Jer 43:9-13, 46:13-26, Eze 29-30, 31:18-32:32 | ESV | STEP | Take in your hands large stones and hide them in the mortar in the pavement that is at the entrance to Pharaoh’s palace in Tahpanhes , in the sight of the men of Judah ,

9 “Take in your hands large stones and hide them in the mortar in the pavement that is at the entrance to Pharaoh’s palace in ^aTahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah, 10 and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, ^bmy servant, ^cand I will set his throne above these stones that I have hidden, and he will spread his royal canopy over them. 11 He shall come ^dand strike the land of Egypt, ^egiving over to the pestilence those who are doomed to the pestilence, to captivity those who are doomed to captivity, and to the sword those who are doomed to the sword. 12 ^fI shall kindle a fire ^gin the temples of the gods of Egypt, and he shall burn them ^hand carry them away captive. ⁱAnd he shall clean the land of Egypt ^jas a shepherd cleans his cloak of vermin, and he shall go away from there in peace. 13 He shall break the ^kobelisks of Heliopolis, which is in the land of Egypt, ^land the temples of the gods of Egypt he shall burn with fire.’”

Jeremiah 46:13-26

13 The word that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of ^mNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt:

14 “Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in ⁿMigdol;
proclaim in ^oMemphis and ^pTahpanhes;
say, ^q‘Stand ready and be prepared,
for ^rthe 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, ^tand 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,
^ubecause of the sword of the oppressor.’
17 Call the name of ^vPharaoh, king of Egypt,
‘Noisy one who lets the hour go by.’
18 ^w“As I live, declares the King,
^xwhose name is the Lord of hosts,
like ^yTabor among the mountains
and like ^zCarmel by the sea, shall one come.
19 ^aaPrepare yourselves baggage for exile,
O ^abinhabitants of Egypt!
For ^acMemphis shall become a waste,
a ruin, ^adwithout inhabitant.
20 “A beautiful ^aeheifer is Egypt,
but a biting fly ^affrom the north has come upon her.
21 Even her hired soldiers in her midst
are like ^agfattened calves;
yes, they have turned and fled together;
they did not stand,
for the day of their calamity has come upon them,
^ahthe time of their punishment.
22 “She makes ^aia sound like a serpent gliding away;
for her enemies march in force
and come against her with axes
^ajlike those who fell trees.
23 ^akThey shall cut down her forest,

declares the Lord,
though it is impenetrable,
because ^althey 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 ^ama people from the north.”
25 The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, said: “Behold, I am bringing punishment upon ^anAmon of ^aoThebes, and Pharaoh and Egypt ^apand her gods and her kings, upon Pharaoh and those who trust in him. 26 ^aqI will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their life, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. ^arAfterward Egypt shall be inhabited ^asas in the days of old, declares the Lord.

Ezekiel 29

Prophecy Against Egypt

1 ^atIn the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 2 ^au“Son of man, ^avset your face against ^awPharaoh king of Egypt, ^axand prophesy against him and ^ayagainst all Egypt; 3 speak, and say, Thus says the Lord God:

^az“Behold, I am against you,
Pharaoh king of Egypt,
^bathe great dragon that lies
in the midst of his streams,
^bbthat says, ‘My Nile is my own;
I made it for myself.’
4 I will ^bcput hooks in your jaws,
and make the fish of your streams stick to your scales;
and I will draw you up out of the midst of your streams,
with all the fish of your streams
that stick to your scales.
5 ^bdAnd I will cast you out into the wilderness,
you and all the fish of your streams;
you shall fall ^beon the open field,
and ^bfnot be brought together or gathered.
To the beasts of the earth and to the birds of the heavens
^bgI give you as food.
6 Then all the inhabitants of Egypt ^bhshall know that I am the Lord.

