God's New Revelations

The Prophet Ezekiel

Unlocked Dynamic Bible :: World English Bible Catholic

- Chapter 29 -

1
Almost ten years after the Babylonians had taken us Israelites to their land, on the twelfth day of the tenth month of that year, Yahweh gave me another message. He said to me,
2
“Son of man, turn toward Egypt and proclaim the terrible things that will happen to the king of Egypt and all his people.
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Give the king this message from me, for I am Yahweh the Lord: ’Know this, Pharaoh, king of Egypt that I, Yahweh, am your enemy. You are like a great monster that lies in the streams of the Nile River. You are so bold to say that the Nile River is yours, and that you made it for yourself.
4
But it will be as though I will put hooks in your jaws and drag you out onto the land, with fish sticking to your scales.
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I will leave you and all those fish to die in the desert; you will fall to the ground, and no one will pick up your corpse to bury you, because I declare that your body will be food for the wild animals and birds.
6
When that happens, all the people of Egypt will know that it is I, Yahweh, who have the power to do what I say that I will do. The Israelite people have trusted that you would help them. But you have been like a reed pole in their hands.
7
And when they leaned on that pole, it broke and tore open their shoulders. When they leaned on you, you were like a pole that broke in their hand, and as a result you caused their legs to be wrenched and that made it impossible for them to stand.’

The Desolation of Egypt

8
Therefore Yahweh the Lord says, ’I will bring Egypt’s enemies to attack them with their swords; they will kill Egypt’s people and animals.
9
Egypt will become an empty desert. Then the people of Egypt will know that it is I, Yahweh, who has the power to do what he says he will do, and that he will punish the people of Egypt for saying that the Nile River is theirs because they made it.
10
I am against you and your streams, and I will ruin Egypt and make it into an empty desert, from the city of Migdol in the north to Syene in the south, as far south as the border of Cush.
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For forty years no one will walk through that area, and no one will live there.
12
Egypt will be barren, and it will be surrounded by other abandoned nations. The cities of Egypt will be empty and without people for forty years, and the surrounding lands will be the same. I will scatter the people of Egypt to countries far away.’
13
But Yahweh the Lord also says this: ’At the end of forty years, I will enable the people of Egypt to return home again.
14
I will bring back the people of Egypt whom their enemies had captured, and I will allow them to live again in the region of Pathros in the south, where they lived previously. But Egypt will continue to be a very unimportant kingdom.
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It will be the least important of all the nations; it will never again be greater than the nearby countries. I will cause Egypt to be very weak, and they will never again rule over other nations.
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When that happens, the leaders of Israel will no longer think of asking Egypt to help them. When I punish Egypt, the Israelites will be reminded that they previously sinned by trusting that Egypt could help them. And the people of Israel will know that Yahweh the Lord has the power to do what he says he will do.’”

Egypt the Reward of Nebuchadnezzar

17
Almost twenty-seven years after we Israelites prisoners had been taken to Babylonia, on the first day of the new year, Yahweh gave me this message:
18
“Son of man, the army of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon fought very hard against Tyre, with the result that their heads were rubbed bare under their helmets, and their shoulders became raw. But Nebuchadnezzar and his army did not get any valuable things from Tyre to reward them for their hard work in that campaign.
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Therefore, Yahweh the Lord says that he will enable King Nebuchadnezzar’s army to conquer Egypt. They will carry away from there all the valuable things, in order that the king can give them to his soldiers.
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Yahweh says that he will enable them to conquer Egypt as payment for what they did to Tyre, because Nebuchadnezzar and his army were working for him, doing what he wanted them to do, which was to destroy Tyre.”
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Yahweh said to me, “Some day I will make Israel become a mighty nation. When that happens, I will make them listen to what you tell them. Then they will know that all this has happened because I, Yahweh, will have done this.”
1
In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the LORD’s word 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, ‘The Lord GOD says:Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great monster that lies in the middle of his rivers, that 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 of the middle of your rivers, with all the fish of your rivers which stick to your scales.
5
I’ll cast you out into the wilderness, you and all the fish of your rivers. You’ll fall on the open field. You won’t be brought together or gathered. I have given you for 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, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel.
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When they took hold of you by your hand, you broke and tore all their shoulders. When they leaned on you, you broke and paralyzed all of their thighs.”

The Desolation of Egypt

8
“‘Therefore the Lord GOD says: “Behold, I will bring a sword on you, and will cut off man and animal from you.
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The land of Egypt will be a desolation and a waste. Then they will know that I am the LORD. “‘“Because he has said, ‘The river is mine, and I have made it,’
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therefore, behold, I am against you and against your rivers. I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from the tower of Seveneh even to the border of Ethiopia.
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No foot of man will pass through it, nor will any animal foot pass through it. It won’t be inhabited for forty years.
12
I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the middle of the countries that are desolate. Her cities among the cities that are laid waste will be a desolation forty years. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries.”
13
“‘For the Lord GOD says: “At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples where they were scattered.
14
I will reverse the captivity of Egypt, and will cause them to return into the land of Pathros, into the land of their birth. There they will be a lowly kingdom.
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It will be the lowest of the kingdoms. It won’t lift itself up above the nations any more. I will diminish them so that they will no longer rule over the nations.
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It will no longer be the confidence of the house of Israel, bringing iniquity to memory, when they turn to look after them. Then they will know that I am the Lord GOD.”’”

Egypt the Reward of Nebuchadnezzar

17
It came to pass in the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, in the first day of the month, the LORD’s word came to me, saying,
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Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyre. Every head was made bald, and every shoulder was worn; yet he had no wages, nor did his army, from Tyre, for the service that he had served against it.
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Therefore the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. He will carry off her multitude, take her plunder, and take her prey. That will be the wages for his army.
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I have given him the land of Egypt as his payment for which he served, because they worked for me,’ says the Lord GOD.
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In that day I will cause a horn to sprout for the house of Israel, and I will open your mouth among them. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”