Ezekiel 30 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.
Time Period
~587 BC, with a dated oracle from April 587 BC in the eleventh year of Jehoiachin's exile
Location
Egypt from the delta to the far south, with a string of named cities including Memphis, Thebes, Pelusium and Aswan
Audience
Judean exiles in Babylonia
Situation
A series of oracles announces a day of reckoning for Egypt and its allies, with Babylonian forces sweeping the land, its cities burned and its people scattered. A dated word declares that God has broken Pharaoh's arm and will break the other, so that he cannot hold a sword while Babylon's king is strengthened.
Key Background
The roll call of towns traces the Nile from the Mediterranean delta up to the southern frontier, showing that no region is out of reach, and Thebes in particular had already been sacked by the Assyrians in 663 BC within living cultural memory. A broken arm was a standard Near Eastern image for lost military power, and Egyptian and Babylonian royal art regularly showed the king's strong arm raised with a weapon. The mercenary troops mentioned as falling alongside Egypt reflect the real practice of hiring Nubian, Libyan and Greek soldiers to fill out Egyptian armies.
The of Yahweh came to me:
of prophesy and say: This is what Yahweh, the declares — Wail! Cry out: 'What a
For the is near — the of is near. A with the of for the nations.
A will come against Egypt, and anguish will grip when the slain collapse in Egypt, when her wealth is hauled away, and her are torn apart.
Cush, all the Libya, and the people of the — they will all fall by the sword alongside Egypt.
This is what Yahweh declares: Those who prop up Egypt will fall, and her will crumble. From to they will fall by the sword — this is the declaration of Yahweh, the Sovereign One.
They will be among lands, and their cities will stand among cities in ruins.
Then they will that I am when I set fire to Egypt and all who helped her are shattered.
On that day, will go out from me in ships to shatter the of Cush. Anguish will seize them on the day of Egypt's doom — for look, it is coming.
This is what Yahweh, the Sovereign One, declares: I will put an end to Egypt's — through the hand of king of Babylon.
He and his army — the most of — will be brought in to devastate the land. They will draw their swords against Egypt and fill the land with the slain.
I will dry up the of the and sell the land into the hands of the wicked. I will lay waste to the land and everything in it — through the hands of foreigners. I, have
This is what Yahweh, the Sovereign One, declares: I will destroy the and put an end to the false gods of There will no longer be a ruler in the land of Egypt, and I will spread fear throughout Egypt.
I will lay waste to set fire to and execute judgment on
I will pour out my on the fortress of Egypt, and I will cut off the hordes of Thebes.
I will set fire to Egypt. Pelusium will in Thebes will be and Memphis will face enemies in broad daylight.
The young warriors of and will fall by the sword, and the cities themselves will go into captivity.
In the day will go dark when I shatter Egypt's of power there. Her arrogant strength will come to an end. A cloud will cover her, and her will go into captivity.
I will on Egypt, and they will know that I am Yahweh."
In the in the first month, on the seventh day, the word of Yahweh came to me:
"Son of man, I have broken the of king of Egypt. Look — it has not been bound up for healing, no splint set to wrap it, no strength restored to grip a sword."
So this is what Yahweh, the Sovereign One, declares: I am against Pharaoh, king of Egypt. I will break both — the one still whole and the one already broken — and I will make the sword drop from hand.
I will the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them across the lands.
I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and place my own in his hand. But I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before Babylon's king like a man with a
I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will Then they will know that I am Yahweh, when I place my sword in the hand of the king of Babylon and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt.
I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them across the lands. Then they will that I am