Egypt and Her Allies Will Fall

30 The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God:

(A)“Wail, ‘Woe to the day!’
For (B)the day is near,
Even the day of the Lord is near;
It will be a day of clouds, the time of the Gentiles.
The sword shall come upon Egypt,
And great anguish shall be in [a]Ethiopia,
When the slain fall in Egypt,
And they (C)take away her wealth,
And (D)her foundations are broken down.

“Ethiopia, [b]Libya, [c]Lydia, (E)all the mingled people, Chub, and the men of the lands who are allied, shall fall with them by the sword.”

‘Thus says the Lord:

“Those who uphold Egypt shall fall,
And the pride of her power shall come down.
(F)From [d]Migdol to Syene
Those within her shall fall by the sword,”
Says the Lord God.

“They(G) shall be desolate in the midst of the desolate countries,
And her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are laid waste.
Then they will know that I am the Lord,
When I have set a fire in Egypt
And all her helpers are destroyed.
On that day (H)messengers shall go forth from Me in ships
To make the [e]careless Ethiopians afraid,
And great anguish shall come upon them,
As on the day of Egypt;
For indeed it is coming!”

10 ‘Thus says the Lord God:

(I)“I will also make a multitude of Egypt to cease
By the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
11 He and his people with him, (J)the most terrible of the nations,
Shall be brought to destroy the land;
They shall draw their swords against Egypt,
And fill the land with the slain.
12 (K)I will make the rivers dry,
And (L)sell the land into the hand of the wicked;
I will make the land waste, and all that is in it,
By the hand of aliens.
I, the Lord, have spoken.”

13 ‘Thus says the Lord God:

“I will also (M)destroy the idols,
And cause the images to cease from [f]Noph;
(N)There shall no longer be princes from the land of Egypt;
(O)I will put fear in the land of Egypt.
14 I will make (P)Pathros desolate,
Set fire to (Q)Zoan,
(R)And execute judgments in [g]No.
15 I will pour My fury on [h]Sin, the strength of Egypt;
(S)I will cut off the multitude of [i]No,
16 And (T)set a fire in Egypt;
Sin shall have great pain,
No shall be split open,
And Noph shall be in distress daily.
17 The young men of [j]Aven and Pi Beseth shall fall by the sword,
And these cities shall go into captivity.
18 (U)At [k]Tehaphnehes the day shall also be [l]darkened,
When I break the yokes of Egypt there.
And her arrogant strength shall cease in her;
As for her, a cloud shall cover her,
And her daughters shall go into captivity.
19 Thus I will (V)execute judgments on Egypt,
Then they shall know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”

Proclamation Against Pharaoh

20 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 21 “Son of man, I have (W)broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and see, (X)it has not been bandaged for healing, nor a [m]splint put on to bind it, to make it strong enough to hold a sword. 22 Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Surely I am (Y)against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will (Z)break his arms, both the strong one and the one that was broken; and I will make the sword fall out of his hand. 23 (AA)I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them throughout the countries. 24 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put My sword in his hand; but I will break Pharaoh’s arms, and he will groan before him with the groanings of a mortally wounded man. 25 Thus I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; (AB)they shall know that I am the Lord, when I put My sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt. 26 (AC)I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.’ ”

Egypt Cut Down Like a Great Tree(AD)

31 Now it came to pass in the (AE)eleventh year, in the third month, on the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his multitude:

(AF)‘Whom are you like in your greatness?
(AG)Indeed Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon,
With fine branches that shaded the forest,
And of high stature;
And its top was among the thick boughs.
(AH)The waters made it grow;
Underground waters gave it height,
With their rivers running around the place where it was planted,
And sent out [n]rivulets to all the trees of the field.

‘Therefore (AI)its height was exalted above all the trees of the field;
Its boughs were multiplied,
And its branches became long because of the abundance of water,
As it sent them out.
All the (AJ)birds of the heavens made their nests in its boughs;
Under its branches all the beasts of the field brought forth their young;
And in its shadow all great nations [o]made their home.

