Daily Text and Bible Reading: Friday, September 19 [Press play below]

29.1 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the 12th day of the month, the word of Jehovah came to me, saying:
29.2 “Son of man, turn your face toward Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt.
29.3 Speak these words: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: “Here I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, The great sea monster lying among the streams of his Nile, Who has said, ‘My Nile River belongs to me. I made it for myself.’
29.4 But I will put hooks in your jaws and cause the fish of your Nile to cling to your scales. I will bring you up out of your Nile along with all the fish of the Nile that cling to your scales.
29.5 I will abandon you in the desert, you and all the fish of your Nile. You will fall on the open field, and you will not be gathered up nor be collected together. I will give you as food to the wild beasts of the earth and the birds of the sky.
29.6 Then all the inhabitants of Egypt will have to know that I am Jehovah, For they were no more support to the house of Israel than a piece of straw.
29.7 When they grasped your hand, you were crushed, And you caused them to tear their shoulder. When they supported themselves on you, you were broken, And you caused their legs to wobble.”
29.8 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: “Here I am bringing a sword upon you, and I will cut off from you both man and beast.
29.9 The land of Egypt will become a desolate and devastated place; and they will have to know that I am Jehovah, for you have said, ‘The Nile River belongs to me; I am the one who made it.’
29.10 So I am against you and against your Nile, and I will make the land of Egypt devastated and dry, a desolate wasteland, from Migdol to Syene to the boundary of Ethiopia.
29.11 Neither man nor livestock will pass through it on foot, and it will not be inhabited for 40 years.
29.12 I will make the land of Egypt the most desolate of lands, and its cities will be the most desolate of cities for 40 years; and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands.”
29.13 “‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: “After 40 years I will gather back the Egyptians from the peoples where they were scattered;
29.14 I will bring the Egyptian captives back to the land of Pathros, to the land of their origin, and there they will become an insignificant kingdom.
29.15 Egypt will become lower than the other kingdoms and will no longer dominate the other nations, and I will make them so small that they will not be able to subdue other nations.
29.16 It will never again be a source of confidence for the house of Israel, but it will only remind them of their error in turning to the Egyptians for help. And they will have to know that I am the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.”’”
29.17 Now in the 27th year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the word of Jehovah came to me, saying:
29.18 “Son of man, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon made his army labor greatly against Tyre. Every head became bald, and every shoulder was rubbed bare. But he and his army received no wages for the labor he expended on Tyre.
29.19 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says, ‘Here I am giving the land of Egypt to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, and he will carry off its wealth and take much spoil and plunder from it; and it will become wages for his army.’
29.20 “‘As compensation for his labor against her, I will give him the land of Egypt because they acted for me,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.
29.21 “In that day I will cause a horn to sprout for the house of Israel, and I will give you an opportunity to speak among them; and they will have to know that I am Jehovah.”
Chapter 30

