Ezekiel 30:1-19--A Lament for Egypt

Ezekiel 30:1-19
English Standard Version

A Lament for Egypt
30 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD:

“Wail, ‘Alas for the day!’
3     For the day is near,
    the day of the LORD is near;
it will be a day of clouds,
    a time of doom for the nations.
4 A sword shall come upon Egypt,
    and anguish shall be in Cush,
when the slain fall in Egypt,
    and her wealth is carried away,
    and her foundations are torn down.

5 Cush, and Put, and Lud, and all Arabia, and Libya, and the people of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword.

6 “Thus says the LORD:
Those who support Egypt shall fall,
    and her proud might shall come down;
from Migdol to Syene
    they shall fall within her by the sword,
declares the Lord GOD.
7 And they shall be desolated in the midst of desolated countries,
    and their cities shall be in the midst of cities that are laid waste.
8 Then they will know that I am the LORD,
    when I have set fire to Egypt,
    and all her helpers are broken.

9 “On that day messengers shall go out from me in ships to terrify the unsuspecting people of Cush, and anguish shall come upon them on the day of Egypt's doom; for, behold, it comes!

10 “Thus says the Lord GOD:

“I will put an end to the wealth of Egypt,
    by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
11 He and his people with him, the most ruthless of nations,
    shall be brought in to destroy the land,
and they shall draw their swords against Egypt
    and fill the land with the slain.
12 And I will dry up the Nile
    and will sell the land into the hand of evildoers;
I will bring desolation upon the land and everything in it,
    by the hand of foreigners;
I am the LORD; I have spoken.

13 “Thus says the Lord GOD:

“I will destroy the idols
    and put an end to the images in Memphis;
there shall no longer be a prince from the land of Egypt;
    so I will put fear in the land of Egypt.
14 I will make Pathros a desolation
    and will set fire to Zoan
    and will execute judgments on Thebes.
15 And I will pour out my wrath on Pelusium,
    the stronghold of Egypt,
    and cut off the multitude of Thebes.
16 And I will set fire to Egypt;
    Pelusium shall be in great agony;
Thebes shall be breached,
    and Memphis shall face enemies by day.
17 The young men of On and of Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword,
    and the women shall go into captivity.
18 At Tehaphnehes the day shall be dark,
    when I break there the yoke bars of Egypt,
and her proud might shall come to an end in her;
    she shall be covered by a cloud,
    and her daughters shall go into captivity.
19 Thus I will execute judgments on Egypt.
    Then they will know that I am the LORD.”

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Notice the pattern that is developing--the LORD has asked Ezekiel to prophesy judgment against kings and peoples and then he is asked to lament for the destruction of those same kings and peoples.  It grieves the LORD to have to destroy people because of their sins.  He would rather that they repent and be blessed by Him.  For a time, the LORD used Egypt to keep His people "safe" in slavery from the wickedness of the Canaanites that might have corrupted them, but it is now time for Egypt to experience the judgment of the LORD.

All of Egypt's neighbors--specifically Cush, Put, Lud, Arabia, and Syria, will all fall by the sword along with Egypt.  The LORD will give them all into the hands of the King of Babylon.  The news of the fall of Egypt will terrify these surrounding nations, as they will know that they are next.  The once great Egyptian empire will have all of its wealth taken as spoils of war, and it will become a place of desolation, never to be great again.

Even the richest resource of Egypt, the Nile River, will be dried up.  The Egyptian people worshiped the Nile as the source of life for them, but it will dry up and will not provide water for them, their animals, or their crops.  Without the Nile Delta deposits, their land would not be fertile, but would become like the desert all around them.  The LORD will wage war against their idols and all of their places of pagan worship.  He will use the Babylonians to destroy every idol and every center of pagan worship and He will destroy the line of the Pharaohs which the people worshiped as gods.  No more would the people have a "prince" (notice that the LORD is king, even in Egypt) and they would no longer have a mighty army with many horsemen and chariots (which they were known for).  All of them will go into captivity--probably similar to the captivity that they put the LORD's people in with taskmasters that mistreated and abused them.  Men, women, children, young, and old would be taken into slavery.  Not even the priestly class or the magicians would be spared.  The LORD would have His day of wrath and vengeance against the Egyptians, but it would still make Him sad to have to pour out His wrath and vengeance on them.