‘Thus it was beautiful in greatness and in the length of its branches,
Because its roots reached to abundant waters.
The cedars in the (AK)garden of God could not hide it;
The fir trees were not like its boughs,
And the [p]chestnut trees were not like its branches;
No tree in the garden of God was like it in beauty.
I made it beautiful with a multitude of branches,
So that all the trees of Eden envied it,
That were in the garden of God.’

10 “Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Because you have increased in height, and it set its top among the thick boughs, and (AL)its heart was [q]lifted up in its height, 11 therefore I will deliver it into the hand of the (AM)mighty one of the nations, and he shall surely deal with it; I have driven it out for its wickedness. 12 And aliens, (AN)the most terrible of the nations, have cut it down and left it; its branches have fallen (AO)on the mountains and in all the valleys; its boughs lie (AP)broken by all the rivers of the land; and all the peoples of the earth have gone from under its shadow and left it.

13 ‘On (AQ)its ruin will remain all the birds of the heavens,
And all the beasts of the field will come to its branches—

14 So that no trees by the waters may ever again exalt themselves for their height, nor set their tops among the thick boughs, that no tree which drinks water may ever be high enough to reach up to them.

‘For (AR)they have all been delivered to death,
(AS)To the depths of the earth,
Among the children of men who go down to the Pit.’

15 “Thus says the Lord God: ‘In the day when it (AT)went down to [r]hell, I caused mourning. I covered the deep because of it. I restrained its rivers, and the great waters were held back. I caused Lebanon to [s]mourn for it, and all the trees of the field wilted because of it. 16 I made the nations (AU)shake at the sound of its fall, when I (AV)cast it down to [t]hell together with those who descend into the Pit; and (AW)all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, (AX)were comforted in the depths of the earth. 17 They also went down to hell with it, with those slain by the sword; and those who were its strong arm (AY)dwelt in its shadows among the nations.

18 (AZ)‘To which of the trees in Eden will you then be likened in glory and greatness? Yet you shall be brought down with the trees of Eden to the depths of the earth; (BA)you shall lie in the midst of the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude,’ says the Lord God.”

Lamentation for Pharaoh and Egypt

32 And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the (BB)twelfth month, on the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Son of man, (BC)take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him:

(BD)‘You are like a young lion among the nations,
And (BE)you are like a monster in the seas,
(BF)Bursting forth in your rivers,
Troubling the waters with your feet,
And (BG)fouling their rivers.

‘Thus says the Lord God:

“I will therefore (BH)spread My net over you with a company of many people,
And they will draw you up in My net.
Then (BI)I will leave you on the land;
I will cast you out on the open fields,
(BJ)And cause to [u]settle on you all the birds of the heavens.
And with you I will fill the beasts of the whole earth.
I will lay your flesh (BK)on the mountains,
And fill the valleys with your carcass.

“I will also water the land with the flow of your blood,
Even to the mountains;
And the riverbeds will be full of you.
When I put out your light,
(BL)I will cover the heavens, and make its stars dark;
I will cover the sun with a cloud,
And the moon shall not give her light.
All the [v]bright lights of the heavens I will make dark over you,
And bring darkness upon your land,”
Says the Lord God.

‘I will also trouble the hearts of many peoples, when I bring your destruction among the nations, into the countries which you have not known. 10 Yes, I will make many peoples astonished at you, and their kings shall be horribly afraid of you when I brandish My sword before them; and (BM)they shall tremble every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of your fall.

11 (BN)‘For thus says the Lord God: “The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon you. 12 By the swords of the mighty warriors, all of them (BO)the most terrible of the nations, I will cause your multitude to fall.

(BP)“They shall plunder the pomp of Egypt,
And all its multitude shall be destroyed.
13 Also I will destroy all its animals
From beside its great waters;
(BQ)The foot of man shall muddy them no more,
Nor shall the hooves of animals muddy them.
14 Then I will make their waters [w]clear,
And make their rivers run like oil,”
Says the Lord God.

15 “When I make the land of Egypt desolate,
And the country is destitute of all that once filled it,
When I strike all who dwell in it,
(BR)Then they shall know that I am the Lord.

