Neither man nor beast will walk through that area. It won't even be inhabited for 40 years.

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

Again, thus sayeth the LORD God: When the forty years are expired I will gather the Egyptians together again, out of the nations, among whom they were scattered,

And Egypt will no longer be the hope of the children of Israel, causing sin to come to mind when their eyes are turned to them: and they will be certain that I am the Lord.

Son of man, be a prophet, and say, These are the words of the Lord: Give a cry, Aha, for the day!

“A sword will come upon Egypt,
And anguish and trembling will be in Ethiopia (Cush),
When the slain fall in Egypt
And they [of Babylon] carry away her great mass of people and her riches
And her foundations are torn down.

Ethiopia, and Put, and Lud, and all the mixed people, and Cub, and the men of the land that are in league, shall fall with them by the sword.

‘Thus says the Lord,
“Those who uphold and support Egypt will fall
And 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 God.

“And they will be desolate
In the midst of countries that are desolated;
And her cities will be
Among cities that are devastated [by plunder and slavery].

They will know that I am the Lord when I ignite a fire in Egypt and all her allies are defeated.

He, and his people with him the terrible ones of the nations are about to be brought in to destroy the land,- Therefore shall they unsheathe their swords against Egypt, and fill the land with the slain;

"Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and his hordes: "'Who are you like in your greatness?

Abundant water made it great, Subterranean rivers made it grow. Rivers surrounded the area where it had been planted, and water channels nourished all the trees in the fields.

Therefore higher hath been his stature than all trees of the field, And multiplied are his boughs, and long are his branches, Because of many waters in his shooting forth,

Fair I have made him in the multitude of his thin shoots, And envy him do all trees of Eden that are in the garden of God.

Therefore thus said the Lord Yahweh: Because you are exalted in stature, and he has set his top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height;

And men from strange lands, who are to be feared among the nations, after cutting him off, have let him be: on the mountains and in all the valleys his branches have come down; his arms are broken by all the waterways of the land; all the peoples of the earth have gone from his shade, and have let him be.

Upon his trunk, shall settle down all the birds of the heavens,- And among his boughs, are to be found all the wild beasts of the field: -

so that none of the trees by the waters may exalt themselves because of their height, nor set their top among the clouds, nor their well-watered mighty ones stand [arrogantly] in their height. For they have all been handed over to death, to the earth beneath, among the sons of men, with those who go down to the pit (the grave).”

Thus said the Lord Jehovah: In the day of his going down to sheol I have caused mourning, I have covered for him the deep, and diminish its flowings, And restrained are many waters, And I make Lebanon black for him, And all trees of the field have been covered for him.

I will make the Heathen shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell, with them that descend into the pit. All the trees of Eden, with all the chosen and best trees of Lebanon, yea, and all they that are planted upon the waters, shall mourn with him also in the lower habitations:

They also went down into Sheol with him unto them that are slain by the sword; yea, they that were his arm, that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the nations.

“Which among the trees of Eden do you equal in glory and in greatness [O Egypt]? Yet you [also] will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the earth beneath (nether world). You will lie among the uncircumcised (the barbaric, the boorish, the crude) with those who were slain by the sword. This is how it shall be with Pharaoh and all his hordes!”’ says the Lord God.”

"Son of man, sing a lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him: "'You were like a lion among the nations, but you are a monster in the seas; you thrash about in your streams, stir up the water with your feet, and muddy your streams.

And watered the land with thy flowing, From thy blood -- unto the mountains, And streams are filled from thee.

And I will aggrieve the heart of many peoples,- when I bring them who are broken off from thee among the nations, unto lands which thou hast not known.

And I have made many peoples astonished at thee, And their kings are afraid at thee with trembling, In My brandishing My sword before their faces, And they have trembled every moment, Each for his life -- in the day of thy fall.

By the swords of the mighty warriors I will cause your hordes to fall -- all of them are the most terrifying among the nations. They will devastate the pride of Egypt, and all its hordes will be destroyed.

And I will put an end to all her beasts which are by the great waters, and they will never again be troubled by the foot of man or by the feet of beasts.

Are you more beautiful than any? go down, and take your rest among those without circumcision,

They will fall among those who are slain by the sword. She (Egypt) is handed over to the sword; they have drawn her and all her hordes away [to judgment].

The strong among the mighty rulers will say of him (Pharaoh) and his allies from the midst of Sheol, ‘They have gone down [defeated]; they lie still, the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.’

