Ezekiel

The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,

1Again the LORD's message came to me. He said:

2Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Howl ye, Woe worth the day!

2"Son of man, speak for me. Say what the Lord GOD says: Cry out loud, 'What a terrible day is coming!'"

3For the day is near, even the day of the LORD is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen.

3That day is near. The day of the LORD is near. It will be a dark, cloudy day, a time of doom for the nations.

NoteIn the KJV, "the heathen" simply means the other nations, the peoples outside Israel. It is not a word about how civilized they were.

4And the sword shall come upon Egypt, and great pain shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt, and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be broken down.

4War will come against Egypt. Ethiopia will be in great pain when people fall dead in Egypt. Her riches will be carried off, and her foundations will be torn down.

5Ethiopia, and Libya, and Lydia, and all the mingled people, and Chub, and the men of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword.

5Ethiopia, Libya, Lydia, and all the mixed peoples will fall by the sword too. So will Chub and the men from the land tied to Egypt by treaty.

6Thus saith the LORD; They also that uphold Egypt shall fall; and the pride of her power shall come down: from the tower of Syene shall they fall in it by the sword, saith the Lord GOD.

6This is what the LORD says: The nations that hold Egypt up will fall. Her proud strength will collapse. From the tower at Syene they will fall by the sword inside her, says the Lord GOD.

7And they shall be desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are wasted.

7Egypt will lie empty among lands that are already empty. Her cities will lie among cities that are already wrecked.

8And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I have set a fire in Egypt, and when all her helpers shall be destroyed.

8Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I set Egypt on fire and all her helpers are crushed.

9In that day shall messengers go forth from me in ships to make the careless Ethiopians afraid, and great pain shall come upon them, as in the day of Egypt: for, lo, it cometh.

9On that day I will send messengers out in ships to frighten the Ethiopians who feel safe. Great pain will come on them, as on Egypt's day of doom. It is surely coming.

Note"Careless" in the KJV means feeling safe and untroubled, not being sloppy.

10Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also make the multitude of Egypt to cease by the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon.

10This is what the Lord GOD says: I will put an end to Egypt's huge crowds of people. I will use Nebuchadrezzar, the king of Babylon, to do it.

11He and his people with him, the terrible of the nations, shall be brought to destroy the land: and they shall draw their swords against Egypt, and fill the land with the slain.

11He and his army, the most ruthless of all the nations, will be brought in to wreck the land. They will draw their swords against Egypt and fill the land with the dead.

12And I will make the rivers dry, and sell the land into the hand of the wicked: and I will make the land waste, and all that is therein, by the hand of strangers: I the LORD have spoken it.

12I will dry up the streams and sell the land to wicked men. I will use foreigners to ruin the land and everything in it. I, the LORD, have said it.

13Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also destroy the idols, and I will cause their images to cease out of Noph; and there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt: and I will put a fear in the land of Egypt.

13This is what the Lord GOD says: I will destroy the idols and put an end to the statues in Noph. Egypt will have no ruler anymore, and I will fill the land with fear.

NoteThese old names belong to well-known Egyptian cities. Noph is Memphis, No is Thebes, Sin is Pelusium, and Aven is On, also called Heliopolis.

14And I will make Pathros desolate, and will set fire in Zoan, and will execute judgments in No.

14I will leave Pathros empty, set fire to Zoan, and punish the city of No.

15And I will pour my fury upon Sin, the strength of Egypt; and I will cut off the multitude of No.

15I will pour out my anger on Sin, the strong fortress of Egypt. I will wipe out the crowds of No.

16And I will set fire in Egypt: Sin shall have great pain, and No shall be rent asunder, and Noph shall have distresses daily.

16I will set Egypt on fire. Sin will twist in pain. No will be split wide open. Noph will face trouble every single day.

17The young men of Aven and of Pibeseth shall fall by the sword: and these cities shall go into captivity.

17The young men of Aven and Pibeseth will die by the sword. The people of those cities will be marched away as prisoners.

18At Tehaphnehes also the day shall be darkened, when I shall break there the yokes of Egypt: and the pomp of her strength shall cease in her: as for her, a cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall go into captivity.

18At Tehaphnehes the day will turn dark, when I break the yoke Egypt lays on others. Her proud strength will end there. A cloud will cover her, and her daughters will be taken away as prisoners.

19Thus will I execute judgments in Egypt: and they shall know that I am the LORD.

19That is how I will punish Egypt. Then they will know that I am the LORD.

20And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first month, in the seventh day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

20In the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, the LORD's message came to me. He said:

21Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, lo, it shall not be bound up to be healed, to put a roller to bind it, to make it strong to hold the sword.

21Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. It has not been wrapped up to heal. No splint has been put on it to make it strong enough to hold a sword.

NoteA "roller" was a strip of cloth used like a splint, wrapped around a broken arm to hold it still while it healed.

22Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms, the strong, and that which was broken; and I will cause the sword to fall out of his hand.

22So this is what the Lord GOD says: I am against Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. I will break both his arms, the strong one and the one already broken. I will knock the sword out of his hand.

23And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries.

23I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and spread them through many lands.

24And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and put my sword in his hand: but I will break Pharaoh’s arms, and he shall groan before him with the groanings of a deadly wounded man.

24I will make the arms of Babylon's king strong and put my sword in his hand. But I will break Pharaoh's arms, and he will groan in front of him like a dying man.

25But I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall stretch it out upon the land of Egypt.

25I will make the arms of Babylon's king strong, and Pharaoh's arms will hang limp. They will know that I am the LORD when I put my sword in the hand of Babylon's king and he swings it against Egypt.

26And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them among the countries; and they shall know that I am the LORD.

26I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and spread them through many lands. Then they will know that I am the LORD.