16 “This is the (BS)lamentation
With which they shall lament her;
The daughters of the nations shall lament her;
They shall lament for her, for Egypt,
And for all her multitude,”
Says the Lord God.’ ”

Egypt and Others Consigned to the Pit

17 It came to pass also in the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the month, (BT)that the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

18 “Son of man, wail over the multitude of Egypt,
And (BU)cast them down to the depths of the earth,
Her and the daughters of the famous nations,
With those who go down to the Pit:
19 ‘Whom (BV)do you surpass in beauty?
(BW)Go down, be placed with the uncircumcised.’

20 “They shall fall in the midst of those slain by the sword;
She is delivered to the sword,
(BX)Drawing her and all her multitudes.
21 (BY)The strong among the mighty
Shall speak to him out of the midst of hell
With those who help him:
‘They have (BZ)gone down,
They lie with the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.’

22 “Assyria(CA) is there, and all her company,
With their graves all around her,
All of them slain, fallen by the sword.
23 (CB)Her graves are set in the recesses of the Pit,
And her company is all around her grave,
All of them slain, fallen by the sword,
Who (CC)caused terror in the land of the living.

24 “There is (CD)Elam and all her multitude,
All around her grave,
All of them slain, fallen by the sword,
Who have (CE)gone down uncircumcised to the lower parts of the earth,
(CF)Who caused their terror in the land of the living;
Now they bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit.
25 They have set her (CG)bed in the midst of the slain,
With all her multitude,
With her graves all around it,
All of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword;
Though their terror was caused
In the land of the living,
Yet they bear their shame
With those who go down to the Pit;
It was put in the midst of the slain.

26 “There are (CH)Meshech and Tubal and all their multitudes,
With all their graves around it,
All of them (CI)uncircumcised, slain by the sword,
Though they caused their terror in the land of the living.
27 (CJ)They do not lie with the mighty
Who are fallen of the uncircumcised,
Who have gone down to hell with their weapons of war;
They have laid their swords under their heads,
But their iniquities will be on their bones,
Because of the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.
28 Yes, you shall be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised,
And lie with those slain by the sword.

29 “There is (CK)Edom,
Her kings and all her princes,
Who despite their might
Are laid beside those slain by the sword;
They shall lie with the uncircumcised,
And with those who go down to the Pit.
30 (CL)There are the princes of the north,
All of them, and all the (CM)Sidonians,
Who have gone down with the slain
In shame at the terror which they caused by their might;
They lie uncircumcised with those slain by the sword,
And bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit.

31 “Pharaoh will see them
And be (CN)comforted over all his multitude,
Pharaoh and all his army,
Slain by the sword,”
Says the Lord God.

32 “For I have caused My terror in the land of the living;
And he shall be placed in the midst of the uncircumcised
With those slain by the sword,
Pharaoh and all his multitude,”
Says the Lord God.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 30:4 Heb. Cush
  2. Ezekiel 30:5 Heb. Put
  3. Ezekiel 30:5 Heb. Lud
  4. Ezekiel 30:6 Or the tower
  5. Ezekiel 30:9 Or secure
  6. Ezekiel 30:13 Ancient Memphis
  7. Ezekiel 30:14 Ancient Thebes
  8. Ezekiel 30:15 Ancient Pelusium
  9. Ezekiel 30:15 Ancient Thebes
  10. Ezekiel 30:17 Ancient On, Heliopolis
  11. Ezekiel 30:18 Tahpanhes, Jer. 43:7
  12. Ezekiel 30:18 So with many Heb. mss., Bg., LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg.; MT refrained
  13. Ezekiel 30:21 Lit. bandage
  14. Ezekiel 31:4 Or channels
  15. Ezekiel 31:6 Lit. dwelled
  16. Ezekiel 31:8 Or plane, Heb. armon
  17. Ezekiel 31:10 Proud
  18. Ezekiel 31:15 Or Sheol
  19. Ezekiel 31:15 Lit. be darkened
  20. Ezekiel 31:16 Or Sheol
  21. Ezekiel 32:4 Lit. sit or dwell
  22. Ezekiel 32:8 Or shining
  23. Ezekiel 32:14 Lit. sink; settle, grow clear

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