Isa 19, Jer 25:19, 46:1-26, Eze 29:19-20, Eze 30-32 | ESV | STEP | An oracle concerning Egypt . Behold , the Lord is riding on a swift cloud and comes to Egypt ; and the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence , and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them .

1 An ^aoracle concerning ^bEgypt.

Behold, the Lord ^cis riding on a swift cloud
and comes to Egypt;
and ^dthe idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence,
and the heart of the Egyptians will ^emelt within them.
2 And I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians,
^fand they will fight, each against another
and each against his neighbor,
city against city, kingdom against kingdom;
3 and the spirit of the Egyptians within them will be emptied out,
and I will confound ^{▼▼Or I will swallow up} their ^hcounsel;
and they will inquire of the idols and the sorcerers,
and ⁱthe mediums and the necromancers;
4 and I will give over the Egyptians
into the hand of ^ja hard master,
and a fierce king will rule over them,
declares the Lord God of hosts.
5 And the waters of the sea will be dried up,
and the river will be dry and parched,
6 and its canals will become foul,
and the branches of Egypt’s Nile will diminish and dry up,
reeds and rushes will rot away.
7 There will be bare places by the Nile,
on the brink of the Nile,
and all that is sown by the Nile will be parched,
will be driven away, and will be no more.
8 The ^kfishermen will mourn and lament,
all who cast a hook in the Nile;
and they will languish
who spread nets on the water.
9 The workers in ^lcombed flax will be in despair,
and the weavers of white cotton.
10 Those who are the ^mpillars of the land will be crushed,
and all who ⁿwork for pay will be grieved.
11 The princes of ^oZoan are utterly foolish;
the wisest counselors of Pharaoh give stupid counsel.
How can you say to Pharaoh,
“I am a son of the wise,
a son of ancient kings”?
12 Where then are your ^pwise men?
Let them tell you
that they might know what the Lord of hosts has purposed against Egypt.
13 The princes of ^qZoan have become fools,
and the princes of ^rMemphis are deluded;
those who are the ^scornerstones of her tribes
have made Egypt stagger.
14 The Lord has mingled within her ^ta spirit of confusion,
and they will make Egypt stagger in all its deeds,
^uas a drunken man staggers in his vomit.
15 And there will be nothing for Egypt
that ^vhead or tail, palm branch or reed, may do.

Egypt, Assyria, Israel Blessed

16 In that day the Egyptians will be ^wlike women, and ^xtremble with fear before the hand that the Lord of hosts shakes over them. 17 And the land of Judah will become a terror to the Egyptians. Everyone to whom it is mentioned will fear because of the purpose that the Lord of hosts has purposed against them.

18 ^yIn that day there will be ^zfive cities in the land of Egypt that ^aaspeak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord of hosts. One of these will be called the City of Destruction. ^{▼▼Dead Sea Scroll and some other manuscripts City of the Sun}

19 In that day there will be an ^acaltar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a ^adpillar to the Lord at its border. 20 ^aeIt will be a sign and a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry to the Lord because of oppressors, ^afhe will send them a savior and defender, and deliver them. 21 ^agAnd the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians will know the Lord in that day ^ahand worship with sacrifice and offering, and they will make vows to the Lord and perform them. 22 ^aiAnd the Lord will strike Egypt, striking and healing, and they will return to the Lord, and he will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them.

23 ^ajIn that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria, ^akand the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians.

24 In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, ^ala blessing in the midst of the earth, 25 whom the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed be Egypt ^ammy people, and Assyria ^anthe work of my hands, and ^aoIsrael my inheritance.”

Jeremiah 25:19

19 ^apPharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his officials, all his people,

Jeremiah 46:1-26

Judgment on Egypt

1 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet ^aqconcerning the nations.

