Ezekiel 30
What Happens in This Chapter
God tells Ezekiel to announce that a day of judgment is near for Egypt and the nations allied with it. Egypt's helpers will fall, its cities will be burned and emptied, its idols destroyed, and its people scattered among other lands, all by the army of Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon. A second message, given on a dated day, says God has broken Pharaoh's arm so it cannot heal, and will make the arms of Babylon's king strong instead.
Plain reading written for kids. Short sentences, everyday words, one idea at a time.
The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
1Again a message from the LORD came to me. He said:
2Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Howl ye, Woe worth the day!
2Son of man — that is what God calls me — speak for me. Say this: The Lord GOD says, cry out loud, "How sad that day will be!"
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 close. The LORD's day is close. It will be a dark, cloudy day. It will be a time of trouble for the nations.
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.
4A sword will come against Egypt. People in Ethiopia will ache with fear. Many in Egypt will fall down dead. Egypt's riches will be carried away. The land will be torn down to its base.
"Ethiopia" here is the land called Cush, just south of Egypt. It is not the same as the country called Ethiopia today.
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, and Lydia will fall too. So will many mixed peoples, and Chub, and the men from the land that promised to help Egypt. They will all die by the sword.
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: Everyone who props Egypt up will fall. Its proud strength will come crashing down. From Migdol to Syene, people there will die by the sword. This is what the Lord GOD says.
The KJV says "the tower of Syene." The Hebrew word for tower is Migdol, a town in the far north of Egypt, and Syene was in the far south. The phrase means all of Egypt, from one end to the other.
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 be empty, sitting among other empty lands. Its cities will lie in ruins, among other ruined cities.
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.
8I will set Egypt on fire. Everyone who helps Egypt will be broken. Then they will know that I am the LORD.
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. They will frighten the people of Ethiopia, who feel safe right now. Those people will ache with fear, just as Egypt did. It is truly coming.
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 will be brought in to wreck the land. They are the most cruel of all the nations. They will pull out their swords against Egypt. They will fill the land with dead bodies.
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 rivers. I will hand the land over to wicked men. I will let strangers 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, the statues people pray to. I will put an end to the statues in Noph. Egypt will not have a ruler anymore. I will fill that land with fear.
These Egyptian cities have better-known names today: Noph is Memphis, No is Thebes, Sin is Pelusium, and Aven is On.
14And I will make Pathros desolate, and will set fire in Zoan, and will execute judgments in No.
14I will leave Pathros empty. I will set the city of Zoan on fire. I will 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 fort that guards Egypt. I will cut down the crowds of people in 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 be in 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. There I will break the heavy bar Egypt used to hold others down. Egypt's proud strength will end. A dark cloud will cover her. The people of her towns will be taken away as prisoners.
19Thus will I execute judgments in Egypt: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
19This 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,
20It was the eleventh year, on the seventh day of the first month. A message from the LORD 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. No one has wrapped it up so it can heal. No one has put on a splint, a stiff piece that holds a broken bone. So that arm is too weak to hold a sword.
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: Look, I am against Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. I will break both his arms, the strong one and the broken one. His sword will fall out of his hand.
23And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries.
23I will scatter the people of Egypt among the nations. I will spread them out 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. I will put my sword in his hand. But I will break Pharaoh's arms. Pharaoh will groan in front of him, like a man who is dying.
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 down, weak. I will put my sword in the hand of Babylon's king. He will swing it against the land of Egypt. Then they will know that I am the LORD.
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 people of Egypt among the nations. I will spread them out through many lands. Then they will know that I am the LORD.
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