Ezekiel 30 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.

The word of Yahweh came to me:

"Son of man, prophesy and say: This is what Yahweh, the Sovereign One, declares — Wail! Cry out: 'What a devastating day!'

For the day is near — the day of Yahweh is near. A day thick with clouds, the hour of reckoning for the nations.

A sword will come against Egypt, and anguish will grip Cush when the slain collapse in Egypt, when her wealth is hauled away, and her foundations are torn apart.

Cush, Put, Lud, all the mixed peoples, Libya, and the people of the covenant land — they will all fall by the sword alongside Egypt.

This is what Yahweh declares: Those who prop up Egypt will fall, and her arrogant strength will crumble. From Migdol to Syene they will fall by the sword — this is the declaration of Yahweh, the Sovereign One.

They will be desolate among desolate lands, and their cities will stand among cities in ruins.

Then they will know that I am Yahweh, when I set fire to Egypt and all who helped her are shattered.

On that day, messengers will go out from me in ships to shatter the complacency of Cush. Anguish will seize them on the day of Egypt's doom — for look, it is coming.

This is what Yahweh, the Sovereign One, declares: I will put an end to Egypt's hordes — through the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.

He and his army — the most ruthless of nations — will be brought in to devastate the land. They will draw their swords against Egypt and fill the land with the slain.

I will dry up the channels of the Nile and sell the land into the hands of the wicked. I will lay waste to the land and everything in it — through the hands of foreigners. I, Yahweh, have spoken.

This is what Yahweh, the Sovereign One, declares: I will destroy the idols and put an end to the false gods of Memphis. There will no longer be a ruler in the land of Egypt, and I will spread fear throughout Egypt.

I will lay waste to Pathros, set fire to Zoan, and execute judgment on Thebes.

I will pour out my fury on Pelusium, the fortress of Egypt, and I will cut off the hordes of Thebes.

I will set fire to Egypt. Pelusium will writhe in agony, Thebes will be ripped open, and Memphis will face enemies in broad daylight.

The young warriors of On and Pi-beseth will fall by the sword, and the cities themselves will go into captivity.

In Tahpanhes the day will go dark when I shatter Egypt's yoke of power there. Her arrogant strength will come to an end. A cloud will cover her, and her daughters will go into captivity.

I will execute judgment on Egypt, and they will know that I am Yahweh."

In the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day, the word of Yahweh came to me:

"Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Look — it has not been bound up for healing, no splint set to wrap it, no strength restored to grip a sword."

So this is what Yahweh, the Sovereign One, declares: I am against Pharaoh, king of Egypt. I will break both his arms — the one still whole and the one already broken — and I will make the sword drop from his hand.

I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them across the lands.

I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and place my own sword in his hand. But I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before Babylon's king like a man with a fatal wound.

I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will hang limp. Then they will know that I am Yahweh, when I place my sword in the hand of the king of Babylon and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt.

I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them across the lands. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.