2 About Egypt. ^arConcerning the army of Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates at Carchemish and which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in ^asthe fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:

3 ^at“Prepare buckler and shield,
and advance for battle!
4 ^auHarness the horses;
mount, O horsemen!
Take your stations with your helmets,
^avpolish your spears,
put on your armor!
5 Why have I seen it?
They are dismayed
and have turned backward.
Their ^awwarriors are beaten down
and have fled in haste;
^axthey look not back—
^ayterror on every side!

declares the Lord.
6 “The swift cannot flee away,
nor the warrior escape;
^azin the north by the river Euphrates
^bathey have stumbled and fallen.
7 “Who is this, ^bbrising like the Nile,
like rivers ^bcwhose waters surge?
8 Egypt rises like the Nile,
like rivers ^bdwhose waters surge.
He said, ‘I will rise, I will cover the earth,
I will destroy cities and their inhabitants.’
9 ^beAdvance, O horses,
and rage, O chariots!
Let the warriors go out:
men of Cush and ^bfPut who handle the shield,
^bgmen of Lud, skilled in handling the bow.
10 ^bhThat day is the day of the Lord God of hosts,
^bia day of vengeance,
^bjto avenge himself on his foes.
^bkThe sword shall devour and be sated
and drink its fill of their blood.
For the Lord God of hosts holds ^bla sacrifice
^bmin the north country ^bnby the river Euphrates.
11 ^boGo up to Gilead, and take ^bpbalm,
O virgin daughter of Egypt!
In vain you have used many medicines;
^bqthere is no healing for you.
12 The nations have heard of your shame,
and the earth is full of your cry;
^brfor warrior has stumbled against warrior;
they have both fallen together.”
13 The word that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of ^bsNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt:

14 “Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in ^btMigdol;
proclaim in ^buMemphis and ^bvTahpanhes;
say, ^bw‘Stand ready and be prepared,
for ^bxthe sword shall devour around you.’
15 Why are your mighty ones face down?
They do not stand ^{▼▼Hebrew He does not stand}
because the Lord thrust them down.
16 He made many stumble, ^bzand they fell,
and they said one to another,
‘Arise, and let us go back to our own people
and to the land of our birth,
^cabecause of the sword of the oppressor.’
17 Call the name of ^cbPharaoh, king of Egypt,
‘Noisy one who lets the hour go by.’
18 ^cc“As I live, declares the King,
^cdwhose name is the Lord of hosts,
like ^ceTabor among the mountains
and like ^cfCarmel by the sea, shall one come.
19 ^cgPrepare yourselves baggage for exile,
O ^chinhabitants of Egypt!
For ^ciMemphis shall become a waste,
a ruin, ^cjwithout inhabitant.
20 “A beautiful ^ckheifer is Egypt,
but a biting fly ^clfrom the north has come upon her.
21 Even her hired soldiers in her midst
are like ^cmfattened calves;
yes, they have turned and fled together;
they did not stand,
for the day of their calamity has come upon them,
^cnthe time of their punishment.
22 “She makes ^coa sound like a serpent gliding away;
for her enemies march in force
and come against her with axes
^cplike those who fell trees.
23 ^cqThey shall cut down her forest,

declares the Lord,
though it is impenetrable,
because ^crthey are more numerous than locusts;
they are without number.
24 The daughter of Egypt shall be put to shame;
she shall be delivered into the hand of ^csa people from the north.”
25 The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, said: “Behold, I am bringing punishment upon ^ctAmon of ^cuThebes, and Pharaoh and Egypt ^cvand her gods and her kings, upon Pharaoh and those who trust in him. 26 ^cwI will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their life, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. ^cxAfterward Egypt shall be inhabited ^cyas in the days of old, declares the Lord.

Ezekiel 29:19-20

19 Therefore thus says the Lord God: ^czBehold, I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; ^daand he shall carry off its wealth ^{▼▼Or multitude} ^dcand despoil it and plunder it; and it shall be the wages for his army. 20 ^ddI have given him the land of Egypt as his payment for which he labored, because they worked for me, declares the Lord God.

