I will put hooks in your jaws
and make the fish of your streams
cling to your scales.
I will haul you up
from the middle of your Nile,
and all the fish of your streams
will cling to your scales.

I will leave you in the desert,
you and all the fish of your streams.
You will fall on the open ground
and will not be taken away
or gathered for burial.
I have given you
to the beasts of the earth
and the birds of the sky as food.

Then all the inhabitants of Egypt
will know that I am Yahweh,
for they have been a staff made of reed
to the house of Israel.

The land of Egypt will be a desolate ruin. Then they will know that I am Yahweh. Because you said, ‘The Nile is my own; I made it,’

therefore, I am against you and your Nile. I will turn the land of Egypt into ruins, a desolate waste from Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of Cush.

No human foot will pass through it, and no animal foot will pass through it. It will be uninhabited for 40 years.

I will make the land of Egypt a desolation among desolate lands, and its cities will be a desolation among ruined cities for 40 years. I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them across the countries.

“For this is what the Lord God says: At the end of 40 years I will gather the Egyptians from the nations where they were dispersed.

I will restore the fortunes of Egypt and bring them back to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin. There they will be a lowly kingdom.

Egypt will be the lowliest of kingdoms and will never again exalt itself over the nations. I will make them so small they cannot rule over the nations.

It will never again be an object of trust for the house of Israel, drawing attention to their sin of turning to the Egyptians. Then they will know that I am the Lord Yahweh.”

Therefore this is what the Lord God says: I am going to give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who will carry off its wealth, seizing its spoil and taking its plunder. This will be his army’s compensation.

“In that day I will cause a horn to sprout for the house of Israel, and I will enable you to speak out among them. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.”

For a day is near;
a day belonging to the Lord is near.
It will be a day of clouds,
a time of doom for the nations.

A sword will come against Egypt,
and there will be anguish in Cush
when the slain fall in Egypt,
and its wealth is taken away,
and its foundations are torn down.

Cush, Put, and Lud,
and all the various foreign troops,
plus Libya and the men of the covenant land
will fall by the sword along with them.

This is what the Lord says:
Those who support Egypt will fall,
and its proud strength will collapse.
From Migdol to Syene
they will fall within it by the sword.
This is the declaration of the Lord God.

They will be desolate
among desolate lands,
and their cities will lie
among ruined cities.

They will know that I am Yahweh
when I set fire to Egypt
and all its allies are shattered.

On that day, messengers will go out from Me in ships to terrify confident Cush. Anguish will come over them on the day of Egypt’s doom. For indeed it is coming.”

This is what the Lord God says:

I will put an end to the hordes of Egypt
by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.

He along with his people,
ruthless men from the nations,
will be brought in to destroy the land.
They will draw their swords against Egypt
and fill the land with the slain.

I will make the streams dry
and sell the land into the hands of evil men.
I will bring desolation
on the land and everything in it
by the hands of foreigners.
I, Yahweh, have spoken.

This is what the Lord God says:

I will destroy the idols and put an end
to the false gods in Memphis.
There will no longer be
a prince from the land of Egypt.
So I will instill fear in that land.

I will make Pathros desolate,
set fire to Zoan,
and execute judgments on Thebes.

I will pour out My wrath on Pelusium,
the stronghold of Egypt,
and will wipe out the crowds of Thebes.

I will set fire to Egypt;
Pelusium will writhe in anguish,
Thebes will be breached,
and Memphis will face foes in broad daylight.

The young men of On and Pi-beseth
will fall by the sword,
and those cities will go into captivity.

The day will be dark in Tehaphnehes,
when I break the yoke of Egypt there
and its proud strength
comes to an end in the city.
A cloud will cover Tehaphnehes,
and its villages will go into captivity.

So I will execute judgments against Egypt,
and they will know that I am Yahweh.

Therefore this is what the Lord God says: Look! I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt. I will break his arms, both the strong one and the one already broken, and will make the sword fall from his hand.

I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them among the countries.

