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Yahweh will punish Egypt
1 Yahweh gave me another message. He said, 2 “You human, prophesy about what will happen to Egypt. Say, ‘This is what Yahweh the Lord says:
“Weep and wail [DOU],
because terrible things will happen some day.
3 That day is near,
the day when I, Yahweh, will punish people;
it will be a day of dark clouds and disaster for many nations.
4 An enemy army [PRS] will come to attack Egypt with their swords,
and there will be great distress among the people in Ethiopia.
Many people will be killed in Egypt;
everything valuable will be taken away,
and even the foundations of the buildings will be torn down.
5 Soldiers of Ethiopia, Libya, Lydia, and from all of Arabia, and all the other groups who are their allies, will be killed in the battles.”
6 This is what I, Yahweh say:
“The allies of Egypt will be defeated,
and the power that the people of Egypt are proud of will end.
From Migdol city in the north to Aswan city in the south, the soldiers of Egypt will be killed by their enemies’ swords”;
that is what I, Yahweh the Lord, declare.
7 Egypt will become the most deserted country in the world,
and its cities will be ruined,
surrounded by ruined cities in nearby nations.
8 Then, when I cause everything in Egypt to be burned in fires,
and all their allies are defeated,
people will know that I, Yahweh, have the power to do what I say that I will do.
9 At that time, I will send messengers to go swiftly up the Nile River in boats to cause the people of Ethiopia who ◄are complacent/confident/think that nothing terrible will happen to them► to become afraid. They will be terrified [PRS] when Egypt is destroyed; and it will soon be that time!”
10 This is what I, Yahweh the Lord, say:
“By the power of [MTY] of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon
I will get rid of very many people in Egypt.
11 Nebuchadnezzar and his army, whose soldiers are extremely ruthless,
will come to destroy Egypt.
They will pull out their swords
and fill Egypt with the corpses of those whom they have killed.
12 I will cause the Nile River to become dry,
and I will sell the nation to evil men.
By the power [MTY] of foreigners
I will ruin the land and everything that is in it.
That will surely happen because I, Yahweh, have predicted it.”
13 This is also what I, Yahweh the Lord, say:
“I will cause the idols and statues of idols [DOU]
in Memphis city to be destroyed.
No longer will there be a king in Egypt,
and all over the land, people will be terrified.
I will cause the people of Egypt to be very afraid.
14 I will cause the Pathros area in southern Egypt to be abandoned.
I will start fires in Zoan city in northeast Egypt
and punish the people in Thebes, the capital of southern Egypt.
15 I will pour out my punishment [MTY] on the fortress in Pelusium at the eastern end of Egypt,
and I will get rid of very many people in Thebes.
16 I will burn Egypt by fires;
the people in Pelusium will suffer severe pain.
Enemies will conquer Thebes,
and the people in Memphis will constantly be terrified.
17 Many young men in Heliopolis and Bubastis cities in northern Egypt will be killed by their enemies swords,
and the others from those cities will be captured and taken to Babylon.
18 It will be a dark day of destruction at Tahpenes city in northeast Egypt
when I cause the power [MET] of Egypt to end;
that country will no longer be proud of being strong.
It will be as though a dark cloud will cover Egypt,
because the people of its villages will be captured and forced to go to Babylon.”
19 That is how I will punish Egypt,
and people will know that I, Yahweh, have the power to do what I say that I will do.’ ”
The king of Egypt will be defeated by Nebuchadnezzar’s army
20 Almost eleven years after we had been taken to Babylon, on the seventh day of the first month of that year, Yahweh gave me another message. He said, 21 “You human, I have enabled the army of Nebuchadnezzar to defeat the army of the King of Egypt. It is as though I have broken one of the arms of the King of Egypt, and it has not been bandaged in order that it could be healed, and it has not been put in splints in order that after it heals the arm will be strong enough to hold a sword. 22 Therefore, this is what I, Yahweh the Lord, say: ‘I am the enemy of the King of Egypt. I will completely destroy the power of Egypt; it is as though now I will break both of the king’s arms, the good/strong one and the broken one, and cause the sword to fall from his hand. 23 I will cause the people of Egypt to be scattered among the nations [DOU]. 24 It is as though I will strengthen the arms of the King of Babylon and put a sword in his hand, and as though I will break the arms of the king of Egypt, and he will groan in front of the King of Babylon like [SIM] a soldier who is wounded and about to die. 25 I will cause the power [MTY] of the King of Babylon to become greater, and the power of the king of Egypt will be useless [MET]. When that happens, when I give power to the army of the King of Babylon, they will use that power to attack Egypt. 26 I will cause the people of Egypt to be scattered among the nations [DOU]. And when that happens, the people of Egypt will know that I, Yahweh, have the power to do what I say that I will do [DOU].’ ”