Ezekiel 30

A Lament for Egypt

1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 ^de“Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord God:

^df“Wail, ‘Alas for the day!’
3 ^dgFor the day is near,
^dhthe day of the Lord is near;
it will be ^dia day of clouds,
a time of doom for ^{▼▼Hebrew lacks doom for} the nations.
4 ^dkA sword shall come upon Egypt,
^dland anguish shall be in ^dmCush,
when the slain fall in Egypt,
and ^dnher wealth ^{▼▼Or multitude; also verse 10} is carried away,
and ^dpher foundations are torn down.
5 ^dqCush, and ^drPut, and Lud, and ^dsall Arabia, and Libya, ^{▼▼With Septuagint; Hebrew Cub} and the people of the land that is in league, ^{▼▼Hebrew and the sons of the land of the covenant} shall fall with them by the sword.

6 “Thus says the Lord:
^dvThose who support Egypt shall fall,
and ^dwher proud might shall come down;
^dxfrom Migdol to Syene
they shall fall within her by the sword,
declares the Lord God.
7 ^dyAnd 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 ^dzThen they will know that I am the Lord,
when ^eaI have set fire to Egypt,
and ^eball her helpers are broken.
9 “On that day ^ecmessengers shall go out from me in ships to terrify the unsuspecting ^edpeople of Cush, and ^eeanguish shall come upon them on the day of Egypt’s doom; ^{▼▼Hebrew the day of Egypt} for, behold, it comes!

10 “Thus says the Lord God:

^eg“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, ^ehthe most ruthless of nations,
shall be brought in to destroy the land,
^eiand they shall draw their swords against Egypt
and fill the land with the slain.
12 And ^ejI will ^ekdry up the Nile
and will sell the land into the hand of ^elevildoers;
^emI will bring desolation upon the land and everything in it,
by the hand of ^enforeigners;
^eoI am the Lord; I have spoken.
13 “Thus says the Lord God:

^ep“I will destroy the idols
and put an end to the images in ^eqMemphis;
^erthere shall no longer be a prince from the land of Egypt;
so ^esI will put fear in the land of Egypt.
14 I will make ^etPathros a desolation
and will set fire to ^euZoan
^evand will execute judgments on ^ewThebes.
15 And I will pour out my wrath on Pelusium,
the stronghold of Egypt,
and cut off the multitude ^{▼▼Or wealth} of Thebes.
16 And I will set fire to Egypt;
Pelusium shall be in great agony;
Thebes shall be breached,
and ^eyMemphis shall face enemies ^{▼▼Or distress} by day.
17 The young men of On and of Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword,
and the women ^{▼▼Or the cities; Hebrew they} shall go into captivity.
18 At ^fbTehaphnehes ^fcthe day shall be dark,
when I break there the yoke bars of Egypt,
and ^fdher 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 ^feI will execute judgments on Egypt.
^ffThen they will know that I am the Lord.”

Egypt Shall Fall to Babylon

20 ^fgIn the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 21 ^fh“Son of man, ^fiI have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and behold, ^fjit 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 ^fkwill break his arms, both the strong arm and the one that was broken, and I will make the sword fall from his hand. 23 ^flI will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them through the countries. 24 And ^fmI will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put ^fnmy sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before him ^folike a man mortally wounded. 25 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall. ^fpThen they shall know that I am the Lord, ^fqwhen 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.”

