Ezekiel 29

“Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt,

the great monster that lies in the middle of his rivers,

that has said, ‘My river is my own,

and I have made it for myself.’

⁴I will put hooks in your jaws,

and I will make the fish of your rivers stick to your scales.

I will bring you up out of the middle of your rivers,

with all the fish of your rivers which stick to your scales.

⁵I’ll cast you out into the wilderness,

you and all the fish of your rivers.

You’ll fall on the open field.

You won’t be brought together or gathered.

I have given you for food to the animals of the earth

and to the birds of the sky.

⁶“ ‘ “All the inhabitants of Egypt will know that I am the LORD, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel. ⁷When they took hold of you by your hand, you broke and tore all their shoulders. When they leaned on you, you broke and paralyzed all of their thighs.”

⁸“ ‘Therefore the Lord GOD says: “Behold, I will bring a sword on you, and will cut off man and animal from you. ⁹The land of Egypt will be a desolation and a waste. Then they will know that I am the LORD.

“ ‘ “Because he has said, ‘The river is mine, and I have made it,’ ¹⁰therefore, behold, I am against you and against your rivers. I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from the tower of Seveneh even to the border of Ethiopia. ¹¹No foot of man will pass through it, nor will any animal foot pass through it. It won’t be inhabited for forty years. ¹²I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the middle of the countries that are desolate. Her cities among the cities that are laid waste will be a desolation forty years. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries.”

¹³“ ‘For the Lord GOD says: “At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples where they were scattered. ¹⁴I will reverse the captivity of Egypt, and will cause them to return into the land of Pathros, into the land of their birth. There they will be a lowly kingdom. ¹⁵It will be the lowest of the kingdoms. It won’t lift itself up above the nations any more. I will diminish them so that they will no longer rule over the nations. ¹⁶It will no longer be the confidence of the house of Israel, bringing iniquity to memory, when they turn to look after them. Then they will know that I am the Lord GOD.” ’ ”