1A message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said, 2“Son of man, prophesy. Say, ‘The Lord and King says,
“ ‘ “Cry out,
‘A terrible day is coming!’
3The day is near.
The day of the Lord is coming.
It will be a cloudy day.
The nations have been sentenced to die.
4I will send Nebuchadnezzar’s sword against Egypt.
Cush will suffer terribly.
Many will die in Egypt.
Then its wealth will be carried away.
Its foundations will be torn down.
5The people of Cush, Libya, Lydia, Kub and the whole land of Arabia will be killed by swords. So will the Jews who live in Egypt. They went there from the covenant land of Israel. And the Egyptians will die too.” ’ ”
6The Lord says,
“Those who were going to help Egypt will die.
The strength Egypt was so proud of will fail.
Its people will be killed by swords
from Migdol all the way to Aswan,”
announces the Lord and King.
7“Egypt will be more empty than any other land.
Its cities will be completely destroyed.
8I will set Egypt on fire.
All those who came to help it will be crushed.
Then they will know that I am the Lord.
9“At that time I will send messengers out in ships. They will terrify the people of Cush who are so contented. Cush will suffer greatly when Egypt falls. And you can be sure it will fall.”
10The Lord and King says,
“I will put an end to the huge armies of Egypt.
I will use Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, to do this.
11He and his armies will attack the land and destroy it.
They will not show its people any pity at all.
They will use their swords against Egypt.
They will fill the land with dead bodies.
12I will dry up the waters of the Nile River.
I will sell the land to an evil nation.
I will use the power of outsiders
to destroy the land and everything in it.
I have spoken. I am the Lord.”
13The Lord and King says,
“I will destroy the statues of Egypt’s gods.
I will put an end to the gods
the people in Memphis worship.
Egypt will not have princes anymore.
I will spread fear all through the land.
14I will completely destroy Upper Egypt.
I will set Zoan on fire.
I will punish Thebes.
15I will pour out my burning anger on Pelusium.
It is a fort in eastern Egypt.
I will wipe out the huge army of Thebes.
16I will set Egypt on fire.
Pelusium will groan with terrible pain.
Thebes will be ripped apart.
Memphis will suffer greatly
because of everything that happens.
17The young men of Heliopolis and Bubastis
will be killed by swords.
Their people will be taken away as prisoners.
18I will break Egypt’s power over other lands.
That will be a dark day for Tahpanhes.
There the strength Egypt was so proud of
will come to an end.
Egypt will be covered with clouds.
The people in its villages
will be taken away as prisoners.
19So I will punish Egypt.
Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
20It was the 11th year since King Jehoiachin had been brought to Babylon as a prisoner. On the seventh day of the first month, a message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said, 21“Son of man, I have broken the powerful arm of Pharaoh Hophra, the king of Egypt. No bandages have been put on his arm to heal it. It has not been put in a cast. So his arm will not be strong enough to use a sword. 22I am against Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. I will break both his arms. I will break his healthy arm and his broken one. His sword will fall from his hand. 23I will scatter the people of Egypt among the nations. I will send them to other countries. 24I will make the arms of the king of Babylon stronger. I will put my sword in his hand. But I will break the arms of Pharaoh. And he will groan in front of Nebuchadnezzar. He will cry out like someone dying from his wounds. 25I will make the arms of the king of Babylon stronger. But the arms of Pharaoh will not be able to help Egypt. I will put my sword in Nebuchadnezzar’s hand. He will get ready to use it against Egypt. Then they will know that I am the Lord. 26I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations. I will send them to other countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
En klagesang over Egypten
1Herren sagde til mig: 2-3„Du menneske, profetér og sig:
Råb af rædsel, for tiden er kommet,
dagen, hvor Guds dom bliver virkeliggjort.
Herren er klar til at gribe ind.
Det bliver en sort dag for folkeslagene.
4Sværdet rammer Egypten,
Kush skælver af skræk.
Egyptens soldater falder i kampen,
landets rigdomme bliver røvet,
dets fæstninger jævnet med jorden.
5Denne dom gælder også Egyptens lejesoldater, hvad enten de kommer fra Kush, Libyen, Lydien eller andre lande. De skal alle falde i krig, 6for Gud Herren siger: Alle Egyptens allierede skal falde og udryddes sammen med Egyptens egen hær, landets stolthed. Krigen skal rase fra Migdol i nord til Aswan i syd, siger Gud Herren. 7Landet bliver lagt øde som så mange andre, dets byer jævnes med jorden som de andre ødelagte byer. 8Når jeg sætter ild til Egyptens land og uskadeliggør dets forbundsfæller, vil de indse, at jeg er Herren. 9Nyheden bliver bragt med skib til de selvsikre kushitter, som vil ryste af skræk, når de hører, hvordan jeg straffer Egypten.
10Hør hvad Herren siger:
Ved kong Nebukadnezar af Babylon
vil jeg gøre en ende på Egypten.
11Hans grusomme og berygtede hær
skal ødelægge Egyptens land.
De skal nedsable landets soldater,
så der er bunker af lig overalt.
12Jeg udtørrer Nilens vandstrømme,
giver landet i onde menneskers vold.
Jeg jævner Egypten med jorden
ved hjælp af et folk fra det fjerne, siger Herren.
13Jeg knuser egypternes afgudsbilleder
og smadrer afguderne i Memfis.
Jeg udrydder alle Egyptens herskere,
så der bliver kaos og rædsel i landet.
14Jeg ødelægger Patros,
sætter ild til Zoan og straffer No.
15Min vrede skal ramme Sin, egypternes stærke fort.
Nos befolkning udrydder jeg.
16Jeg sætter ild til hele Egypten,
så Sin skælver af skræk.
Nos mure gennembrydes,
Memfis angribes ved højlys dag.
17Unge krigere fra Heliopolis og Bubastis falder for sværdet,
indbyggerne føres bort som slaver.
18Når jeg knækker Egyptens magt
og gør ende på landets stolthed,
ser det sort ud for Takpankes.
Store røgskyer indhyller byen,
mens indbyggerne føres i eksil.
19Jeg straffer Egypten eftertrykkeligt,
så de kan indse, at jeg er Herren.”
20På den syvende dag i den første måned i det 11. år af vores eksil sagde Herren til mig:
21„Du menneske, jeg har brækket egypterkongens arm,
og den skal ikke behandles eller forbindes,
så den igen bliver stærk og kan løfte sværdet.30,21 Under Jerusalems belejring forsøgte egypterne at gå til angreb på babylonierne, men de blev slået tilbage, jf. Jer. 37,5-8
22For Herren siger om egypterkongen:
Jeg vil brække begge hans arme,
både den raske og den, som allerede er skadet.
Sværdet falder ud af hans hænder.
23Jeg sender egypterne i eksil
og spreder dem blandt folkeslagene.
24Jeg styrker kongen af Babyloniens arme
og lægger mit sværd i hans hånd.
Men egypterkongens arme brækker jeg,
så han stønner som en døende foran den babyloniske konge.
25Jeg lægger mit sværd i Babyloniens konges hånd,
og han svinger det over Egyptens land.
Når jeg giver babylonierne sejr over egypterne,
vil de indse, at jeg er Herren.
26Jeg sender egypterne i eksil
og spreder dem blandt folkeslagene.
Da vil de indse, at jeg er Herren.”
