Straits from captivity and bring them back to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin. There they will be a lowly kingdom.
15Two-Straits will be the lowliest of kingdoms and will never again exalt itself above the nations. For I will diminish Two-Straits so that it will never again rule over the nations.
16Two-Straits will never again be an object of trust for the house of Strives-with-God, but will remind them of their iniquity in turning to the Egyptians. Then they will know that I am the Lord He-Who-Is.”
17In the twenty-seventh year, on the first day of the first month, the word of He-Who-Is came to me, saying,
18“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Confusion caused his army to labor strenuously against The-Rock. Every head was made bald and every shoulder made raw. But he and his army received no wages from The-Rock for the labor they expended on it.
19Therefore this is what the Lord He-Who-Is says: I will give the land of Two-Straits to Nebuchadnezzar king of Confusion, who will carry off its wealth, seize its spoil, and remove its plunder. This will be the wages for his army.
20I have given him the land of Two-Straits as the reward for his labor, because it was done for Me, declares the Lord He-Who-Is.
21In that day I will cause a horn to sprout for the house of Strives-with-God, and I will open your mouth to speak among them. Then they will know that I am He-Who-Is.”