Ezekiel 30
Expanded Bible
Egypt Will Be Punished
30 The ·Lord spoke his word [L word of the Lord came] to me, saying: 2 “·Human [T Son of man; 2:1], prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord God says:
·Cry [Wail] ·and say [Alas; L Hah],
“·The terrible day is coming [L …for the day].”
3 [L For] The day is near;
the ·Lord’s day of judging [L Day of the Lord] is near.
It is a ·cloudy day [day of clouds; C perhaps storm clouds, or indicating the presence of God; Joel 2:2; Ex. 19:9]
and a time ·when the nations will be judged [L for the nations].
4 An ·enemy will attack [L sword will come against] Egypt,
and Cush [C Ethiopia] will ·tremble with fear [be in anguish].
When the ·killing begins [L slain fall] in Egypt,
her wealth will be ·taken away [carried off],
and her foundations will be torn down.
5 Cush, Put, ·Lydia [L Lud; 27:10], all ·Arabia [or all the foreigners; or all the mercenaries], ·Libya [L Kub], and ·some of my people who had made an agreement with Egypt [or the people of allied lands; L the sons of the land of the covenant] will fall ·dead in war [L by the sword with them].
6 “‘This is what the Lord says:
·Those who fight on Egypt’s side [Egypt’s supporters] will fall.
The power she is proud of will ·be lost [collapse; come down].
From Migdol [C in northern Egypt] to ·Aswan [L Syene; C in southern Egypt],
the people will fall ·dead in war [L by the sword]
says the Lord God.
7 They will be ·the most deserted [L desolate in the midst of desolate] lands.
Egypt’s cities will be ·the worst [L in the midst] of cities that lie in ruins.
8 Then they will know that I am the Lord
when I set fire to Egypt
and when all ·those nations on her side [her helpers/allies] are crushed.
9 “‘·At that time [L On that day] I will send messengers in ships to frighten Cush [C Ethiopia], which ·now feels safe [is over-confident; or is complacent]. ·The people of Cush will tremble with fear [L Anguish will come upon them] ·when Egypt is punished [L in the day of Egypt]. And [L look; T behold] that time is sure to come.
10 “‘This is what the Lord God says:
I will destroy ·great numbers of people in [L the hordes of] Egypt
·through the power [L by the hand] of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
11 Nebuchadnezzar and his ·army [or people],
the ·cruelest army [most ruthless] of any nation,
will be brought in to destroy the land.
They will draw their swords against Egypt
and will fill the land with ·those they kill [the slain].
12 I will make the streams of the Nile River become dry land,
and then I will sell the land to evil people.
I will ·destroy [desolate] the land and everything in it
through the ·power [L hand] of foreigners.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
Egypt’s Idols Are Destroyed
13 “‘This is what the Lord God says:
I will destroy the idols
and ·take away [put an end to] the ·statues of gods from the city of [L images in] Memphis.
There will no longer be a ·leader [prince] in the land of Egypt,
and I will spread fear through the land of Egypt.
14 I will make ·southern Egypt [L Pathros] ·empty [a desolation]
and ·start a fire in [or set fire to] Zoan
and ·punish [execute judgment on] Thebes.
15 And I will pour out my anger against Pelusium [C a fortess in the eastern delta of the Nile River],
the ·strong place [stronghold] of Egypt.
I will ·destroy [cut off] ·great numbers of people in [the hordes/armies of] Thebes.
16 I will set fire to Egypt.
Pelusium [v. 15] will ·be in great pain [writhe in agony].
·The walls of Thebes will be broken open [Thebes will be breached],
and Memphis will ·have troubles [or face enemies] every day.
17 The young men of ·Heliopolis [L On; C six miles northeast of Cairo] and Bubastis [C the capital of northern Egypt; forty miles northeast of Cairo]
will fall dead ·in war [L by the sword],
and ·the people [or the cities; L they] will be taken away as captives.
18 In Tahpanhes [C in northeast Egypt] the day will be dark
when I break ·Egypt’s power [L the yoke of Egypt].
Then ·she will no longer be proud of her power [her proud strength will cease].
A cloud will cover Egypt,
and her ·villages [L daughters] will be captured and taken away.
19 So I will ·punish [execute judgments on] Egypt,
and they will know I am the Lord.’”