I will strengthen the arms of Babylon’s king and place My sword in his hand. But I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before him as a mortally wounded man.

I will strengthen the arms of Babylon’s king, but Pharaoh’s arms will fall. They will know that I am Yahweh when I place My sword in the hand of Babylon’s king and he wields it against the land of Egypt.

When I disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them among the countries, they will know that I am Yahweh.”

“Who then are you like in glory and greatness among Eden’s trees? You also will be brought down to the underworld to be with the trees of Eden. You will lie among the uncircumcised with those slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his hordes”—the declaration of the Lord God.

This is what the Lord God says:

I will spread My net over you
with an assembly of many peoples,
and they will haul you up in My net.

I will abandon you on the land
and hurl you on the open field.
I will cause all the birds of the sky
to settle on you
and let the beasts of the entire earth
eat their fill of you.

I will put your flesh on the mountains
and fill the valleys with your carcass.

I will drench the land
with the flow of your blood,
even to the mountains;
the ravines will be filled with your gore.

When I snuff you out,
I will cover the heavens
and darken their stars.
I will cover the sun with a cloud,
and the moon will not give its light.

I will darken all the shining lights
in the heavens over you,
and will bring darkness on your land.
This is the declaration of the Lord God.

I will trouble the hearts of many peoples,
when I bring about your destruction
among the nations,
in countries you do not know.

I will cause many nations to be appalled at you,
and their kings will shudder with fear because of you
when I brandish My sword in front of them.
On the day of your downfall
each of them will tremble
every moment for his life.

For this is what the Lord God says:

The sword of Babylon’s king
will come against you!

I will make your hordes fall
by the swords of warriors,
all of them ruthless men from the nations.
They will ravage Egypt’s pride,
and all its hordes will be destroyed.

I will slaughter all its cattle
that are beside many waters.
No human foot will churn them again,
and no cattle hooves will disturb them.

Then I will let their waters settle
and will make their rivers flow like oil.
This is the declaration of the Lord God.

When I make the land of Egypt a desolation,
so that it is emptied of everything in it,
when I strike down all who live there,
then they will know that I am Yahweh.

“This is a lament that will be chanted; the women of the nations will chant it. They will chant it over Egypt and all its hordes.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.

They will fall among those slain by the sword.
A sword is appointed!
They drag her and all her hordes away.

Warrior leaders will speak
from the middle of Sheol
about him and his allies:
They have come down;
the uncircumcised lie
slain by the sword.

But you will be shattered
and will lie down among the uncircumcised,
with those slain by the sword.

Pharaoh will see them
and be comforted over all his hordes—
Pharaoh and all his army,
slain by the sword.
This is the declaration of the Lord God.

For I will spread My terror
in the land of the living,
so Pharaoh and all his hordes
will be laid to rest among the uncircumcised,
with those slain by the sword.”
This is the declaration of the Lord God.

Then, if anyone hears the sound of the trumpet but ignores the warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on his own head.

However, if the watchman sees the sword coming but doesn’t blow the trumpet, so that the people aren’t warned, and the sword comes and takes away their lives, then they have been taken away because of their iniquity, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.

If I say to the wicked, ‘Wicked one, you will surely die,’ but you do not speak out to warn him about his way, that wicked person will die for his iniquity, yet I will hold you responsible for his blood.

But if you warn a wicked person to turn from his way and he doesn’t turn from it, he will die for his iniquity, but you will have saved your life.

Tell them: As I live”—the declaration of the Lord God—“I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked person should turn from his way and live. Repent, repent of your evil ways! Why will you die, house of Israel?

“Now, son of man, say to your people: The righteousness of the righteous person will not save him on the day of his transgression; neither will the wickedness of the wicked person cause him to stumble on the day he turns from his wickedness. The righteous person won’t be able to survive by his righteousness on the day he sins.

When I tell the righteous person that he will surely live, but he trusts in his righteousness and commits iniquity, then none of his righteousness will be remembered, and he will die because of the iniquity he has committed.

