"'Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to bring a sword against you, and I will kill every person and every animal.

The land of Egypt will become a desolate ruin. Then they will know that I am the Lord. Because he said, "The Nile is mine and I made it,"

I am against you and your waterways. I will turn the land of Egypt into an utter desolate ruin from Migdol to Syene, as far as the border with Ethiopia.

No human foot will pass through it, and no animal's foot will pass through it; it will be uninhabited for forty years.

I will turn the land of Egypt into a desolation in the midst of desolate lands; for forty years her cities will lie desolate in the midst of ruined cities. I will scatter Egypt among the nations and disperse them among foreign countries.

"'For this is what the sovereign Lord says: At the end of forty years I will gather Egypt from the peoples where they were scattered.

I will restore the fortunes of Egypt, and will bring them back to the land of Pathros, to the land of their origin; there they will be an insignificant kingdom.

It will be the most insignificant of the kingdoms; it will never again exalt itself over the nations. I will make them so small that they will not rule over the nations.

It will never again be Israel's source of confidence, but a reminder of how they sinned by turning to Egypt for help. Then they will know that I am the sovereign Lord.'"

Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to give the land of Egypt to King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon. He will carry off her wealth, capture her loot, and seize her plunder; it will be his army's wages.

On that day I will make Israel powerful, and I will give you the right to be heard among them. Then they will know that I am the Lord."

For the day is near, the day of the Lord is near; it will be a day of storm clouds, it will be a time of judgment for the nations.

A sword will come against Egypt and panic will overtake Ethiopia when the slain fall in Egypt and they carry away her wealth and dismantle her foundations.

Ethiopia, Put, Lud, all the foreigners, Libya, and the people of the covenant land will die by the sword along with them.

"'This is what the Lord says: Egypt's supporters will fall; her confident pride will crumble. From Migdol to Syene they will die by the sword within her, declares the sovereign Lord.

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

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

On that day messengers will go out from me in ships to frighten overly confident Ethiopia; panic will overtake them on the day of Egypt's doom; for beware -- it is coming!

"'This is what the sovereign Lord says: I will put an end to the hordes of Egypt, by the hand of King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon.

He and his people with him, the most terrifying of the nations, will be brought there to destroy the land. They will draw their swords against Egypt, and fill the land with corpses.

I will dry up the waterways and hand the land over to evil men. I will make the land and everything in it desolate by the hand of foreigners. I, the Lord, have spoken!

"'This is what the sovereign Lord says: I will destroy the idols, and put an end to the gods of Memphis. There will no longer be a prince from the land of Egypt; so I will make the land of Egypt fearful.

I will desolate Pathros, I will ignite a fire in Zoan, and I will execute judgments on Thebes.

I will pour out my anger upon Pelusium, the stronghold of Egypt; I will cut off the hordes of Thebes.

I will ignite a fire in Egypt; Syene will writhe in agony, Thebes will be broken down, and Memphis will face enemies every day.

The young men of On and of Pi-beseth will die by the sword; and the cities will go into captivity.

In Tahpanhes the day will be dark when I break the yoke of Egypt there. Her confident pride will cease within her; a cloud will cover her, and her daughters will go into captivity.

I will execute judgments on Egypt. Then they will know that I am the Lord.'"

Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and I will break his arms, the strong arm and the broken one, and I will make the sword drop from his hand.

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

I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and I will place my sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan like the fatally wounded before the king of Babylon.

I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fall limp. Then they will know that I am the Lord when I place my sword in the hand of the king of Babylon and he extends it against the land of Egypt.

I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among foreign countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord."

On its ruins all the birds of the sky will live, and all the wild animals will walk on its branches.

For this reason no watered trees will grow so tall; their tops will not reach into the clouds, nor will the well-watered ones grow that high. For all of them have been appointed to die in the lower parts of the earth; they will be among mere mortals, with those who descend to the pit.

Which of the trees of Eden was like you in majesty and loftiness? You will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the lower parts of the earth; you will lie among the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword! This is what will happen to Pharaoh and all his hordes, declares the sovereign Lord.'"

"'This is what the sovereign Lord says: "'I will throw my net over you in the assembly of many peoples; and they will haul you up in my dragnet.

I will leave you on the ground, I will fling you on the open field, I will allow all the birds of the sky to settle on you, and I will permit all the wild animals to gorge themselves on you.

I will put your flesh on the mountains, and fill the valleys with your maggot-infested carcass.

I will drench the land with the flow of your blood up to the mountains, and the ravines will be full of your blood.

When I extinguish you, I will cover the sky; I will darken its stars. I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not shine.

I will darken all the lights in the sky over you, and I will darken your land, declares the sovereign Lord.

I will disturb many peoples, when I bring about your destruction among the nations, among countries you do not know.

I will shock many peoples with you, and their kings will shiver with horror because of you. When I brandish my sword before them, every moment each one will tremble for his life, on the day of your fall.

"'For this is what the sovereign Lord says: "'The sword of the king of Babylon will attack you.

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.

I will destroy all its cattle beside the plentiful waters; and no human foot will disturb the waters again, nor will the hooves of cattle disturb them.

Then I will make their waters calm, and will make their streams flow like olive oil, declares the sovereign Lord.

When I turn the land of Egypt into desolation and the land is destitute of everything that fills it, when I strike all those who live in it, then they will know that I am the Lord.'

