¹In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me and said, ²“Son of Adam, direct your attention to Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt. ³Speak and say, ‘This is what my Lord the Lord says:

«I am here against you,

Pharaoh king of Egypt,

You great serpent who lie in your rivers,

Who have said,

‹My river is mine,

And I made it for myself.›

⁴But I will put hooks in your jaws,

And I will make the fish of your rivers stick in your scales,

And I will bring you up from your rivers

With all the fish of your rivers,

Which will stick in your scales.

⁵And I will leave you in the desert

– You and all the fish of your rivers.

You will fall on the open countryside;

You will not be collected up,

And you will not be gathered.

I have appointed you as food for the wild animals

And for the birds of the sky.

⁶And all the inhabitants of Egypt will know

That I am the Lord,

Because they were a reed staff of support to the house of Israel.

⁷When they held on to you by your hand,

You collapsed,

And you split all their shoulders.

And when they leant on you,

You buckled,

And you brought all their loins to a standstill.»

⁸So this is what my Lord the Lord says: «I am about to bring the sword over you, and I will cut man and beast off from you. ⁹And the land of Egypt will be a desolation and a ruin, and they will know that I am the Lord, because he said, ‹The river is mine, and I made it.› ¹⁰So I am here against you and against your rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt ruins – a desolate ruin – from Migdol Syene to the border of Ethiopia. ¹¹No foot of man will pass through it, nor will the feet of cattle pass through it, and it will not be inhabited for forty years. ¹²And I will make the land of Egypt a desolation among desolated countries, and its cities will be a desolation among ruined cities, for forty years. And I will scatter the Egyptians among the Gentiles; I will disperse them among the various countries.» ¹³For this is what my Lord the Lord says: «After forty years, I will gather the Egyptians from the various peoples where they have been scattered. ¹⁴And I will reverse the displacement of the Egyptians, and I will bring them back to the land of Pathros, to their native country, and they will be a low kingdom there. ¹⁵It will be the lowest of kingdoms, and it will no longer exalt itself over the nations, and I will make them few in number so that they cannot rule over the nations. ¹⁶And it will no longer be for the house of Israel a trusted ally, as they bring iniquity to mind as they appeal to them, and they will know that I am the Lord, the Lord.» ’ ” ¹⁷Then it came to pass in the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me and said, ¹⁸“Son of Adam, Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon has engaged his forces on a major campaign against Tyre. Every head has been made bald, and every shoulder has become raw, but he has had no payoff, nor have his forces, from Tyre, for the campaign which he undertook against it. ¹⁹Therefore this is what the Lord, the Lord, says: ‘I am about to give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he will carry off its wealth, and he will plunder it for its plunder, and spoil it for its spoil, and it will be pay for his forces. ²⁰In his campaign which he has undertaken against it, I have delivered the land of Egypt to him, because they have acted for me, says the Lord, the Lord. ²¹On that day I will cause a horn to spring up in the house of Israel, and I will give you ability to speak up in their midst, and they will know that I am the Lord.’ ”