16. And the family of Israel will never again depend on Egypt. The Israelites will remember their sin—they will remember that they turned to Egypt for help and not to God, and they will know that I am the Lord GOD.”
17. On the first day of the first month in the twenty-seventh year of exile, the word of the Lord came to me. He said,
18. “Son of man, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon made his army fight hard against Tyre. They shaved every soldier’s head. Every shoulder was rubbed bare from carrying heavy loads. Nebuchadnezzar and his army worked hard to defeat Tyre, but they got nothing from all that hard work.”
19. So this is what the Lord GOD says: “I will give Egypt to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, and he will carry away the people. He will take the many valuable things in Egypt to pay his army.
20. I will give Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar as a reward for the hard work he did for me.” This is what the Lord GOD said!
21. “On that day I will make the family of Israel strong. So Ezekiel, I will let you speak to them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”