Read the Bible

Lament over Egypt

¹ The word of the LORD came again to me saying,² "Son of man, prophesy and say, 'Thus says the Lord ^(F1)GOD,

"^(C1)Wail, 'Alas for the day!'

³ "For the day is near,
Even ^(C1)the day of the LORD is near;
It will be a day of ^(C2)clouds,
A time of doom for the nations.

⁴ "A sword will come upon Egypt,
And anguish will be in ^(F1)Ethiopia;
When the slain fall in Egypt,
They ^(C1)take away her ^(F2)wealth,
And her foundations are torn down.

⁶ 'Thus says the LORD,
"Indeed, those who support ^(C1)Egypt will fall
And the pride of her power will come down;
From Migdol to Syene
They will fall within her by the sword,"
Declares the Lord GOD.

⁷ "They will be desolate
In the ^(C1)midst of the desolated lands;
And her cities will be
In the midst of the devastated cities.

⁸ "And they will ^(C1)know that I am the LORD,
When I set a ^(C2)fire in Egypt
And all her helpers are broken.

¹⁰ 'Thus says the Lord GOD,

"^(C1)I will also make the ^(F1)hordes of Egypt cease
By the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.

¹¹ "He and his people with him,
^(C1)The most ruthless of the nations,
Will be brought in to destroy the land;
And they will draw their swords against Egypt
And fill the land with the slain.

¹² "Moreover, I will make the ^(C1)Nile canals dry
And ^(C2)sell the land into the hands of evil men.
And I will make the land desolate
And ^(F1)all that is in it,
By the hand of strangers; I the LORD have spoken."

¹³ 'Thus says the Lord GOD,

"I will also ^(C1)destroy the idols
And make the ^(F1)images cease from ^(F2)(C2)Memphis.
And there will no longer be a prince in the land of Egypt;
And I will put fear in the land of Egypt.

¹⁴ "I will make ^(C1)Pathros desolate,
Set a fire in ^(C2)Zoan
And execute judgments on ^(F1)(C3)Thebes.

¹⁵ "I will pour out My wrath on ^(F1)Sin,
The stronghold of Egypt;
I will also cut off the hordes of ^(F2)Thebes.

¹⁶ "I will set a fire in Egypt;
^(F1)Sin will writhe in anguish,
^(F2)Thebes will be breached
And ^(F3)Memphis will have ^(F4)distresses daily.

¹⁷ "The young men of ^(F1)(C1)On and of Pi-beseth
Will fall by the sword,
And ^(F2)the women will go into captivity.

¹⁸ "In ^(C1)Tehaphnehes the day will ^(F1)be ^(C2)dark
When I ^(C3)break there the yoke bars of Egypt.
Then the pride of her power will cease in her;
A cloud will cover her,
And her daughters will go into captivity.

¹⁹ "Thus I will ^(C1)execute judgments on Egypt,
And they will know that I am the LORD."'"

Victory for Babylon

²⁰ In the ^(C1)eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh of the month, the word of the LORD came to me saying,²¹ "Son of man, I have ^(C1)broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, behold, it has not been ^(C2)bound up ^(F1)for healing ^(F2)or wrapped with a bandage, that it may be strong to hold the sword.²² "Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, 'Behold, I am ^(C1)against Pharaoh king of Egypt and will break his arms, both the strong and the ^(C2)broken; and I will make the sword ^(C3)fall from his hand.²³ 'I will ^(C1)scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands.²⁴ 'For I will ^(C1)strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put ^(C2)My sword in his hand; and I will break the arms of Pharaoh, so that he will groan before him with the groanings of a wounded man.²⁵ 'Thus I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fall. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I put My sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he ^(C1)stretches it out against the land of Egypt.²⁶ 'When I scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands, then they will know that I am the LORD.'"