17. The young men of Heliopolis and Bubastis will fall by the sword, and the cities themselves will go into captivity.
18. Dark will be the day at Tahpanhes when I break the yoke of Egypt; there her proud strength will come to an end. She will be covered with clouds, and her villages will go into captivity.
19. So I will inflict punishment on Egypt, and they will know that I am the Lord.’ ”
20. In the eleventh year, in the first month on the seventh day, the word of the Lord came to me:
21. “Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt. It has not been bound up to be healed or put in a splint so that it may become strong enough to hold a sword.
22. Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt. I will break both his arms, the good arm as well as the broken one, and make the sword fall from his hand.
23. I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them through the countries.
24. I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put my sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before him like a mortally wounded man.
25. I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fall limp. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he brandishes it against Egypt.
26. I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them through the countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”