Ezekiel 30
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 30
The Day of the Lord Against Egypt. 1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 Son of man, prophesy and say: Thus says the Lord God:
Wail: “Alas the day!”
3 Yes, a day approaches,
a day of the Lord approaches:
A day of dark cloud,
a time appointed for the nations.(A)
4 A sword will come against Egypt,
there will be anguish in Ethiopia,
When the slain fall in Egypt
when its hordes are seized,
its foundations razed.(B)
5 Ethiopia, Put, and Lud,
all the mixed rabble[a] and Kub,
and the people of allied lands
shall fall by the sword with them.
6 Thus says the Lord:
The pillars of Egypt shall fall,
and its proud strength sink;
From Migdol to Syene,
its people will fall by the sword—
oracle of the Lord God.(C)
7 It shall be the most desolate
among desolate lands,
Its cities the most ruined
among ruined cities.
8 They shall know that I am the Lord,
when I set fire to Egypt,
and all its allies are shattered.(D)
9 On that day, messengers from me
will go forth in ships
to terrorize confident Ethiopia.
Anguish will be among them
on Egypt’s day—it is certainly coming![b]
10 Thus says the Lord God:
I will put an end to Egypt’s hordes
by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon:
11 He and his army with him,
the most ruthless of nations,
will be brought in to devastate the land.
They will draw their swords against Egypt
and fill the land with the slain.
12 Then I will dry up the streams of the Nile,
and sell the land into evil hands;
By the hand of foreigners I will devastate
the land and everything in it.
I, the Lord, have spoken.(E)
13 [c]Thus says the Lord God:
I will destroy idols,
and put an end to images in Memphis.
There will never again be a prince
over the land of Egypt.
Instead, I will spread fear
throughout the land of Egypt.(F)
14 I will devastate Pathros,
set fire to Zoan,
and execute judgment against Thebes.(G)
15 I will pour out my wrath on Pelusium,
the fortress of Egypt,
and cut off the troops of Thebes.
16 I will set fire to Egypt;
Pelusium will writhe in anguish,
Thebes will be breached,
and Memphis besieged in daylight.
17 The warriors of On and Pi-beseth
will fall by the sword,
the cities taken captive.
18 In Tahpanhes, the day will turn dark
when I break the scepter of Egypt there
and put an end to its proud strength.
Dark clouds will cover it,
and its women will go into captivity.(H)
19 I will execute judgment against Egypt
that they may know that I am the Lord.
Pharaoh’s Broken Arm. 20 On the seventh day of the first month in the eleventh year,[d] the word of the Lord came to me: 21 [e]Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. See! It has not been immobilized for healing, nor set with a splint to make it strong enough to grasp a sword.(I) 22 Therefore thus says the Lord God: See! I am coming against Pharaoh, king of Egypt. I will break both his arms, the strong one and the broken one, making the sword fall from his hand. 23 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout other lands. 24 I will, however, strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put my sword in his hand so he can bring it against Egypt for plunder and pillage.(J) 25 When I strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and the arms of Pharaoh collapse, they shall know that I am the Lord, because I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon to wield against the land of Egypt. 26 When I scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout other lands, they shall know that I am the Lord.
Footnotes
- 30:5 Mixed rabble: mercenaries.
- 30:9 God spreads panic throughout Ethiopia, ancient Cush, by sending messengers with news of Egypt’s fall. Rivers at its borders insulated Ethiopia and made it inaccessible except by boat.
- 30:13–19 The prophet enumerates a list of major Egyptian cities that shall each bear the judgment proclaimed in the previous oracle, vv. 1–12.
- 30:20 The seventh day of the first month in the eleventh year: April 29, 587 B.C.
- 30:21–26 This oracle was delivered more than a year into the siege of Jerusalem (24:1). When Pharaoh Hophra came to help Jerusalem, the Babylonians temporarily lifted the siege; cf. Jer 34:21; 37:6–7. In Ezekiel’s eyes, Hophra was interfering with the punishment God intended the Babylonians to inflict on Judah. The Babylonians routed the Egyptians, who could not offer Jerusalem any more help; cf. chap. 31.
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
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
