1 ARST Yahweh gave me another message. He said, BSB BSB: Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2 ARST “Son of man, prophesy about what will happen to Egypt. Say that this is what I, the Lord Yahweh, say:‘Weep and wail, because terrible things will happen one day that is coming. BSB BSB: “Son of man, prophesy and declare that this is what the Lord GOD says: Wail, ‘Alas for that day!’
3 ARST That day is near, the day when I, Yahweh, will punish people; it will be like a day of full of storm clouds and disaster for many nations. BSB BSB: For the day is near, the Day of the LORD is near. It will be a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations.
4 ARST An enemy army will come to attack Egypt with their swords, and there will be great distress for the people in Cush. The enemy army will kill many people in Egypt; they will take away everything of value, and they will even tear the buildings down to their foundations. BSB BSB: A sword will come against Egypt, and there will be anguish in Cush when the slain fall in Egypt, its wealth is taken away, and its foundations are torn down.
5 ARST Soldiers of Cush, Libya, Lydia, and all the foreigners in the land of Egypt, together with the Jews living in Egypt— they will all die because of war.’ BSB BSB: Cush, Put, and Lud, and all the various peoples, as well as Libya and the men of the covenant land, will fall with Egypt by the sword.
6 ARST This is what Yahweh says:‘This army will defeat Egypt’ s allies, and the power that the people of Egypt are so proud of will end. From the city of Migdol in the north to the city of Syene in the south, they will kill the soldiers of Egypt’ s allies. This is what Yahweh the Lord declares. BSB BSB: For this is what the LORD says: The allies of Egypt will fall, and her proud strength will collapse. From Migdol to Syene they will fall by the sword within her, declares the Lord GOD.
7 ARST Egypt’ s allies’ soldiers will be shocked, and her allies’ cities will be destroyed, surrounded by ruined cities in nearby nations. BSB BSB: They will be desolate among desolate lands, and their cities will lie among ruined cities.
8 ARST Then, when I cause everything in Egypt to be burned down, and when I cause their enemies to defeat all their allies, people will know that I, Yahweh, have the power to do what I say that I will do. BSB BSB: Then they will know that I am the LORD when I set fire to Egypt and all her helpers are shattered.
9 ARST At that time, I will send messengers to go swiftly up the Nile River in boats to terrify the people of Cush, who still think they are safe. They will be horrified when they hear that Egypt has been destroyed. This will soon happen! BSB BSB: On that day messengers will go out from Me in ships to frighten Cush out of complacency. Anguish will come upon them on the day of Egypt’s doom. For it is indeed coming.
10 ARST This is what I, Yahweh the Lord, say: By the power of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon I will destroy very many people in Egypt. BSB BSB: This is what the Lord GOD says: I will put an end to the hordes of Egypt by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
11 ARST Nebuchadnezzar and his army, whose soldiers have no pity on anyone, will come to destroy Egypt. They will pull out their swords and fill Egypt with the corpses of those whom they have killed. BSB BSB: He and his people with him, the most ruthless of the nations, will be brought in to destroy the land. They will draw their swords against Egypt and fill the land with the slain.
12 ARST I will cause the streams of the Nile River to become dry, and I will sell the nation of Egypt to evil men. By the power of foreigners I will ruin the land and everything that is in it. That will surely happen because I, Yahweh, have said it will happen. BSB BSB: I will make the streams dry up and sell the land to the wicked. By the hands of foreigners I will bring desolation upon the land and everything in it. I, the LORD, have spoken.
13 ARST This is also what I, Yahweh the Lord, say: I will cause the enemy to destroy the idols in the city of Memphis. No longer will there be a king in Egypt, and I will terrify everyone in the land of Egypt. BSB BSB: This is what the Lord GOD says: I will destroy the idols and put an end to the images in Memphis. There will no longer be a prince in Egypt, and I will instill fear in that land.
14 ARST I will cause all people to leave the region of Pathros in southern Egypt. I will start fires in the city of Zoan in northeast Egypt and punish the people in the city of Thebes in southern Egypt. BSB BSB: I will lay waste Pathros, set fire to Zoan, and execute judgment on Thebes.
15 ARST I will punish the soldiers in the fortress of Pelusium in northern Egypt, and I will destroy the people in Thebes. BSB BSB: I will pour out My wrath on Pelusium, the stronghold of Egypt, and cut off the crowds of Thebes.
16 ARST I will burn Egypt with fire; the people in Pelusium will suffer severe pain. Enemies will conquer Thebes, and the enemies of Memphis will attack the people who live there every day. BSB BSB: I will set fire to Egypt, Pelusium will writhe in anguish, Thebes will be split open, and Memphis will face daily distress.
17 ARST The enemy will kill many young men in the cities of Heliopolis and Bubastis in northern Egypt, and the people who are left will have to go to Babylon. BSB BSB: The young men of On and Pi-beseth will fall by the sword, and those cities will go into captivity.
18 ARST It will be a dark day of destruction at the city of Tahpanhes in northeast Egypt when I cause the power of Egypt to end; that country will no longer be strong. It will be as though a dark cloud will cover Egypt, because the people of its villages will go to Babylon as prisoners. BSB BSB: The day will be darkened in Tahpanhes when I break the yoke of Egypt and her proud strength comes to an end. A cloud will cover her, and her daughters will go into captivity.
19 ARST 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.’” BSB BSB: So I will execute judgment on Egypt, and they will know that I am the LORD.”
20 ARST Almost eleven years after the Babylonians took us Israelites to their country, Yahweh gave me another message on the seventh day of the first month of that year. He said, BSB BSB: In the eleventh year, on the seventh day of the first month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
21 ARST “Son of man, 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. BSB BSB: “Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt. See, it has not been bound up for healing, or splinted for strength to hold the sword.
22 ARST Therefore, this is what I, Yahweh the Lord, say: I am the enemy of the king of Egypt. I will completely destroy Egypt’ s power; it is as though now I will break both of the king’ s arms, the good one and the broken one, and cause the sword to fall from his hand. BSB BSB: Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt. I will break his arms, both the strong one and the one already broken, and will make the sword fall from his hand.
23 ARST I will scatter the people of Egypt among the nations. BSB BSB: I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them throughout the lands.
24 ARST 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 a soldier who is wounded and about to die. BSB BSB: I will strengthen the arms of Babylon’s king and place My sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, who will groan before him like a mortally wounded man.
25 ARST I will cause the king of Babylon to become stronger and stronger, and the king of Egypt to become completely weak. When that happens, when I make the Babylonian army strong, they will use that power to attack Egypt. BSB BSB: I will strengthen the arms of Babylon’s king, but Pharaoh’s arms will fall limp. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I place My sword in the hand of Babylon’s king, and he wields it against the land of Egypt.
26 ARST I will scatter the people of Egypt among the nations. And when that happens, people will know that I, Yahweh, have the power to do what I say that I will do. BSB BSB: I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them throughout the lands. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.