Immerse: Prophets - Flipbook - Page 376
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IMMERSE
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PROPHETS
29:13–30:4
desolate for forty years, surrounded by other ruined cities. I will scatter the
Egyptians to distant lands.
“But this is what the Sovereign Lord also says: At the end of the forty
years I will bring the Egyptians home again from the nations to which
they have been scattered. I will restore the prosperity of Egypt and bring
its people back to the land of Pathros in southern Egypt from which they
came. But Egypt will remain an unimportant, minor kingdom. It will be
the lowliest of all the nations, never again great enough to rise above its
neighbors.
“Then Israel will no longer be tempted to trust in Egypt for help. Egypt’s
shattered condition will remind Israel of how sinful she was to trust Egypt
in earlier days. Then Israel will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.”
On April 26, the first day of the new year, during the twenty-seventh year
of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, this message came to me from the Lord:
“Son of man, the army of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon fought so hard
against Tyre that the warriors’ heads were rubbed bare and their shoulders
were raw and blistered. Yet Nebuc hadnezzar and his army won no plunder
to compensate them for all their work. Therefore, this is what the Sover
eign Lord says: I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuc hadnezzar, king of
Babylon. He will carry off its wealth, plundering everything it has so he
can pay his army. Yes, I have given him the land of Egypt as a reward for
his work, says the Sovereign Lord, because he was working for me when
he destroyed Tyre.
“And the day will come when I will cause the ancient glory of Israel to
revive, and then, Ezekiel, your words will be respected. Then they will
know that I am the Lord.”
This is another message that came to me from the Lord: “Son of man,
prophesy and give this message from the Sovereign Lord:
“Weep and wail
for that day,
for the terrible day is almost here—
the day of the Lord!
It is a day of clouds and gloom,
a day of despair for the nations.
A sword will come against Egypt,
and those who are slaughtered will cover the ground.
Its wealth will be carried away
and its foundations destroyed.