“So when I tell the wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ but he repents of his sin and does what is just and right—

he returns collateral, makes restitution for what he has stolen, and walks in the statutes of life without practicing iniquity—he will certainly live; he will not die.

None of the sins he committed will be held against him. He has done what is just and right; he will certainly live.

When a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he will die on account of this.

But if a wicked person turns from his wickedness and does what is just and right, he will live because of this.

Yet you say, ‘The Lord’s way isn’t fair.’ I will judge each of you according to his ways, house of Israel.”

“Tell them this: This is what the Lord God says: As surely as I live, those who are in the ruins will fall by the sword, those in the open field I have given to wild animals to be devoured, and those in the strongholds and caves will die by plague.

I will make the land a desolate waste, and its proud strength will come to an end. The mountains of Israel will become desolate, with no one passing through.

They will know that I am Yahweh when I make the land a desolate waste because of all the detestable acts they have committed.

Yet when it comes—and it will definitely come—then they will know that a prophet has been among them.”

They were scattered for lack of a shepherd; they became food for all the wild animals when they were scattered.

As I live”—the declaration of the Lord God—“because My flock has become prey and food for every wild animal since they lack a shepherd, for My shepherds do not search for My flock, and because the shepherds feed themselves rather than My flock,

“This is what the Lord God says: Look, I am against the shepherds. I will demand My flock from them and prevent them from shepherding the flock. The shepherds will no longer feed themselves, for I will rescue My flock from their mouths so that they will not be food for them.

“For this is what the Lord God says: See, I Myself will search for My flock and look for them.

As a shepherd looks for his sheep on the day he is among his scattered flock, so I will look for My flock. I will rescue them from all the places where they have been scattered on a cloudy and dark day.

I will bring them out from the peoples, gather them from the countries, and bring them into their own land. I will shepherd them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the land.

I will tend them with good pasture, and their grazing place will be on Israel’s lofty mountains. There they will lie down in a good grazing place; they will feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.

I will tend My flock and let them lie down.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.

“I will seek the lost, bring back the strays, bandage the injured, and strengthen the weak, but I will destroy the fat and the strong. I will shepherd them with justice.

“Therefore, this is what the Lord God says to them: See, I Myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.

I will save My flock, and they will no longer be prey for you. I will judge between one sheep and another.

I will appoint over them a single shepherd, My servant David, and he will shepherd them. He will tend them himself and will be their shepherd.

I, Yahweh, will be their God, and My servant David will be a prince among them. I, Yahweh, have spoken.

“I will make a covenant of peace with them and eliminate dangerous animals in the land, so that they may live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the forest.

I will make them and the area around My hill a blessing: I will send down showers in their season—showers of blessing.

The trees of the field will give their fruit, and the land will yield its produce; My flock will be secure in their land. They will know that I am Yahweh when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hands of those who enslave them.

They will no longer be prey for the nations, and the wild animals of the land will not consume them. They will live securely, and no one will frighten them.

I will establish for them a place renowned for its agriculture, and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land. They will no longer endure the insults of the nations.

Then they will know that I, Yahweh their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.

Say to it: This is what the Lord God says:

Look! I am against you, Mount Seir.
I will stretch out My hand against you
and make you a desolate waste.

I will turn your cities into ruins,
and you will become a desolation.
Then you will know that I am Yahweh.

therefore, as I live”—this is the declaration of the Lord God—“I will destine you for bloodshed, and it will pursue you. Since you did not hate bloodshed, it will pursue you.

I will make Mount Seir a desolate waste and will cut off from it those who come and go.

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

I will make you a perpetual desolation; your cities will not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am Yahweh.

“Because you said, ‘These two nations and two lands will be mine, and we will possess them’—though the Lord was there—

therefore, as I live”—the declaration of the Lord God—“I will treat you according to the anger and jealousy you showed in your hatred of them. I will make Myself known among them when I judge you.

Then you will know that I, Yahweh, have heard all the blasphemies you uttered against the mountains of Israel, saying, ‘They are desolate. They have been given to us to devour!’