Judgment of Egypt

1In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth of the month, the word of the Lord came to me saying, 2“Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt and prophesy against him and against all Egypt. 3Speak and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God,

“Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt,

The great monster that lies in the midst of his rivers,

That has said, ‘My Nile is mine, and I myself have made it.’

4I will put hooks in your jaws

And make the fish of your rivers cling to your scales.

And I will bring you up out of the midst of your rivers,

And all the fish of your rivers will cling to your scales.

5I will abandon you to the wilderness, you and all the fish of your rivers;

You will fall on the open field; you will not be brought together or gathered.

I have given you for food to the beasts of the earth and to the birds of the sky.

6Then all the inhabitants of Egypt will know that I am the Lord,

Because they have been only a staff made of reed to the house of Israel.

7When they took hold of you with the hand,

You broke and tore all their hands;

And when they leaned on you,

You broke and made all their loins quake.”

8‘Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I will bring upon you a sword and I will cut off from you man and beast. 9The land of Egypt will become a desolation and waste. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

Because you said, ‘The Nile is mine, and I have made it,’ 10therefore, behold, I am against you and against your rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from Migdol to Syene and even to the border of Ethiopia. 11A man’s foot will not pass through it, and the foot of a beast will not pass through it, and it will not be inhabited for forty years. 12So I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the midst of desolated lands. And her cities, in the midst of cities that are laid waste, will be desolate forty years; and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands.”

13‘For thus says the Lord God, “At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered. 14I will turn the fortunes of Egypt and make them return to the land of Pathros, to the land of their origin, and there they will be a lowly kingdom. 15It will be the lowest of the kingdoms, and it will never again lift itself up above the nations. And I will make them so small that they will not rule over the nations. 16And it will never again be the confidence of the house of Israel, bringing to mind the iniquity of their having turned to Egypt. Then they will know that I am the Lord God.” ’ ”

17Now in the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first of the month, the word of the Lord came to me saying, 18“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre; every head was made bald and every shoulder was rubbed bare. But he and his army had no wages from Tyre for the labor that he had performed against it.” 19Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. And he will carry off her wealth and capture her spoil and seize her plunder; and it will be wages for his army. 20I have given him the land of Egypt for his labor which he performed, because they acted for Me,” declares the Lord God.

21“On that day I will make a horn sprout for the house of Israel, and I will open your mouth in their midst. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

Lament over Egypt

1The word of the Lord came again to me saying, 2“Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God,

“Wail, ‘Alas for the day!’

3For the day is near,

Even the day of the Lord is near;

It will be a day of clouds,

A time of doom for the nations.

4A sword will come upon Egypt,

And anguish will be in Ethiopia;

When the slain fall in Egypt,

They take away her wealth,

And her foundations are torn down.

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

6‘Thus says the Lord,

“Indeed, those who support Egypt will fall

And the pride of her power will come down;

From Migdol to Syene

They will fall within her by the sword,”

Declares the Lord God.

7“They will be desolate

In the midst of the desolated lands;

And her cities will be

In the midst of the devastated cities.

8And they will know that I am the Lord,

When I set a fire in Egypt

And all her helpers are broken.

9On that day messengers will go forth from Me in ships to frighten secure Ethiopia; and anguish will be on them as on the day of Egypt; for behold, it comes!”

10‘Thus says the Lord God,

“I will also make the hordes of Egypt cease

By the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.

11He and his people with him,

The most ruthless of the nations,

Will be brought in to destroy the land;

And they will draw their swords against Egypt

And fill the land with the slain.

12Moreover, I will make the Nile canals dry

And sell the land into the hands of evil men.

And I will make the land desolate

And all that is in it,

By the hand of strangers; I the Lord have spoken.”

13‘Thus says the Lord God,

“I will also destroy the idols

And make the images cease from Memphis.

And there will no longer be a prince in the land of Egypt;

And I will put fear in the land of Egypt.

14I will make Pathros desolate,

Set a fire in Zoan

And execute judgments on Thebes.

15I will pour out My wrath on Sin,

The stronghold of Egypt;

I will also cut off the hordes of Thebes.

16I will set a fire in Egypt;

Sin will writhe in anguish,

Thebes will be breached

And Memphis will have distresses daily.

17The young men of On and of Pi-beseth

Will fall by the sword,

And the women will go into captivity.

18In Tehaphnehes the day will be dark

When I break there the yoke bars of Egypt.

Then the pride of her power will cease in her;

A cloud will cover her,

And her daughters will go into captivity.

19Thus I will execute judgments on Egypt,

And they will know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”

Victory for Babylon

20In the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh of the month, the word of the Lord came to me saying, 21“Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, behold, it has not been bound up for healing or wrapped with a bandage, that it may be strong to hold the sword. 22Therefore thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt and will break his arms, both the strong and the broken; and I will make the sword fall from his hand. 23I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands. 24For I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put My sword in his hand; and I will break the arms of Pharaoh, so that he will groan before him with the groanings of a wounded man. 25Thus I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fall. Then they will 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. 26When I scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands, then they will know that I am the Lord.’ ”

32And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, 33who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, 34quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 35Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection; 36and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. 37They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated 38(men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground.

39And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.

Jesus, the Example

1Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

3For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

A Father’s Discipline

4You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; 5and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons,

“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,

Nor faint when you are reproved by Him;

6For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines,

And He scourges every son whom He receives.”

7It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? 10For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. 11All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

12Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, 13and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.

PSALM 112

Prosperity of the One Who Fears the Lord.

1Praise the Lord!

How blessed is the man who fears the Lord,

Who greatly delights in His commandments.

2His descendants will be mighty on earth;

The generation of the upright will be blessed.

3Wealth and riches are in his house,

And his righteousness endures forever.

4Light arises in the darkness for the upright;

He is gracious and compassionate and righteous.

5It is well with the man who is gracious and lends;

He will maintain his cause in judgment.

6For he will never be shaken;

The righteous will be remembered forever.

7He will not fear evil tidings;

His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.

8His heart is upheld, he will not fear,

Until he looks with satisfaction on his adversaries.

9He has given freely to the poor,

His righteousness endures forever;

His horn will be exalted in honor.

10The wicked will see it and be vexed,

He will gnash his teeth and melt away;

The desire of the wicked will perish.

17Iron sharpens iron,

So one man sharpens another.