Ezekiel 29:1-21 NET

[1] In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the LORD' s message came to me: [2] "Son of man, turn toward Pharaoh king of Egypt and prophesy against him and against all Egypt. [3] Tell them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: "'Look, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great monster lying in the midst of its waterways, who has said, "My Nile is my own, I made it for myself." [4] I will put hooks in your jaws and stick the fish of your waterways to your scales. I will haul you up from the midst of your waterways, and all the fish of your waterways will stick to your scales. [5] I will leave you in the wilderness, you and all the fish of your waterways; you will fall in the open field and will not be gathered up or collected. I have given you as food to the beasts of the earth and the birds of the skies. [6] Then all those living in Egypt will know that I am the LORD because they were a reed staff for the house of Israel; [7] when they grasped you with their hand, you broke and tore their shoulders, and when they leaned on you, you splintered and caused their legs to be unsteady. [8] "'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. [9] 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," [10] 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. [11] No human foot will pass through it, and no animal's foot will pass through it; it will be uninhabited for forty years. [12] 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. [13] "'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. [14] 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. [15] 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. [16] 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.'" [17] In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the LORD' s message came to me: [18] "Son of man, King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre. Every head was rubbed bald and every shoulder rubbed bare; yet he and his army received no wages from Tyre for the work he carried out against it. [19] 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. [20] I have given him the land of Egypt as his compensation for attacking Tyre, because they did it for me, declares the Sovereign LORD. [21] 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."