1 In 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. 3 Speak and say, ‘This is what the Lord God says:
“Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt,
The great monster that lies in the midst of his canals,
That has said, ‘My Nile is mine, and I myself have made it.’
4 I will put hooks in your jaws
And make the fish of your canals cling to your scales.
And I will bring you up out of the midst of your canals,
And all the fish of your canals will cling to your scales.
5 I will abandon you to the wilderness, you and all the fish of your canals;
You will fall on the open field; you will not be brought together or gathered.
I have given you for food to the animals of the earth and to the birds of the sky.
6 Then 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.
7 When 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 hips shake.”
8 ‘Therefore the Lord God says this: “Behold, I am going to bring upon you a sword, and I will cut off from you human and animal life. 9 The land of Egypt will become a desolation and place of ruins. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
“Because you said, ‘The Nile is mine, and I have made it,’ 10 therefore, behold, I am against you and against your canals, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from Migdol to Syene and as far as the border of Cush. 11 A human foot will not pass through it, nor will the foot of an animal pass through it, and it will not be inhabited for forty years. 12 So I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the midst of deserted lands. And her cities, in the midst of cities that are laid waste, will be desolate for forty years; and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands.”
13 ‘For this is what the Lord God says: “At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered. 14 And I will restore the fortunes of Egypt and bring them back to the land of Pathros, to the land of their origin, and there they will be a lowly kingdom. 15 It will be the lowest of the kingdoms, and it will not raise itself above the nations again. And I will make them small so that they will not rule over the nations. 16 And it will no longer be a kingdom on which the house of Israel relies, bringing to mind the guilt of their having turned to Egypt. Then they will know that I am the Lord God.”’”
17 Now 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 had a bald spot and every shoulder was rubbed raw. But he and his army acquired no wages from Tyre for the labor that he had performed against it.” 19 Therefore this is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I am going to give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. And he will carry off her wealth and capture her spoils and seize her plunder; and it will be wages for his army. 20 I 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 among them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
1 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord God says:
“Wail, ‘Woe for the day!’
3 For the day is near,
Indeed, the day of the Lord is near;
It will be a day of clouds,
A time of doom for the nations.
4 A sword will come upon Egypt,
And there will be trembling in Cush;
When the slain fall in Egypt,
They will take away her wealth,
And her foundations will be torn down.
5 Cush, Put, Lud, all Arabia, Libya and the people of the land that is in league will fall with them by the sword.”
6 ‘This is what the Lord says:
“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.
8 And they will know that I am the Lord,
When I set a fire in Egypt
And all her helpers are broken.
9 On that day messengers will go out from Me in ships to frighten carefree Cush; and trembling will come on them as on the day of Egypt; for behold, it is coming!”
10 ‘This is what the Lord God says:
“I will also make the hordes of Egypt cease
By the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
11 He 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.
12 Moreover, 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 ‘This is what the Lord God says:
“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.
14 I will make Pathros desolate,
Set a fire in Zoan
And execute judgments on Thebes.
15 I will pour out My wrath on Sin,
The stronghold of Egypt;
I will also eliminate the hordes of Thebes.
16 I will set a fire in Egypt;
Sin will writhe in anguish,
Thebes will be breached
And Memphis will have distresses daily.
17 The young men of On and of Pi-beseth
Will fall by the sword,
And the women will go into captivity.
18 In 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.
19 So I will execute judgments on Egypt,
And they will know that I am the Lord.”’”
20 In 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, so that it may be strong to wield the sword. 22 Therefore this is what the Lord God says: ‘Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and I will break his arms, both the strong and the broken; and I will make the sword fall from his hand. 23 And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands. 24 For 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 groans of a wounded man. 25 So I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fail. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I put My sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he reaches out with it against the land of Egypt. 26 When I scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands, then they will know that I am the Lord.’”
32 And 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, 33 who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 35 Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection; 36 and others experienced mocking and flogging, and further, chains and imprisonment. 37 They 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, tormented 38 (people of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts, on mountains, and sheltering in caves and holes in the ground.
39 And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.
1 Therefore, since we also have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let’s rid ourselves of every obstacle and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking only at Jesus, the originator and perfecter of the 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.
3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
4 You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; 5 and 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 punished by Him;
6 For whom the Lord loves He disciplines,
And He punishes every son whom He accepts.”
7 It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? 10 For 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. 11 For the moment, all discipline seems not to be pleasant, but painful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterward it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.
12 Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is impaired may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.
1 Praise the Lord!
Blessed is a person who fears the Lord,
Who greatly delights in His commandments.
2 His descendants will be mighty on the earth;
The generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches are in his house,
And his righteousness endures forever.
4 Light shines in the darkness for the upright;
He is gracious, compassionate, and righteous.
5 It goes well for a person who is gracious and lends;
He will maintain his cause in judgment.
6 For he will never be shaken;
The righteous will be remembered forever.
7 He will not fear bad news;
His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.
8 His heart is firm, he will not fear,
But will look with satisfaction on his enemies.
9 He has given freely to the poor,
His righteousness endures forever;
His horn will be exalted in honor.
10 The wicked will see it and be vexed,
He will gnash his teeth and melt away;
The desire of the wicked will perish.
17 As iron sharpens iron,
So one person sharpens another.
