Ezekiel 30:20-26--Egypt Shall Fall to Babylon

Ezekiel 30:20-26
English Standard Version

Egypt Shall Fall to Babylon
20 In the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: 21 “Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and behold, it has not been bound up, to heal it by binding it with a bandage, so that it may become strong to wield the sword. 22 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt and will break his arms, both the strong arm and the one that was broken, and I will make the sword fall from his hand. 23 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them through the countries. 24 And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put my sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before him like a man mortally wounded. 25 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall. Then they shall know that I am the LORD, when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt. 26 And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”

---

The arm is the symbol of strength--probably speaking of Pharaoh's army being destroyed to the point where victory was no longer possible.  The LORD uses a metaphor of binding up a broken limb so that it may heal properly, but this broken arm has not been bound up because the LORD does not want to let it heal.  The LORD has set Himself against the Pharaoh of Egypt and says that all of the Pharaoh's strength will be broken--like a soldier with two broken arms who is unable to wield his sword with either arm because both are broken.  In this way the LORD will make it impossible for the Egyptian empire to make war and it will be defeated and crushed by the armies of the king of Babylon.

The Pharaoh will be like a man who is mortally wounded (though the text does not promise that he will be mortally wounded).  The LORD will give His strength to the king of Babylon and will put His sword in the hand of the king of Babylon (I assume this means that the angelic armies will be fighting alongside the king of Babylon to accomplish this task which seems impossible by any human standard).  The Egyptians will be scattered across the nations and dispersed throughout many countries until they return their land after 40 years of exile, but they will never return to their place of prominence again.  The LORD will do this so that all the Egyptians will know that He is the LORD.