Add parallel Print Page Options

Egypt Will Be a Barren Desert

30 The Lord said:

Ezekiel, son of man, tell the people of Egypt that I am saying:

Cry out in despair,
because you will soon
    be punished!
That will be a time
of darkness and doom
    for all nations.
Your own nation of Egypt
will be attacked,
    and Ethiopia[a] will suffer.
You will be killed in battle,
and your land will be robbed
    and left in ruins.

Soldiers hired from Ethiopia, Libya, Lydia, Arabia, Kub, as well as from Israel,[b] will die in that battle. All of your allies will be killed, and your proud strength will crumble. People will die from Migdol in the north to Aswan in the south. I, the Lord, have spoken.

Your nation of Egypt will be the most deserted place on earth, and its cities will lie in complete ruin. I will set fire to your land, and anyone who defended your nation will die. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

On the same day I destroy Egypt, I will send messengers to the Ethiopians to announce their coming destruction. They think they are safe, but they will be terrified.

10 Your Egyptian army is very strong, but I will send King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia to completely defeat that army. 11 He and his cruel troops will invade and destroy your land and leave your dead bodies piled everywhere.

12 I will dry up the Nile River, then sell the land to evil buyers. I will send foreigners to turn your entire nation into a barren desert. I, the Lord, have spoken.

Egypt's Proud Cities Will Lie in Ruins

The Lord said to the people of Egypt:

13 All the idols and images you Egyptians worship in the city of Memphis[c] will be smashed. No one will be left to rule your nation, and terror will fill the land. 14 The city of Pathros will be left in ruins, and Zoan will be burned to the ground. Thebes,[d] your capital city, will also be destroyed! 15 The fortress city of Pelusium will feel my fierce anger, and all the troops stationed at Thebes will be slaughtered.

16 I will set fire to your nation of Egypt! The city of Pelusium will be in anguish. Thebes will fall, and the people of Memphis will live in constant fear.[e] 17 The young soldiers in the cities of Heliopolis and Bubastis[f] will die in battle, and the rest of the people will be taken prisoner. 18 You were so proud of your nation's power, but when I crush that power and kill that pride, darkness will fall over the city of Tahpanhes. A dark, gloomy cloud will cover the land as you are being led away into captivity. 19 When I'm through punishing Egypt, you will know that I am the Lord.

Egypt's King Is Powerless

20 Eleven years after King Jehoiachin and the rest of us had been led away as prisoners to Babylonia, the Lord spoke to me on the seventh day of the first month.[g] He said:

21 Ezekiel, son of man, I, the Lord, have defeated the king of Egypt! I broke his arm, and no one has wrapped it or put it in a sling, so that it could heal and get strong enough to hold a sword. 22 So tell him that I am now his worst enemy. I will break both his arms—the good one and the broken one! His sword will drop from his hand forever, 23 and I will scatter the Egyptians all over the world.

24-25 I will strengthen the power of Babylonia's king and give him my sword to use against Egypt. I will also make the wounded king of Egypt powerless, and he will moan in pain and die in front of the Babylonian king. Then everyone on earth will know that I am the Lord. 26 I will force the Egyptians to live as prisoners in foreign nations, and they will know that I, the Lord, have punished them.

Egypt's King Will Be Chopped Down like a Cedar Tree

31 Eleven years after King Jehoiachin and the rest of us had been led away as prisoners to Babylonia, the Lord spoke to me on the first day of the third month.[h] He said:

Ezekiel, son of man, tell the king of Egypt and his people that I am saying:

You are more powerful
than anyone on earth.
    Now listen to this.
There was once a cedar tree
    in Lebanon
with large, strong branches
    reaching to the sky.[i]
This tree had plenty of water
    to help it grow tall,
and nearby streams watered
the other trees
    in the forest.
But this tree towered over
    those other trees,
and its branches
    grew long and thick.
Birds built nests
    in its branches,
and animals were born
    beneath it.
People from all nations
lived in the shade
    of this strong tree.

It had beautiful,
    long branches,
and its roots found water
    deep in the soil.
(A) None of the cedar trees
    in my garden of Eden
were as beautiful
    as this tree;
no tree of any kind
    had such long branches.
I, the Lord, gave this tree
    its beauty,
and I helped the branches
    grow strong.
All other trees in Eden
    wanted to be just like it.

10 King of Egypt, now listen to what I, the Lord God, am saying about that tree:

The tree grew so tall that it reached the sky[j] and became very proud and arrogant. 11 So I, the Lord God, will reject the tree and hand it over to a foreign ruler, who will punish it for its wickedness. 12 Cruel foreigners will chop it down and leave it wherever it falls. Branches and broken limbs will be scattered over the mountains and in the valleys. The people living in the shade of those branches will go somewhere else. 13 Birds will then nest on the stump of the fallen tree, and wild animals will trample its branches.

14 Never again will any tree dare to grow as tall as this tree, no matter how much water it has. Every tree must die, just as humans die and go down to the world of the dead.

15 On the day this tree dies and goes to the world below, I, the Lord God, will command rivers and streams to mourn its death. Every underground spring of water and every river will stop flowing.[k] The mountains in Lebanon will be covered with darkness as a sign of their sorrow, and all the trees in the forest will wither. 16 This tree will crash to the ground, and I will send it to the world below. Then the nations of the earth will tremble.

