Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: This traditional prophetic formula often introduces a prophecy (see Ezek 29.3), but here it gives the authority for the prophecy, namely, these are the words of Yahweh. One possible model for this clause is “For that reason the Lord Yahweh says.”

Behold, I will bring a sword upon you …: In verses 8b-9a God describes further how he will punish the Egyptians. For the emphatic word Behold, see the comments on Ezek 29.3. I will bring a sword upon you means God will allow enemies to attack Egypt (see the comments on 11.8). Contemporary English Version says “I … will send troops to attack you, king of Egypt,” and New Century Version has “I will cause an enemy to attack you.” New International Reader’s Version makes it explicit that Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king, will attack Egypt, but it is not necessary to do this.

And will cut off from you man and beast means God will allow the attacking army to kill all the people and animals in Egypt (see 14.13). This is an exaggeration to stress how many will die, so translators may say “and they [or, that enemy] will kill a large number [or, many] of your people and your animals.”

And the land of Egypt shall be a desolation and a waste means the land of Egypt will be totally destroyed. The Hebrew word for desolation refers to the country becoming an empty wasteland (compare 6.14). The Hebrew word for waste refers to Egypt becoming a heap of ruins (compare 5.14, where the same word is rendered “desolation”). One model for this sentence is “The land of Egypt will be empty; only heaps of ruins.”

Then they will know that I am the LORD: For this recognition formula, see Ezek 29.6. The pronoun they refers to the people of Egypt, which New Living Translation makes explicit by saying “the Egyptians.” However, if translators have used the second person pronoun “you” in this prophecy for the Egyptians, they may need to change they to “you” (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version).

The third round of the prophecy against Egypt begins here and concludes in verse 16. Verses 6b-12 describe the sin and punishment of Egypt, but there is a prophecy of restoration and hope for Egypt in verses 13-16a. As usual, the prophecy ends with the recognition formula (verse 16b). Some translators may need to make it clear that a new section of the prophecy begins here by inserting “The LORD says” (compare verse 6b).

Because you said, ‘The Nile is mine, and I made it’: God describes Egypt’s sin of pride in the same way as in verse 3 (see the comments there). In this case, however, the difficult Hebrew element in the clause rendered “I made it” in verse 3 is missing, so that the meaning of the text here is straightforward and clear. Instead of the pronoun you, the Hebrew has “he,” which refers to Pharaoh. However, like Revised Standard Version, most translations use the pronoun “you” since God addresses Pharaoh here (so Good News Translation). This is quite appropriate.

Behold, I am against you, and against your streams: See the comments on Ezek 29.3. God will not only punish Pharaoh (who is symbolized by the great creature sprawled across the Nile River and its delta in verse 3), but also the Nile River and its many waterways. Once again there is a mixture of the realistic and the mythological in this prophecy, and translators must be careful to not lose either. A good way of rendering this sentence and the previous one is “You said, ‘The Nile River is mine and I made it.’ Because of that I am the enemy of you and your rivers.” Another possible model is “You said the Nile River is yours and you made it. That is why I oppose you and your rivers.”

And I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation: This is the same threat as in verse 9, except that God is identified here as the agent, and the Hebrew expression for utter waste is stronger than the one rendered “waste” there (compare “utter waste” [New Revised Standard Version, New American Standard Bible, English Standard Version] and “utter ruin” [New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh]). God says he will totally destroy the country. However, some translations bring in the idea of drought causing this destruction; for example, New English Bible renders this clause as “and I will make Egypt desolate, wasted by drought” (similarly Revised English Bible, Anchor Bible). This is a possible interpretation because drought is particularly devastating in the case of Egypt, which relies so much on the Nile River.

From Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of Ethiopia: The places mentioned here cover the whole of Egypt, from the far north to its southernmost point. Migdol was a fortified tower, more a military outpost than a “town” (Contemporary English Version) or “city” (Good News Translation). Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version are misleading here, although small settlements probably did grow up around such military posts. Migdol was located on Egypt’s northeastern frontier, near where the Suez Canal is now. Syene is the modern city of “Aswan” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version), which is usually seen as on the southern border of Egypt. From Migdol to Syene may be rendered “from Migdol in the north to Syene in the south.” Beyond Syene was the border of Ethiopia. The Hebrew word for Ethiopia is “Cush” (New International Version). For the Egyptians all the territory south of Aswan was known as Cush, and as the Good News Translation footnote indicates, it included most of present-day Sudan and some of modern Ethiopia. Translators may say “Cush” (the Hebrew name), “Ethiopia” (the Greco-Roman name), or “Sudan” (the name of the modern country that is immediately south of Egypt). Of course, the reference is not to either of the modern nations of Ethiopia or Sudan, so if translators use these names, they should add a footnote like the one in Good News Translation. Because most modern readers will not know the name “Cush,” it is probably best to avoid it.

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .