1 Dirge for Egypt The word of the Lcame again to me, saying,
2 “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord G,“Wail, ‘Alas for the day!’
3 For the day is near,Even the day of the Lis near,It will be a cloudy day;A timeof doomfor the nations.
4 A sword will come upon Egypt,And anguishandtrembling will be in Ethiopia (Cush),When the slain fall in EgyptAnd they [of Babylon] carry away her great mass of peopleandher richesAnd her foundations are torn down.
5 Ethiopia (Cush), Put, Lud, allOr the mixed people.Arabia, Libya (Cub) and the people of the land of the covenant [the Jews who had taken refuge in Egypt] will fall with the Egyptians by the sword.”
6 ‘Thus says the L,“Those who upholdandsupport Egypt will fallAnd the pride of her power will come down;From Migdol [in the north] to Syene [in the south]They will fall within her by the sword,”Says the Lord G.
7 “And they will be desolateIn the midst of countries that are desolated;And her cities will beAmong cities that are devastated [by plunder and slavery].
8 And they will know [without any doubt] that I am the L,When I have set a fire in EgyptAnd all her helpers are shatteredanddestroyed.
9 On that day [swift] messengers will go from Me in ships to frighten the carelessandunsuspecting Ethiopians, and there will be anguishandtrembling in them as in the day of [judgment for] Egypt; for behold, it is coming!”
10 ‘Thus says the Lord G,“I will also make the great people of Egypt ceaseBy the hand ofSee note Jer 21:2.Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
11 He and his people with him,The most violentandruthless of the nations,Will be brought in to destroy the land,And they will draw their swords against EgyptAnd fill the land with the slain.
12 And I will make the rivers [of the Nile delta] dryAnd sell the land into the hands of evil men;I will make the land desolateAnd all that is in it,By the hand of strangers. I the Lhave spoken.”
13 ‘Thus says the Lord G,“I will also destroy the idolsAnd I will put an end to the images in Memphis;There will no longer be a prince of the land of Egypt.And I will put fear in the land of Egypt.
14 I will make Pathros desolate,Set fire to ZoanAnd execute judgmentsandpunishments on Thebes.
15 I will pour out My wrath on Pelusium,The stronghold of Egypt,And I will cut off (destroy) the population of Thebes.
16 I will set fire to Egypt;Pelusium will writhe in [great] anguish,Thebes shall be torn openAnd Memphis shall be in daily distress.
17 The young men of On (Aven) and of Pi-besethWill fall by the sword,And the women [and children] will go into captivity.
18 In Tehaphnehes the day will be darkWhen I break the yoke barsanddominion of Egypt there.Then the pride of her power will come to an end;A cloud [of disasters] will cover her,And her daughters will go into captivity.
19 In this way I will bring judgmentandpunishment on Egypt.Then they shall know [without any doubt] that I am the L.” ’ ”
20 Victory for Babylon In the eleventh year [after King Jehoiachin was taken to Babylon], in the firstmonth,on the seventh of the month, the word of the Lcame 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 to heal or wrapped with a bandage, so that it may be strong to holdandwield the sword.
22 Therefore thus says the Lord G, ‘Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt and will break his arms, both the strong one and the broken, and I will make the sword fall from his hand.
23 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and will disperse them throughout the lands.
24 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put My sword in his hand; but I will break Pharaoh’s arms and he will groan before him (Nebuchadnezzar) with the groanings of a [mortally] wounded man.
25 But I will strengthenandhold up the arms of the king of Babylon and the arms of Pharaoh will fall down. Then the people [of Egypt] will know that I am the L, when I put My sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt.
26 When I scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them through the lands, then they will know [without any doubt] that I am the L.’ ”