Ezekiel 31

Pharaoh to Be Slain

1 ^frIn the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 2 ^fs“Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to ^fthis multitude:

^fu“Whom are you like in your greatness?
3 Behold, ^fvAssyria was a ^fwcedar in ^fxLebanon,
with beautiful branches and ^fyforest shade,
^fzand of towering height,
its top among the clouds. ^{▼▼Or its top went through the thick boughs; also verses 10, 14}
4 The waters nourished it;
the deep made it grow tall,
making ^gbits rivers flow
around the place of its planting,
sending forth its streams
to all the trees of the field.
5 So ^gcit towered high
above all the trees of the field;
its boughs grew large
and its branches long
from ^gdabundant water in its shoots.
6 ^geAll the birds of the heavens
made their nests in its boughs;
under its branches all the beasts of the field
gave birth to their young,
and under its shadow
lived all great nations.
7 It was ^gfbeautiful in its greatness,
in the length of its branches;
^ggfor its roots went down
to abundant waters.
8 ^ghThe cedars ^giin the garden of God could not rival it,
nor the fir trees equal its boughs;
neither were the plane trees
like its branches;
no tree ^gjin the garden of God
was its equal in beauty.
9 I made it beautiful
in the mass of its branches,
and all the trees of ^gkEden envied it,
that were in the garden of God.
10 “Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because ^glit ^{▼▼Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew you} towered high and set its top among the clouds, and ^gnits heart was proud of its height, 11 I will give it into the hand of a mighty one of the nations. He shall surely deal with it as its wickedness deserves. I have cast it out. 12 ^goForeigners, ^gpthe most ruthless of nations, have cut it down and left it. ^gqOn the mountains and in all the valleys its branches have fallen, and its boughs have been broken in all ^grthe ravines of the land, and ^gsall the peoples of the earth have gone away from its shadow and left it. 13 ^gtOn its fallen trunk dwell all the birds of the heavens, and on its branches are all the beasts of the field. 14 ^guAll this is in order that no trees by the waters may grow to towering height or set their tops among the clouds, and that no trees that drink water may reach up to them in height. For they are all given over to death, ^gvto the world ^gwbelow, among the children of man, ^{▼▼Or of Adam} with those who go down to the pit.

15 “Thus says the Lord God: On the day ^gythe cedar ^{▼▼Hebrew it} went down to Sheol I caused mourning; I closed the deep over it, and restrained its rivers, and many waters were stopped. I clothed Lebanon in gloom for it, and all the trees of the field fainted because of it. 16 ^haI made the nations quake at the sound of its fall, ^hbwhen I cast it down to Sheol with those who go down to the pit. ^hcAnd all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, ^hdwere comforted in the world below. 17 They also went down to Sheol with it, ^heto those who are slain by the sword; yes, ^hfthose who were its arm, ^hgwho lived under its shadow among the nations.

18 ^hh“Whom are you thus like in glory and in greatness ^hiamong the trees of Eden? ^hjYou shall be brought down with ^hkthe trees of Eden to the world below. ^hlYou shall lie among the uncircumcised, ^hmwith those who are slain by the sword.

^hn“This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares the Lord God.”

Ezekiel 32

A Lament over Pharaoh and Egypt

1 ^hoIn the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 2 ^hp“Son of man, ^hqraise a lamentation over ^hrPharaoh king of Egypt and say to him:

“You consider yourself ^hsa lion of the nations,
but you are like ^hta dragon ^huin the seas;
^hvyou burst forth in your rivers,
trouble the waters with your feet,
and foul their rivers.
3 Thus says the Lord God:
^hwI will throw my net over you
with a host of ^hxmany peoples,
and ^hythey will haul you up in my dragnet.
4 And ^hzI will cast you on the ground;
on the open field I will fling you,
and will cause all the birds of the heavens to settle on you,
and I will gorge the beasts of the whole earth with you.
5 I will strew your flesh ^iaupon the mountains
and fill the valleys with your carcass. ^{▼▼Hebrew your height}
6 I will drench the land even to the mountains
with your flowing blood,
and the ravines will be full of you.
7 ^icWhen I blot you out, ^idI will cover the heavens
and make their stars dark;
I will cover the sun with a cloud,
and the moon shall not give its light.
8 All the bright lights of heaven
will I make dark over you,
and ^ieput darkness on your land,

declares the Lord God.
9 “I will trouble the hearts of many peoples, when I bring your destruction among the nations, into the countries that you have not known. 10 ^ifI will make many peoples appalled at you, and the hair of their kings shall bristle with horror because of you, when ^igI brandish my sword before them. ^ihThey shall tremble every moment, every one for his own life, on the day of your downfall.

