“‘For this is what the sovereign Lord says: At the end of forty years ¹  I will gather Egypt from the peoples where they were scattered.

I will restore the fortunes of Egypt, and will bring them back ¹  to the land of Pathros, to the land of their origin; there they will be an insignificant kingdom.

I have given him the land of Egypt as his compensation for attacking Tyre ¹ , because they did it for me, declares the sovereign Lord.

“‘This is what the Lord says: Egypt’s supporters will fall; her confident pride will crumble. ¹  From Migdol to Syene ²  they will die by the sword within her, declares the sovereign Lord.

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; ¹  for beware – it is coming!

He and his people with him, the most terrifying of the nations, ¹  will be brought there to destroy the land. They will draw their swords against Egypt, and fill the land with corpses.

In Tahpanhes the day will be dark ¹  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.

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

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.

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.”

“Son of man, wail ¹  over the horde of Egypt. Bring it down; ²  bring ³  her ⁴  and the daughters of powerful nations down to the lower parts of the earth, along with those who descend to the pit.

and say to them: “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: On the day I chose Israel I swore ¹  to the descendants ²  of the house of Jacob and made myself known to them in the land of Egypt. I swore ³  to them, “I am the Lord your God.”

On that day I swore ¹  to bring them out of the land of Egypt to a land which I had picked out ²  for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, ³  the most beautiful of all lands.

Tell them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: “‘Look, I am against ¹  you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great monster ²  lying in the midst of its waterways, who has said, “My Nile is my own, I made it for myself.” ³ 

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.

“Son of man, I have broken the arm ¹  of Pharaoh king of Egypt. ²  Look, it has not been bandaged for healing or set with a dressing so that it might become strong enough to grasp a sword.

Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, ¹  I am against ²  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 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.

“Son of man, sing a lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him: “‘You were like a lion ¹  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 ²  streams.