“Because you ^{▼▼Hebrew they} have been ^bja staff of reed to the house of Israel, 7 ^bkwhen they grasped you with the hand, you broke and tore all their shoulders; and when they leaned on you, you broke and made all their loins to shake. ^{▼▼Syriac (compare Psalm 69:23); Hebrew to stand} 8 Therefore thus says the Lord God: ^bmBehold, I will bring a sword upon you, and will cut off from you man and beast, 9 and the land of Egypt shall be a desolation and a waste. ^bnThen they will know that I am the Lord.

^bo“Because you ^{▼▼Hebrew he} said, ‘The Nile is mine, and I made it,’ 10 therefore, ^bqbehold, I am against you and ^bragainst your streams, and ^bsI will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, ^btfrom Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of Cush. 11 ^buNo foot of man shall pass through it, and no foot of beast shall pass through it; it shall be uninhabited forty years. 12 ^bvAnd I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the midst of desolated countries, and her cities shall be a desolation forty years among cities that are laid waste. ^bwI will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them through the countries.

13 “For thus says the Lord God: At the end of forty years ^bxI will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered, 14 and ^byI will restore the fortunes of Egypt and bring them back to ^bzthe land of Pathros, the land of their origin, and there they shall be a lowly kingdom. 15 It shall be the most lowly of the kingdoms, ^caand never again exalt itself above the nations. And I will make them so small that they will never again rule over the nations. 16 And it shall never again be ^cbthe reliance of the house of Israel, recalling their iniquity, when they turn to them for aid. ^ccThen they will know that I am the Lord God.”

17 ^cdIn the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 18 ^ce“Son of man, ^cfNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre. Every head was made bald, and every shoulder was rubbed bare, yet neither he nor his army got anything from Tyre to pay for the labor that he had performed against her. 19 Therefore thus says the Lord God: ^cgBehold, I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; ^chand he shall carry off its wealth ^{▼▼Or multitude} ^cjand despoil it and plunder it; and it shall be the wages for his army. 20 ^ckI have given him the land of Egypt as his payment for which he labored, because they worked for me, declares the Lord God.

21 “On that day ^clI will cause a horn to spring up for the house of Israel, and ^cmI will open your lips among them. ^cnThen they will know that I am the Lord.”

Ezekiel 30

A Lament for Egypt

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

^cp“Wail, ‘Alas for the day!’
3 ^cqFor the day is near,
^crthe day of the Lord is near;
it will be ^csa day of clouds,
a time of doom for ^{▼▼Hebrew lacks doom for} the nations.
4 ^cuA sword shall come upon Egypt,
^cvand anguish shall be in ^cwCush,
when the slain fall in Egypt,
and ^cxher wealth ^{▼▼Or multitude; also verse 10} is carried away,
and ^czher foundations are torn down.
5 ^daCush, and ^dbPut, and Lud, and ^dcall 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:
^dfThose who support Egypt shall fall,
and ^dgher proud might shall come down;
^dhfrom Migdol to Syene
they shall fall within her by the sword,
declares the Lord God.
7 ^diAnd 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 ^djThen they will know that I am the Lord,
when ^dkI have set fire to Egypt,
and ^dlall her helpers are broken.
9 “On that day ^dmmessengers shall go out from me in ships to terrify the unsuspecting ^dnpeople of Cush, and ^doanguish 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:

^dq“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, ^drthe most ruthless of nations,
shall be brought in to destroy the land,
^dsand they shall draw their swords against Egypt
and fill the land with the slain.
12 And ^dtI will ^dudry up the Nile
and will sell the land into the hand of ^dvevildoers;
^dwI will bring desolation upon the land and everything in it,
by the hand of ^dxforeigners;
^dyI am the Lord; I have spoken.
13 “Thus says the Lord God:

^dz“I will destroy the idols
and put an end to the images in ^eaMemphis;
^ebthere shall no longer be a prince from the land of Egypt;
so ^ecI will put fear in the land of Egypt.
14 I will make ^edPathros a desolation
and will set fire to ^eeZoan
^efand will execute judgments on ^egThebes.
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 ^eiMemphis 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 ^elTehaphnehes ^emthe day shall be dark,
when I break there the yoke bars of Egypt,
and ^enher 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 ^eoI will execute judgments on Egypt.
^epThen they will know that I am the Lord.”

