29:1  IN THE tenth year [of the captivity of King Jehoiachin by the king of Babylon], in the tenth [month], on the twelfth [day] of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

29:2  Son of man, set your face toward Pharaoh king of Egypt and prophesy against him and against all Egypt.

29:3  Say, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great monster [of sluggish and unwieldy strength] that lies in the midst of his [delta] streams, [boastfully] declaring, My river Nile is my own and I have made it for myself.

29:4  But I will put hooks in your jaws [O Egyptian dragon] and I will cause the fish of your rivers to stick to your scales, and I will draw you up out of the midst of your streams with all the fish of your streams which stick to your scales.

29:5  And I will cast you forth into the wilderness, you and all the fish of your rivers; you shall fall upon the open field and not be gathered up or buried. I have given you for food to the [wild] beasts of the earth and the birds of the heavens.

29:6  And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord [the Sovereign Ruler, Who calls forth loyalty and obedient service], because they have been a [deceitful] staff [made of fragile] reeds to the house of Israel.

29:7  When they grasped you with the hand {and} leaned upon you, you broke and tore their whole shoulder, and [by injuring their muscles made them so stiff and rigid that] they could do no more than stand.

29:8  Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will bring a sword upon you and cut off man and beast from you,

29:9  And the land of Egypt shall be a desolation and a waste. And they shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord [the Sovereign Ruler, Who calls forth loyalty and obedient service]. Because you have said, The river is mine and I have made it,

29:10  Behold therefore, I am against you and against your streams, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter [plundered] waste and desolation [of subjection] from [northern] Migdol to [southern] Syene, even as far as the border of Ethiopia.

29:11  No foot of man shall pass through it [in travel], no foot of beast shall pass through it [in trade with other countries], neither shall [Egypt] be [truly] inhabited [again] for forty years.

29:12  And I will make the land of Egypt a desolation [plundered and reduced to subjection] in the midst of desolated (plundered and reduced to subjection) countries, and her cities among the cities that are laid waste shall be a desolation forty years. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and will disperse them through the countries.

29:13  Yet thus says the Lord God: At the end of [their] forty years will I gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered,

29:14  And I will reverse the captivity of Egypt [as I will that of Israel] and will cause them to return into the land of Pathros [under Egypt], the land of their origin, and they shall be there a lowly kingdom.

29:15  It shall be the lowliest of the kingdoms, neither shall it exalt itself any more above the nations; I will diminish [the Egyptians] so they shall never again rule over the nations.

29:16  And never again shall Egypt have the confidence {and} be the reliance of the house of Israel; their iniquity will be brought to remembrance whenever [Israel] looks toward them [for help]. They shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord God [Who demands loyalty and obedient service].

29:17  In the twenty-seventh year [after King Jehoiachin was taken to Babylon], in the first month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

29:18  Son of man, Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon caused his army to render heavy service [at My bidding] against Tyre; every [soldier's] head became bald and every shoulder was worn {and} peeled [with carrying loads of earth and stones for siege works]. Yet he had no remuneration from Tyre [in proportion to the time and labor expended in the thirteen years' siege], either for himself or his army, for the work that he had done against it [for Me].

29:19  Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he shall carry off her great mass of people {and} of things (her riches) and take her spoil and take her prey, and it shall be the wages for his army.

29:20  I have given him the land of Egypt for his labor with which he served [against Tyre] because they did it for Me, says the Lord God.

29:21  In that day will I cause a horn to spring forth to the house of Israel and I will open your lips among them, and they shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord [the Sovereign Ruler, Who calls forth loyalty and obedient service].