Ezekiel 29 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.

In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day, a message from Yahweh came to me:

"Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all of Egypt.

Speak and say: This is what Yahweh, the Lord of all, declares — I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, you great sea creature sprawled in your rivers, who says, 'My Nile belongs to me — I made it for myself.'

But I will set hooks in your jaws and make the fish of your rivers cling to your scales. I will haul you up out of your rivers — you and all the fish stuck to your scales.

I will fling you into the desert — you and all the fish of your rivers. You will fall on the open ground, never gathered up, never collected. I have given you as food to the wild animals and the birds of the sky.

Then everyone living in Egypt will know that I am Yahweh. Because you were a staff made of reeds for the people of Israel —

when they gripped you by the hand, you splintered and tore open their whole shoulder; when they leaned on you, you snapped and made all their legs buckle.

So this is what Yahweh, the Lord of all, declares: Watch — I am bringing a sword against you, and I will cut off from you both people and animals.

The land of Egypt will become a desolate wasteland, and they will know that I am Yahweh. Because you said, 'The Nile is mine — I made it' —

so I am against you and against your rivers. I will turn the land of Egypt into ruins — a dried-up, desolate waste — from Migdol to Syene, all the way to the border of Cush.

No human foot will pass through it, no animal hoof will pass through it. It will be uninhabited for forty years.

I will make the land of Egypt a desolation among desolated lands, and its cities will lie in ruins among ruined cities for forty years. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them across foreign lands.

But this is what Yahweh, the Lord of all, declares: At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples where they were scattered.

I will restore the fortunes of Egypt and bring them back to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin, and there they will be a lowly kingdom.

It will be the lowest of kingdoms and never again rise above the other nations. I will make them so small that they will never again rule over the nations.

Egypt will never again be something the people of Israel trust in. Instead, it will be a reminder of their failure in turning to Egypt for help. Then they will know that I am Yahweh, the Lord of all."

In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day, a message from Yahweh came to me:

"Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon drove his army in a grueling campaign against Tyre. Every head was rubbed bald and every shoulder rubbed raw. But neither he nor his army got any reward from Tyre for the campaign he waged against it.

So this is what Yahweh, the Lord of all, declares: Watch — I am handing the land of Egypt over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. He will carry off its wealth, seize its plunder, and strip its spoils — and that will be the wages for his army.

I have given him the land of Egypt as payment for his labor, because they were working for me — this is the declaration of Yahweh, the Lord of all.

On that day I will cause a horn to sprout for the people of Israel, and I will open your mouth among them. Then they will know that I am Yahweh."