Egypt Shall Fall to Babylon

20 ^eqIn the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 21 ^er“Son of man, ^esI have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and behold, ^etit 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 ^euwill break his arms, both the strong arm and the one that was broken, and I will make the sword fall from his hand. 23 ^evI will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them through the countries. 24 And ^ewI will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put ^exmy sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before him ^eylike a man mortally wounded. 25 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall. ^ezThen they shall know that I am the Lord, ^fawhen 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 31:18

18 ^fb“Whom are you thus like in glory and in greatness ^fcamong the trees of Eden? ^fdYou shall be brought down with ^fethe trees of Eden to the world below. ^ffYou shall lie among the uncircumcised, ^fgwith those who are slain by the sword.

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

Ezekiel 32

A Lament over Pharaoh and Egypt

1 ^fiIn the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 2 ^fj“Son of man, ^fkraise a lamentation over ^flPharaoh king of Egypt and say to him:

“You consider yourself ^fma lion of the nations,
but you are like ^fna dragon ^foin the seas;
^fpyou burst forth in your rivers,
trouble the waters with your feet,
and foul their rivers.
3 Thus says the Lord God:
^fqI will throw my net over you
with a host of ^frmany peoples,
and ^fsthey will haul you up in my dragnet.
4 And ^ftI 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 ^fuupon 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 ^fwWhen I blot you out, ^fxI 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 ^fyput 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 ^fzI will make many peoples appalled at you, and the hair of their kings shall bristle with horror because of you, when ^gaI brandish my sword before them. ^gbThey shall tremble every moment, every one for his own life, on the day of your downfall.

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

^gf“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;
^ghand no foot of man shall trouble them anymore,
nor shall the hoofs of beasts trouble them.
14 Then ^giI 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 ^gjis desolate of all that fills it,
when I strike down all who dwell in it,
then ^gkthey will know that I am the Lord.
16 ^glThis is a lamentation that shall be chanted; the daughters of the nations shall chant it; over Egypt, and over ^gmall her multitude, shall they chant it, declares the Lord God.”

17 ^gnIn 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 ^gp“Son of man, ^gqwail over ^grthe multitude of Egypt, and ^gssend them down, her and the daughters of majestic nations, ^gtto the world below, to those who have gone down to the pit:

19 ^gu‘Whom do you surpass in beauty?
Go down and ^gvbe laid to rest with the uncircumcised.’
20 They shall fall amid those ^gwwho are slain by the sword. Egypt ^{▼▼Hebrew She} is delivered to the sword; drag her away, and ^gyall her multitudes. 21 The mighty chiefs ^gzshall speak of them, ^hawith their helpers, out of the midst of Sheol: ‘They have come down, they lie still, ^hbthe uncircumcised, ^hcslain by the sword.’

22 ^hd“Assyria is there, and all her company, ^heits graves all around it, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, 23 whose graves are set in ^hfthe uttermost parts of the pit; and her company is all around her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, ^hgwho spread terror ^hhin the land of the living.

24 ^hi“Elam is ^hjthere, and all her multitude around her grave; all of them ^hkslain, fallen by the sword, who went down uncircumcised into ^hlthe world below, who spread their terror in the land of the living; and ^hmthey bear their shame ^hnwith those who go down to the pit. 25 ^hoThey have made her a bed among the slain with all her multitude, ^hpher 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 ^hq“Meshech-Tubal is ^hrthere, and all her multitude, ^hsher 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 ^htthey 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 ^huand lie among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword.

29 ^hv“Edom is ^hwthere, 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 ^hxof the north are there, all of them, and all the ^hySidonians, who have gone down in shame with the slain, ^hzfor all the terror that they caused by their might; they lie uncircumcised with those who are slain by the sword, and ^iabear their shame with those who go down to the pit.

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