30.1 And the word of Jehovah again came to me, saying:
30.2 “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: “Wail, ‘Alas, the day is coming!’
30.3 For the day is near, yes, a day of Jehovah is near. It will be a day of clouds, an appointed time of nations.
30.4 A sword will come against Egypt, and panic will overtake Ethiopia when the slain fall in Egypt; Its wealth is taken and its foundations are torn down.
30.5 Ethiopia, Put, Lud, and all the mixed populations, And Chub, along with the sons of the land of the covenant, By the sword they will all fall.”’
30.6 This is what Jehovah says: ‘The supporters of Egypt will also fall, And its arrogant power will be brought down.’ “‘From Migdol to Syene they will fall by the sword in the land,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.
30.7 ‘They will be made the most desolate of lands, and its own cities will become the most devastated cities.
30.8 And they will have to know that I am Jehovah when I set a fire in Egypt and all its allies are crushed.
30.9 In that day I will send messengers in ships to make self-confident Ethiopia tremble; panic will seize them in the day that is coming upon Egypt, for it will surely come.’
30.10 “This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: ‘I will bring an end to Egypt’s hordes by the hand of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.
30.11 He and his troops, the most ruthless of the nations, will be brought in to destroy the land. They will draw their swords against Egypt and fill the land with the slain.
30.12 I will turn the canals of the Nile into dry ground and will sell the land into the hand of wicked men. I will make the land and everything in it desolate by the hand of foreigners. I myself, Jehovah, have spoken.’
30.13 “This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: ‘I will also destroy the disgusting idols and bring an end to the worthless gods of Noph. There will no longer be a prince from the land of Egypt, and I will put fear in the land of Egypt.
30.14 I will desolate Pathros and set a fire in Zoan and execute judgment on No.
30.15 I will pour out my rage on Sin, the stronghold of Egypt, and destroy the population of No.
30.16 I will set a fire in Egypt; and Sin will be seized with terror and No will be broken through and Noph will face attack in broad daylight!
30.17 The young men of On and Pibeseth will fall by the sword, and the cities will go into captivity.
30.18 In Tehaphnehes the day will grow dark when I break the yoke bars of Egypt there. Her arrogant power will come to an end, clouds will cover her, and her towns will go into captivity.
30.19 I will execute judgment on Egypt, and they will have to know that I am Jehovah.’”
30.20 And in the 11th year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, the word of Jehovah came to me, saying:
30.21 “Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; it will not be bound up to be healed or wrapped with a bandage to make it strong enough to take up the sword.”
30.22 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: ‘Here I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and I will break his arms, the strong one and the broken one, and I will make the sword fall from his hand.
30.23 Then I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands.
30.24 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put my sword into his hand, and I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan loudly like a dying man before him.
30.25 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fall limp; and they will have to know that I am Jehovah when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he wields it against the land of Egypt.
30.26 And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands, and they will have to know that I am Jehovah.’”
Chapter 31

31.1 In the 11th year, in the third month, on the first day of the month, the word of Jehovah again came to me, saying:
31.2 “Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his hordes, ‘Whom are you like in your greatness?
31.3 There was an Assyrian, a cedar in Lebanon, With beautiful branches like a shady thicket, lofty in stature; Its top was among the clouds.
31.4 The waters made it grow big, the deep springs of water caused it to grow high. Streams were all around where it was planted; Their channels watered all the trees of the field.
31.5 That is why it grew taller than all the other trees of the field. Its boughs multiplied, and its branches grew long Because of the abundant water in its streams.
31.6 All the birds of the sky nested in its boughs, All the wild animals of the field gave birth under its branches, And all the populous nations were dwelling in its shade.
31.7 It became majestic in beauty and in the length of its branches, For its roots went down into abundant waters.
31.8 No other cedars in the garden of God could compare to it. None of the juniper trees had boughs like it, And none of the plane trees could match its branches. No other tree in the garden of God could rival its beauty.
31.9 I made it beautiful, with abundant foliage, And all the other trees of Eden, the garden of the true God, envied it.’
31.10 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: ‘Because it became so tall, lifting its top among the clouds, and its heart became arrogant because of its height,
31.11 I will hand it over to the mighty ruler of the nations. He will surely act against it, and I will reject it for its wickedness.
31.12 And foreigners, the most ruthless of the nations, will cut it down, and they will abandon it on the mountains, and its foliage will fall in all the valleys, and its branches will lie broken in all the streams of the land. All the peoples of the earth will depart from its shade and abandon it.
31.13 All the birds of the sky will live on its fallen trunk, and all the wild animals of the field on its branches.
31.14 This is so that no tree near the waters should grow so tall or lift up its top among the clouds and that no well-watered tree may reach up to them in height. For they will all be given over to death, to the land down below, along with the sons of mankind, who are going down into the pit.’
31.15 “This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: ‘On the day it goes down to the Grave, I will cause a mourning. Therefore, I will cover over the deep waters and hold back its streams so that the abundant waters are restrained. I will darken Lebanon because of it, and the trees of the field will all wither away.
31.16 At the sound of its downfall, I will cause nations to shudder when I bring it down to the Grave along with all those going down into the pit, and all the trees of Eden, the choicest and the best of Lebanon, all that are well-watered, will be comforted in the land down below.
31.17 They have gone down to the Grave with him, to those slain by the sword, together with his supporters who lived in his shadow among the nations.’
31.18 “‘Which of the trees of Eden was like you in glory and greatness? But you will certainly be brought down with the trees of Eden to the land down below. You will lie down among the uncircumcised ones, with those slain by the sword. This will happen to Pharaoh and all his hordes,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.”