This is a lament; they will chant it. The daughters of the nations will chant it. They will chant it over Egypt and over all her hordes, declares the sovereign Lord."

They will fall among those killed by the sword. The sword is drawn; they carry her and all her hordes away.

The bravest of the warriors will speak to him from the midst of Sheol along with his allies, saying: 'The uncircumcised have come down; they lie still, killed by the sword.'

"Elam is there with all her hordes around her grave; all of them struck down by the sword. They went down uncircumcised to the lower parts of the earth, those who spread terror in the land of the living. Now they will bear their shame with those who descend to the pit.

"But as for you, in the midst of the uncircumcised you will be broken, and you will lie with those killed by the sword.

"Pharaoh will see them and be consoled over all his hordes who were killed by the sword, Pharaoh and all his army, declares the sovereign Lord.

Indeed, I terrified him in the land of the living, yet he will lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with those killed by the sword, Pharaoh and all his hordes, declares the sovereign Lord."

but there is one who hears the sound of the trumpet yet does not heed the warning. Then the sword comes and sweeps him away. He will be responsible for his own death.

But suppose the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people. Then the sword comes and takes one of their lives. He is swept away for his iniquity, but I will hold the watchman accountable for that person's death.'

When I say to the wicked, 'O wicked man, you must certainly die,' and you do not warn the wicked about his behavior, the wicked man will die for his iniquity, but I will hold you accountable for his death.

But if you warn the wicked man to change his behavior, and he refuses to change, he will die for his iniquity, but you have saved your own life.

"And you, son of man, say to your people, 'The righteousness of the righteous will not deliver him if he rebels. As for the wicked, his wickedness will not make him stumble if he turns from it. The righteous will not be able to live by his righteousness if he sins.'

Suppose I tell the righteous that he will certainly live, but he becomes confident in his righteousness and commits iniquity. None of his righteous deeds will be remembered; because of the iniquity he has committed he will die.

He returns what was taken in pledge, pays back what he has stolen, and follows the statutes that give life, committing no iniquity. He will certainly live -- he will not die.

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

When a righteous man turns from his godliness and commits iniquity, he will die for it.

When the wicked turns from his sin and does what is just and right, he will live because of it.

Yet you say, 'The behavior of the Lord is not right.' House of Israel, I will judge each of you according to his behavior."

Therefore say to them, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: You eat the meat with the blood still in it, pray to your idols, and shed blood. Do you really think you will possess the land?

You rely on your swords and commit abominable deeds; each of you defiles his neighbor's wife. Will you possess the land?'

"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.

I will turn the land into a desolate ruin; her confident pride will come to an end. The mountains of Israel will be so desolate no one will pass through them.

Then they will know that I am the Lord when I turn the land into a desolate ruin because of all the abominable deeds they have committed.'

When all this comes true -- and it certainly will -- then they will know that a prophet was among them."

They were scattered because they had no shepherd, and they became food for every wild beast.

As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, my sheep have become prey and have become food for all the wild beasts. There was no shepherd, and my shepherds did not search for my flock, but fed themselves and did not feed my sheep,

This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand my sheep from their hand. I will no longer let them be shepherds; the shepherds will not feed themselves anymore. I will rescue my sheep from their mouth, so that they will no longer be food for them.

"'For this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I myself will search for my sheep and seek them out.

As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will seek out my flock. I will rescue them from all the places where they have been scattered on a cloudy, dark day.

I will bring them out from among the peoples and gather them from foreign countries; I will bring them to their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams and all the inhabited places of the land.

In a good pasture I will feed them; the mountain heights of Israel will be their pasture. There they will lie down in a lush pasture, and they will feed on rich grass on the mountains of Israel.

I myself will feed my sheep and I myself will make them lie down, declares the sovereign Lord.

I will seek the lost and bring back the strays; I will bandage the injured and strengthen the sick, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them -- with judgment!

"'Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says to them: Look, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.

I will save my sheep; they will no longer be prey. I will judge between one sheep and another.

I will set one shepherd over them, and he will feed them -- namely, my servant David. He will feed them and will be their shepherd.

I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken!

"'I will make a covenant of peace with them and will rid the land of wild beasts, so that they can live securely in the wilderness and even sleep in the woods.

I will turn them and the regions around my hill into a blessing. I will make showers come down in their season; they will be showers that bring blessing.

The trees of the field will yield their fruit and the earth will yield its crops. They will live securely on their land; they will know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hand of those who enslaved them.

They will no longer be prey for the nations and the wild beasts will not devour them. They will live securely and no one will make them afraid.

I will prepare for them a healthy planting. They will no longer be victims of famine in the land and will no longer bear the insults 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.

Say to it, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: "'Look, I am against you, Mount Seir; I will stretch out my hand against you and turn you into a desolate ruin.

I will lay waste your cities; and you will become desolate. Then you will know that I am the Lord!

Therefore, as surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, I will subject you to bloodshed, and bloodshed will pursue you. Since you did not hate bloodshed, bloodshed will pursue you.

I will turn Mount Seir into a desolate ruin; I will cut off from it the one who passes through or returns.

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

I will turn you into a perpetual desolation, and your cities will not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

"'You said, "These two nations, these two lands will be mine, and we will possess them," -- although the Lord was there --

therefore, as surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, I will deal with you according to your anger, and according to your envy, by which you acted spitefully against them. I will reveal myself to them when I judge you.