The trees from Eden and the choice trees from Lebanon are now in the world of the dead, and they will be comforted when this tree falls. 17 Those people who found protection in its shade will also be sent to the world below, where they will join the dead.[l]

18 King of Egypt, all these things will happen to you and your people! You were like this tree at one time—taller and stronger than anyone on earth. But now you will be chopped down, just as every tree in the garden of Eden must die. You will be sent down to the world of the dead, where you will join the godless and the other victims of violent death. I, the Lord God, have spoken.

A Funeral Song for the King of Egypt

32 Twelve years after King Jehoiachin and the rest of us had been led away as prisoners to Babylonia, the Lord spoke to me on the first day of the twelfth month.[m] He said:

Ezekiel, son of man, condemn the king of Egypt and tell him I am saying:

You act like a lion
    roaming the earth;
but you are nothing more than
    a crocodile in a river,
churning up muddy water
    with your feet.

King of Egypt, listen to me. I, the Lord God, will catch you in my net and let a crowd of foreigners drag you to shore. I will throw you into an open field, where birds and animals will come to feed on your flesh. I will spread your rotting flesh[n] over the mountains and in the valleys, and your blood will flow throughout the land and fill up the streams. (B) I will cover the whole sky and every star with thick clouds, so that the sun and moon will stop shining. The heavens will become black, leaving your country in total darkness. I, the Lord God, have spoken.

Foreign nations you have never heard of will be shocked when I tell them how I destroyed you.[o] 10 They will be horrified, and when I flash my sword in victory on the day of your death, their kings will tremble in the fear of what could happen to them.

11 The king of Babylonia is coming to attack you, king of Egypt! 12 Your soldiers will be killed by the cruelest army in the world, and everything you take pride in will be crushed. 13 I will slaughter your cattle that graze by the river,[p] and no people or livestock will be left to muddy its water. 14 The water will be clear, and streams will be calm. I, the Lord God, have spoken.

15 Egypt will become a barren wasteland, and no living thing will ever survive there. Then you and your people will know that I am the Lord.

16 This is your warning, and it will be used as a funeral song by foreign women to mourn the death of your people. I, the Lord God, have spoken.

A Sad Ending for Egypt

17 On the fifteenth day of that same month,[q] the Lord said:

18 Ezekiel, son of man, mourn for the Egyptians and condemn them to the world of the dead, where they will be buried alongside the people of other powerful nations.[r] 19 Say to them:

You may be more beautiful
than the people
    of other nations,
but you will also die
and join the godless
    in the world below.

20 You cannot escape! The enemy's sword is ready to slaughter every one of you.[s] 21 Brave military leaders killed in battle will gladly welcome you and your allies into the world of the dead.

22-23 The graves of soldiers from Assyria are there. They once terrified people, but they were killed in battle and now lie deep in the world of the dead.[t]

24-25 The graves of soldiers from Elam are there. The very sight of those godless soldiers once terrified their enemies and made them panic. But now they are disgraced and ashamed as they lie in the world of the dead, alongside others who were killed in battle.

26 The graves of soldiers from Meshech and Tubal are there. These godless soldiers who terrified people were all killed in battle. 27 They were not given a proper burial like the heroes of long ago,[u] who were buried with their swords under their heads and with their shields[v] over their bodies. These were the heroes who made their enemies panic.

28 You Egyptians will be cruelly defeated, and you will be buried alongside these other godless soldiers who died in battle.

29 The graves of kings and leaders from Edom are there. They were powerful at one time. Now they are buried in the world of the dead with other godless soldiers killed in battle.

30 The graves of the rulers of the north[w] are there, as well as those of the Sidonians. Their powerful armies once terrified enemies. Now they lie buried in the world of the dead, where they are disgraced like other soldiers killed in battle.

31 The Lord God says:

When your king of Egypt sees all of these graves, he and his soldiers will be glad they are not the only ones suffering. 32 I sent him to terrify people all over the earth. But he and his army will be killed and buried alongside other godless soldiers in the world of the dead. I, the Lord God, have spoken.

Footnotes

  1. 30.4 Ethiopia: See the note at 29.10.
  2. 30.5 as well as from Israel: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  3. 30.13 Memphis: Hebrew “Noph.”
  4. 30.14 Thebes: Hebrew “No.”
  5. 30.16 the people of Memphis … constant fear: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  6. 30.17 Heliopolis and Bubastis: Hebrew “On and Pi-Beseth.”
  7. 30.20 Eleven years … first month: Probably March of 587 b.c.
  8. 31.1 Eleven years … third month: Probably May of 587 b.c.
  9. 31.3 sky: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 3.
  10. 31.10 the sky: One ancient translation; Hebrew “over the thick branches.”
  11. 31.15 rivers and streams … stop flowing: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  12. 31.17 dead: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 17.
  13. 32.1 Twelve years … twelfth month: Probably February of 585 b.c.
  14. 32.5 rotting flesh: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  15. 32.9 when I tell them how I destroyed you: Hebrew; one ancient translation “when I scatter you like prisoners among them.”
  16. 32.13 the river: This possibly refers to the Nile River.
  17. 32.17 that same month: See verse 1.
  18. 32.18 where they will be buried … powerful nations: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  19. 32.20 The enemy's sword … you: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  20. 32.22,23 deep in the world of the dead: The place of greatest dishonor.
  21. 32.27 heroes of long ago: One ancient translation; Hebrew “godless heroes.”
  22. 32.27 shields: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  23. 32.30 the rulers of the north: Probably the Phoenicians.

Bible Gateway Recommends