27:7 Fine linen from Egypt, woven with patterns, was used for your sail
to serve as your banner;
blue and purple from the coastlands of Elishah 8 was used for your deck’s awning.
Because he said, “The Nile is mine and I made it,” 29:10 I am against 9 you and your waterways. I will turn the land of Egypt into an utter desolate ruin from Migdol 10 to Syene, 11 as far as the border with Ethiopia.
30:6 “‘This is what the Lord says:
Egypt’s supporters will fall;
her confident pride will crumble. 14
From Migdol to Syene 15 they will die by the sword within her,
declares the sovereign Lord.
30:9 On that day messengers will go out from me in ships to frighten overly confident Ethiopia; panic will overtake them on the day of Egypt’s doom; 16 for beware – it is coming!
30:11 He and his people with him,
the most terrifying of the nations, 17
will be brought there to destroy the land.
They will draw their swords against Egypt,
and fill the land with corpses.
30:18 In Tahpanhes the day will be dark 18
when I break the yoke of Egypt there.
Her confident pride will cease within her;
a cloud will cover her, and her daughters will go into captivity.
32:12 By the swords of the mighty warriors I will cause your hordes to fall –
all of them are the most terrifying among the nations.
They will devastate the pride of Egypt,
and all its hordes will be destroyed.
32:15 When I turn the land of Egypt into desolation
and the land is destitute of everything that fills it,
when I strike all those who live in it,
then they will know that I am the Lord.’
32:16 This is a lament; they will chant it.
The daughters of the nations will chant it.
They will chant it over Egypt and over all her hordes,
declares the sovereign Lord.”
1 tn Heb “I lifted up my hand to them.”
2 tn Or “searched out.” The Hebrew word is used to describe the activity of the spies in “spying out” the land of Canaan (Num 13-14); cf. KJV “I had espied for them.”
3 sn The phrase “a land flowing with milk and honey,” a figure of speech describing the land’s abundant fertility, occurs in v. 15 as well as Exod 3:8, 17; 13:5; 33:3; Lev 20:24; Num 13:27; Deut 6:3; 11:9; 26:9; 27:3; Josh 5:6; Jer 11:5; 32:23 (see also Deut 1:25; 8:7-9).
4 tn Heb “each one, the detestable things of his eyes, throw away.” The Pentateuch does not refer to the Israelites worshiping idols in Egypt, but Josh 24:14 appears to suggest that they did so.
5 tn Heb “for the sake of my name.”
6 tn Heb “before the eyes of the nations in whose midst they were.”
7 tn Heb “to whom I made myself known before their eyes to bring them out from the land of Egypt.” The translation understands the infinitive construct (“to bring them out”) as indicating manner. God’s deliverance of his people from Egypt was an act of self-revelation in that it displayed his power and his commitment to his promises.
8 sn This is probably a reference to Cyprus.
9 tn Or “I challenge you.” The phrase “I am against you” may be a formula for challenging someone to combat or a duel. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:201-2, and P. Humbert, “Die Herausforderungsformel ‘h!nn#n' ?l?K>,’” ZAW 45 (1933): 101-8.
10 sn This may refer to a site in the Egyptian Delta which served as a refuge for Jews (Jer 44:1; 46:14).
11 sn Syene is known today as Aswan.
12 tc Thus the Masoretic Text. The LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate translate as though the Hebrew read “cause to inhabit.”
13 tn Heb “reminding of iniquity when they turned after them.”
14 tn Heb “come down.”
15 sn Syene is known as Aswan today.
16 tn Heb “in the day of Egypt.” The word “doom” has been added in the translation to clarify the nature of this day.
17 tn The Babylonians were known for their cruelty (2 Kgs 25:7).
18 sn In Zeph 1:15 darkness is associated with the day of the
19 sn The expression “breaking the arm” indicates the removal of power (Ps 10:15; 37:17; Job 38:15; Jer 48:25).
20 sn This may refer to the event recorded in Jer 37:5.
21 tn The word h!nn@h indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
22 tn Or “I challenge you.” The phrase “I am against you” may be a formula for challenging someone to combat or a duel. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:201-2, and P. Humbert, “Die Herausforderungsformel ‘h!nn#n' ?l?K>,’” ZAW 45 (1933): 101-8.
23 tn The Hebrew verb is used as a response to death (Jer 9:17-19; Amos 5:16).
24 sn Through this prophetic lament given by God himself, the prophet activates the judgment described therein. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:217, and L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:136-37.
25 tn Heb “Bring him down, her and the daughters of the powerful nations, to the earth below.” The verb “bring down” appears in the Hebrew text only once. Because the verb takes several objects here, the repetition of the verb in the translation improves the English style.
26 tn This apparently refers to personified Egypt.
27 tn Traditionally “the Brook of Egypt,” although a number of recent translations have “the Wadi of Egypt” (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV). The word “Egypt” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.