Egypt Becomes Weak
20 It was in the eleventh year [C since King Jehoiachin’s exile (1:2)], in the first month, on the seventh day of the month [C April 29, 587 bc]. The ·Lord spoke his word [L word of the Lord came] to me, saying: 21 “·Human [T Son of man; 2:1], I have broken the ·powerful arm [L arm] of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. It has not been ·tied [bound] up, so it will not get well. It has not been wrapped with a bandage, so it will not be strong enough to hold a sword in war. 22 So this is what the Lord God says: [L Look; T Behold] I am against Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. I will break his arms, both the strong arm and the broken arm, and I will make the sword fall from his hand. 23 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, spreading them among the countries. 24 I will make the arms of the king of Babylon strong and put my sword in his hand. But I will break the arms of Pharaoh. Then ·when he faces the king of Babylon [L before him] he will ·cry out in pain [groan] like a ·dying [mortally wounded] person. 25 So I will make the arms of the king of Babylon strong, but the arms of the king of Egypt will ·fall [become limp]. Then people will know that I am the Lord when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he ·uses it in war [wields it; extends it] against the land of Egypt. 26 Then I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, spreading them among the countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
Ezekiel 30
English Standard Version
A Lament for Egypt
30 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 (A)“Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord God:
(B)“Wail, ‘Alas for the day!’
3 (C)For the day is near,
(D)the day of the Lord is near;
it will be (E)a day of clouds,
a time of doom for[a] the nations.
4 (F)A sword shall come upon Egypt,
(G)and anguish shall be in (H)Cush,
when the slain fall in Egypt,
and (I)her wealth[b] is carried away,
and (J)her foundations are torn down.
5 (K)Cush, and (L)Put, and Lud, and (M)all Arabia, and Libya,[c] and the people of the land that is in league,[d] shall fall with them by the sword.
6 “Thus says the Lord:
(N)Those who support Egypt shall fall,
and (O)her proud might shall come down;
(P)from Migdol to Syene
they shall fall within her by the sword,
declares the Lord God.
7 (Q)And they shall be desolated in the midst of desolated countries,
and their cities shall be in the midst of cities that are laid waste.
8 (R)Then they will know that I am the Lord,
when (S)I have set fire to Egypt,
and (T)all her helpers are broken.
9 “On that day (U)messengers shall go out from me in ships to terrify the unsuspecting (V)people of Cush, and (W)anguish shall come upon them on the day of Egypt's doom;[e] for, behold, it comes!
10 “Thus says the Lord God:
(X)“I will put an end to the wealth of Egypt,
by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
11 He and his people with him, (Y)the most ruthless of nations,
shall be brought in to destroy the land,
(Z)and they shall draw their swords against Egypt
and fill the land with the slain.
12 And (AA)I will (AB)dry up the Nile
and will sell the land into the hand of (AC)evildoers;
(AD)I will bring desolation upon the land and everything in it,
by the hand of (AE)foreigners;
(AF)I am the Lord; I have spoken.
13 “Thus says the Lord God:
(AG)“I will destroy the idols
and put an end to the images in (AH)Memphis;
(AI)there shall no longer be a prince from the land of Egypt;
so (AJ)I will put fear in the land of Egypt.
14 I will make (AK)Pathros a desolation
and will set fire to (AL)Zoan
(AM)and will execute judgments on (AN)Thebes.
15 And I will pour out my wrath on Pelusium,
the stronghold of Egypt,
and cut off the multitude[f] of Thebes.
16 And I will set fire to Egypt;
Pelusium shall be in great agony;
Thebes shall be breached,
and (AO)Memphis shall face enemies[g] by day.
17 The young men of On and of Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword,
and the women[h] shall go into captivity.
18 At (AP)Tehaphnehes (AQ)the day shall be dark,
when I break there the yoke bars of Egypt,
and (AR)her proud might shall come to an end in her;
she shall be covered by a cloud,
and her daughters shall go into captivity.
19 Thus (AS)I will execute judgments on Egypt.
(AT)Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
Egypt Shall Fall to Babylon
20 (AU)In the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 21 (AV)“Son of man, (AW)I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and behold, (AX)it has not been bound up, to heal it by binding it with a bandage, so that it may become strong to wield the sword. 22 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt and (AY)will break his arms, both the strong arm and the one that was broken, and I will make the sword fall from his hand. 23 (AZ)I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them through the countries. 24 And (BA)I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put (BB)my sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before him (BC)like a man mortally wounded. 25 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall. (BD)Then they shall know that I am the Lord, (BE)when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt. 26 And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 30:3 Hebrew lacks doom for
- Ezekiel 30:4 Or multitude; also verse 10
- Ezekiel 30:5 With Septuagint; Hebrew Cub
- Ezekiel 30:5 Hebrew and the sons of the land of the covenant
- Ezekiel 30:9 Hebrew the day of Egypt
- Ezekiel 30:15 Or wealth
- Ezekiel 30:16 Or distress
- Ezekiel 30:17 Or the cities; Hebrew they
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The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
