10. That is why I’m against you and the Nile River. I will turn Egypt into a pile of rubble. It will become a wasteland, from Migdol to Syene, all the way to the border of Sudan.
11. No human or animal will walk through it, and no one will live there for 40 years.
12. I will make Egypt the most desolate country in the world. For 40 years Egypt’s cities will lie in ruins. They will be ruined more than any other city. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and force them into other countries.
13. “‘This is what the Almighty Lord says: After 40 years I will gather the Egyptians from the nations where they have been scattered.
14. I will bring back the Egyptian captives and return them to Pathros, the land they came from. There they will be a weak kingdom.
15. They will be the weakest kingdom, and they will never rule the nations again. I will make them so weak that they will never rule the nations again.
16. The nation of Israel will never trust Egypt again. The people of Israel will remember how wrong they were whenever they turned to Egypt ⌊for help⌋. Then they will know that I am the Almighty Lord.’ ”
17. On the first day of the first month in the twenty-seventh year, the Lord spoke his word to me. He said,
18. “Son of man, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon made his army fight hard against Tyre. Every soldier’s head was worn bald, and every soldier’s shoulder was rubbed raw. Yet, he and his army got no reward for their hard-fought battle against Tyre.
19. This is what the Almighty Lord says: I’m going to give Egypt to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. He will carry off its wealth, take its prized possessions, and loot it. That will be the pay for his army.
20. I have given him Egypt as pay for what he has done. Nebuchadnezzar and his army worked for me, declares the Almighty Lord.