“Assyria is there with all her warriors; their graves are all around her. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword,

Their graves are located in the remote slopes of the pit. Her assembly is around her grave, all of them struck down by the sword, those who spread terror in the land of the living.

There is Elam and all her multitude round about her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who are gone down uncircumcised into the nether parts of the earth, who caused their terror in the land of the living, and have borne their shame with them that go down to the pit.

Among the dead they have made a bed for her, along with all her hordes around her grave. All of them are uncircumcised, killed by the sword, for their terror had spread in the land of the living. They bear their shame along with those who descend to the pit; they are placed among the dead.

"Meshech-Tubal is there, along with all her hordes around her grave. All of them are uncircumcised, killed by the sword, for they spread their terror in the land of the living.

Nor do they lie beside the fallen heroes of the uncircumcised, who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war, whose swords were laid [with honors] under their heads. The punishment for their sins rested on their bones, for the terror of these heroes was once in the land of the living.

But you will be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised and you will lie [without honors] with those who are slain by the sword.

"Edom is there with her kings and all her princes. Despite their might they are laid with those killed by the sword; they lie with the uncircumcised and those who descend to the pit.

"All the leaders of the north are there, along with all the Sidonians; despite their might they have gone down in shameful terror with the dead. They lie uncircumcised with those killed by the sword, and bear their shame with those who descend to the pit.

For I have put his terror in the land of the living; and he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised, with them that are slain by the sword, even Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord Jehovah.

But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, he is taken away because of his corruption and sin; but I will require his blood from the watchman’s hand.’

So you, son of man, I have made you a watchman for the children of Israel; and you are to give ear to the word of my mouth and give them news from me of their danger.

"And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, 'This is what you have said: "Our rebellious acts and our sins have caught up with us, and we are wasting away because of them. How then can we live?"'

Say to them, By my life, says the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of the evil-doer; it is more pleasing to me if he is turned from his way and has life: be turned, be turned from your evil ways; why are you looking for death, O children of Israel?

In My saying of the righteous: He surely liveth, And -- he hath trusted on his righteousness, And he hath done perversity, All his righteous acts are not remembered, And for his perversity that he hath done, For it he doth die.

"Son of man, the ones living in these ruins in the land of Israel are saying, 'Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land, but we are many; surely the land has been given to us for a possession.'

For this cause say to them, This is what the Lord has said: You take your meat with the blood, your eyes are lifted up to your images, and you are takers of life: are you to have the land for your heritage?

You put your faith in your swords, you do disgusting things, everyone takes his neighbour's wife: are you to have the land for your heritage?

"This is what you must say to them, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: As surely as I live, those living in the ruins will die by the sword, those in the open field I will give to the wild beasts for food, and those who are in the strongholds and caves will die of disease.

"But as for you, son of man, your people (who are talking about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses) say to one another, 'Come hear the word that comes from the Lord.'

They come to you as people come, and they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not practice them; for with their mouth they express loving devotion, but their heart goes after their (unlawful) gain.

Realize that to them you are like a sensual song, a beautiful voice and skilled musician. They hear your words, but they do not obey them.

You take the milk and are clothed with the wool, you put the fat beasts to death, but you give the sheep no food.

Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost; but with force and with severity you have dominated them.

Thus are they scattered here and there without a shepherd: yea, all the beasts of the field devour them, and they go astray.

Thus sayeth the LORD God: As truly as I live, forsomuch as my sheep are robbed, and devoured of all the wild beasts of the field, having no shepherd: and seeing that my shepherds take no regard of my sheep, but feed themselves only, and not my sheep:

Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Lo, I am against the shepherds, And have required My flock from their hand, And caused them to cease from feeding the flock, And no more do the shepherds feed themselves, And I have delivered My flock from their mouth, And they are not to them for food.

As a shepherd cares for his sheep on the day that he is among his scattered flock, so I will care for My sheep; and I will rescue them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day.

And I will take them out from among the peoples, and get them together from the countries, and will take them into their land; and I will give them food on the mountains of Israel by the water-streams and wherever men are living in the country.

And I have given safety to My flock, And they are not any more for prey, And I have judged between sheep and sheep.

And I have given them, and the suburbs of my hill, a blessing, And caused the shower to come down in its season, Showers of blessing they are.

And they are no more a prey to nations, And the beast of the earth devoureth them not, And they have dwelt confidently, And there is none troubling.

And I have raised for them a plant for renown, And they are no more consumed by hunger in the land, And they bear no more the shame of the nations.

Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they are my people, the house of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord.

And you, my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are my people, and I am your God, declares the sovereign Lord.'"

I will fill its mountains with its slain; those killed by the sword will fall on your hills, and in your valleys, and in all your ravines.

Because you have said, The two nations and the two countries are to be mine, and we will take them for our heritage; though the Lord was there:

For this cause, by my life, says the Lord, I will do to you as you have done in your wrath and in your envy, which you have made clear in your hate for them; and I will make clear to you who I am when you are judged by me.

Then you will know that I, the Lord, have heard all the insults you spoke against the mountains of Israel, saying, "They are desolate, they have been given to us for food."

Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because the enemy hath said against you, Aha! and, The ancient high places are ours in possession;

therefore prophesy, and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because, even because they have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on every side, that ye might be a possession unto the residue of the nations, and ye are taken up in the lips of talkers, and the evil report of the people;

Therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God. Thus says the Lord God to the mountains and to the hills, to the ravines and to the valleys, to the desolate ruins and to the deserted cities which have become prey and a mockery to the rest of the nations which surround you,

Therefore thus says the Lord God, ‘I have lifted up My hand and sworn [an oath] that the nations that are around you will themselves endure their [shameful] insults.

But you, O mountains of Israel, will put out your branches and bear your fruit to My people Israel; for they will soon come [home].

And I have multiplied on you men, All the house of Israel -- all of it, And the cities have been inhabited, And the wastes are built.

"'This is what the sovereign Lord says: Because they are saying to you, "You are a devourer of men, and bereave your nation of children,"

'Son of man, The house of Israel are dwelling on their land, And they defile it by their way and by their doings, As the uncleanness of a separated one hath their way been before Me.

And I scatter them among nations, And they are spread through lands, According to their way, and according to their doings, I have judged them.

But when they arrived in the nations where they went, they profaned my holy name. It was said of them, 'These are the people of the Lord, yet they have departed from his land.'

And ye have remembered your ways that are evil, And your doings that are not good, And have been loathsome in your own faces, For your iniquities, and for your abominations.

They will say, "This desolate land has become like the garden of Eden; the ruined, desolate, and destroyed cities are now fortified and inhabited."

Then the nations that are left around you will know that I the Lord have rebuilt the ruined places and planted that which was desolate. I the Lord have spoken, and will do it.”

Like as the holy flock and the flock of Jerusalem are in the high solemn feasts: so shall also the wild wasted cities be filled with flocks of men. And they shall know, that I am the LORD."

and He causeth me to pass over by them, all round about, and lo, very many are on the face of the valley, and lo, very dry.

And I beheld, and lo, on them are sinews, and flesh hath come up, and cover them doth skin over above -- and spirit there is none in them.

Then he said to me, "Son of man, these bones are all the house of Israel. Look, they are saying, 'Our bones are dry, our hope has perished; we are cut off.'

And you, son of man, take one stick, writing on it, For Judah and for the children of Israel who are in his company: then take another stick, writing on it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and all the children of Israel who are in his company:

And when the sons of thy people speak unto thee I. saying,- Wt thou not tell us what these things are to thee?

Then say to them, This is what the Lord has said: See, I am taking the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel who are in his company; and I will put it on the stick of Judah and make them one stick, and they will be one in my hand.

"The batons on which you engrave your writing are to remain right in front of them in your hand.

And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, whither they are gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:

And I have made them become one nation in the land, on mountains of Israel, And one king is to them all for king, And they are no more as two nations, Nor are they divided any more into two kingdoms again.

Nor are they defiled any more with their idols, And with their abominations, And with any of their transgressions, And I have saved them out of all their dwellings, In which they have sinned, And I have cleansed them, And they have been to Me for a people, And I -- I am to them for God.

I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws, and bring you out with all your army, including horses and riders, who are all splendidly dressed, a huge company armed with shields and bucklers, all of them brandishing swords.

Persia, Ethiopia, and Put are with them, all of them with shields and helmets.

They are joined by Gomer with all its troops, and by Beth Togarmah from the remote parts of the north with all its troops -- many peoples are with you.

You [Gog] be prepared; prepare yourself, you and all your hordes that are assembled around you, and be a guard and a lookout for them.

After many days you will be summoned [for service]; in the latter years you shall come into the land that is restored from [the ravages of] the sword, where people have been gathered out of many nations to the mountains of Israel, which had been a continual wasteland; but its people were brought out of the nations, and they are living securely, all of them.