11 “For thus says the Lord God: ⁱⁱThe sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon you. 12 I will cause ^ijyour multitude to fall by the swords of mighty ones, all of them ^ikmost ruthless of nations.

^il“They shall bring to ruin the pride of Egypt,
and all its multitude ^{▼▼Or wealth} shall perish.
13 I will destroy all its beasts
from beside many waters;
ⁱⁿand no foot of man shall trouble them anymore,
nor shall the hoofs of beasts trouble them.
14 Then ^ioI will make their waters clear,
and cause their rivers to run like oil,

declares the Lord God.
15 When I make the land of Egypt desolate,
and when the land ^ipis desolate of all that fills it,
when I strike down all who dwell in it,
then ^iqthey will know that I am the Lord.
16 ^irThis is a lamentation that shall be chanted; the daughters of the nations shall chant it; over Egypt, and over ^isall her multitude, shall they chant it, declares the Lord God.”

17 ^itIn the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, ^{▼▼Hebrew lacks in the twelfth month} on the fifteenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 18 ^iv“Son of man, ^iwwail over ^ixthe multitude of Egypt, and ^iysend them down, her and the daughters of majestic nations, ^izto the world below, to those who have gone down to the pit:

19 ^ja‘Whom do you surpass in beauty?
Go down and ^jbbe laid to rest with the uncircumcised.’
20 They shall fall amid those ^jcwho are slain by the sword. Egypt ^{▼▼Hebrew She} is delivered to the sword; drag her away, and ^jeall her multitudes. 21 The mighty chiefs ^jfshall speak of them, ^jgwith their helpers, out of the midst of Sheol: ‘They have come down, they lie still, ^jhthe uncircumcised, ^jislain by the sword.’

22 ^jj“Assyria is there, and all her company, ^jkits graves all around it, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, 23 whose graves are set in ^jlthe uttermost parts of the pit; and her company is all around her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, ^jmwho spread terror ^jnin the land of the living.

24 ^jo“Elam is ^jpthere, and all her multitude around her grave; all of them ^jqslain, fallen by the sword, who went down uncircumcised into ^jrthe world below, who spread their terror in the land of the living; and ^jsthey bear their shame ^jtwith those who go down to the pit. 25 ^juThey have made her a bed among the slain with all her multitude, ^jvher graves all around it, all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for terror of them was spread in the land of the living, and they bear their shame with those who go down to the pit; they are placed among the slain.

26 ^jw“Meshech-Tubal is ^jxthere, and all her multitude, ^jyher graves all around it, all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for they spread their terror in the land of the living. 27 And ^jzthey do not lie with the mighty, the fallen from among the uncircumcised, who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war, whose swords were laid under their heads, and whose iniquities are upon their bones; for the terror of the mighty men was in the land of the living. 28 But as for you, you shall be broken ^kaand lie among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword.

29 ^kb“Edom is ^kcthere, her kings and all her princes, who for all their might are laid with those who are killed by the sword; they lie with the uncircumcised, with those who go down to the pit.

30 “The princes ^kdof the north are there, all of them, and all the ^keSidonians, who have gone down in shame with the slain, ^kffor all the terror that they caused by their might; they lie uncircumcised with those who are slain by the sword, and ^kgbear their shame with those who go down to the pit.

31 “When Pharaoh sees them, he ^khwill be comforted for ^kiall his multitude, Pharaoh and all his army, slain by the sword, declares the Lord God. 32 ^kjFor I spread terror ^kkin the land of the living; and he shall be laid to rest among ^klthe uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword, Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares the Lord God.”