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Proclamation against the King of Tyre

28 The word of the Lord came to me: Mortal, say to the prince of Tyre: Thus says the Lord God:

Because your heart is proud
    and you have said, “I am a god;
I sit in the seat of the gods,
    in the heart of the seas,”
yet you are but a mortal and no god,
    though you compare your mind
    with the mind of a god.(A)
You are indeed wiser than Daniel;[a]
    no secret is hidden from you;(B)
by your wisdom and your understanding
    you have amassed wealth for yourself
and have gathered gold and silver
    into your treasuries.(C)
By your great wisdom in trade
    you have increased your wealth,
    and your heart has become proud in your wealth.(D)
Therefore thus says the Lord God:
Because you compare your mind
    with the mind of a god,(E)
therefore, I will bring strangers against you,
    the most terrible of the nations;
they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom
    and defile your splendor.(F)
They shall thrust you down to the Pit,
    and you shall die a violent death
    in the heart of the seas.(G)
Will you still say, “I am a god,”
    in the presence of those who kill you,
though you are but a mortal and no god,
    in the hands of those who pierce you?
10 You shall die the death of the uncircumcised
    by the hand of foreigners,
    for I have spoken, says the Lord God.(H)

Lamentation over the King of Tyre

11 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me: 12 Mortal, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him: Thus says the Lord God:

You were the signet of perfection,[b]
    full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.(I)
13 You were in Eden, the garden of God;
    every precious stone was your covering,
carnelian, chrysolite, and moonstone,
    beryl, onyx, and jasper,
sapphire,[c] turquoise, and emerald;
    and worked in gold were your settings
    and your engravings.[d]
On the day that you were created
    they were prepared.(J)
14 You were a cherub;[e]
    I placed you on the holy mountain of God;
    you walked among the stones of fire.(K)
15 You were blameless in your ways
    from the day that you were created,
    until iniquity was found in you.(L)
16 In the abundance of your trade
    you were filled with violence, and you sinned,
so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God,
    and I drove you out, O guardian cherub,
    from among the stones of fire.(M)
17 Your heart was proud because of your beauty;
    you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.
I cast you to the ground;
    I exposed you before kings,
    to feast their eyes on you.(N)
18 By the multitude of your iniquities,
    in the unrighteousness of your trade,
    you profaned your sanctuaries.
So I brought out fire from within you;
    it consumed you,
and I turned you to ashes on the earth
    in the sight of all who saw you.(O)
19 All who know you among the peoples
    are appalled at you;
you have come to a dreadful end
    and shall be no more forever.(P)

Proclamation against Sidon

20 The word of the Lord came to me: 21 Mortal, set your face toward Sidon, and prophesy against it,(Q) 22 and say: Thus says the Lord God:

I am against you, O Sidon,
    and I will gain glory in your midst.
They shall know that I am the Lord
    when I execute judgments in it
    and manifest my holiness in it;(R)
23 for I will send pestilence into it,
    and bloodshed into its streets;
and the dead shall fall in its midst,
    by the sword that is against it on every side.
And they shall know that I am the Lord.(S)

24 The house of Israel shall no longer find a pricking brier or a piercing thorn among all their neighbors who have treated them with contempt. And they shall know that I am the Lord God.(T)

Future Blessing for Israel

25 Thus says the Lord God: When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered and manifest my holiness in them in the sight of the nations, then they shall settle on their own soil that I gave to my servant Jacob.(U) 26 They shall live in safety in it and shall build houses and plant vineyards. They shall live in safety when I execute judgments upon all their neighbors who have treated them with contempt. And they shall know that I am the Lord their God.(V)

Proclamation against Egypt

29 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: Mortal, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt;(W) speak and say: Thus says the Lord God:

I am against you,
    Pharaoh king of Egypt,
the great dragon sprawling
    in the midst of its channels,
saying, “My Nile is my own;
    I made it for myself.”(X)
I will put hooks in your jaws
    and make the fish of your channels stick to your scales.
I will draw you up from your channels,
    with all the fish of your channels
    sticking to your scales.(Y)
I will fling you into the wilderness,
    you and all the fish of your channels;
you shall fall in the open field
    and not be gathered or picked up.
To the animals of the earth and to the birds of the air
    I have given you as food.(Z)
Then all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know
    that I am the Lord,
because you[f] were a staff of reed
    to the house of Israel;(AA)
when they grasped you with the hand, you broke
    and tore all their shoulders,
and when they leaned on you, you broke
    and made all their legs give way.[g](AB)

Therefore, thus says the Lord God: I will bring a sword upon you and will cut off from you human and animal,(AC) and the land of Egypt shall be a desolation and a waste. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.

Because you[h] said, “The Nile is mine, and I made it,” 10 therefore, I am against you and against your channels, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of Cush.(AD) 11 No human foot shall pass through it, and no animal foot shall pass through it; it shall be uninhabited forty years.(AE) 12 I will make the land of Egypt a desolation among desolated countries, and her cities shall be a desolation forty years among cities that are laid waste. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the countries.(AF)

13 Further, thus says the Lord God: At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered,(AG) 14 and I will restore the fortunes of Egypt and bring them back to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin, and there they shall be a lowly kingdom. 15 It shall be the most lowly of the kingdoms and never again exalt itself above the nations, and I will make them so small that they will never again rule over the nations. 16 The Egyptians[i] shall never again be the reliance of the house of Israel; they will recall their iniquity when they turned to them for aid. Then they shall know that I am the Lord God.(AH)

Babylonia Will Plunder Egypt

17 In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 18 Mortal, King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre; every head was made bald and every shoulder was rubbed bare, yet neither he nor his army got anything from Tyre to pay for the labor that he had expended against it.(AI) 19 Therefore thus says the Lord God: I will give the land of Egypt to King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, and he shall carry off its wealth and despoil it and plunder it, and it shall be the wages for his army.(AJ) 20 I have given him the land of Egypt as his payment for which he labored, because they worked for me, says the Lord God.(AK)

21 On that day I will cause a horn to sprout up for the house of Israel, and I will open your lips among them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.(AL)

Lamentation for Egypt

30 The word of the Lord came to me: Mortal, prophesy, and say: Thus says the Lord God:

Wail, “Alas for the day!”(AM)
    For a day is near,
    the day of the Lord is near;
it will be a day of clouds,
    a time of doom[j] for the nations.(AN)
A sword shall come upon Egypt,
    and anguish shall be in Cush,
when the slain fall in Egypt,
    and its wealth is carried away,
    and its foundations are torn down.(AO)

Cush and Put and Lud and all the mixed populations and Libya[k] and the people of the allied land[l] shall fall with them by the sword.(AP)

Thus says the Lord:
Those who support Egypt shall fall,
    and its proud might shall come down;
from Migdol to Syene
    they shall fall within it by the sword,
says the Lord God.(AQ)
They shall be desolated among other desolated countries,
    and their cities shall lie among cities laid waste.(AR)
Then they shall know that I am the Lord,
    when I have set fire to Egypt,
    and all who help it are broken.(AS)

On that day, messengers shall go out from me in ships to terrify the secure Cushites, and anguish shall come upon them on the day of Egypt’s doom,[m] for it is coming!(AT)

10 Thus says the Lord God:

I will put an end to the hordes of Egypt,
    by the hand of King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon.(AU)
11 He and his people with him, the most terrible of the nations,
    shall be brought in to destroy the land,
and they shall draw their swords against Egypt
    and fill the land with the slain.(AV)
12 I will dry up the channels of the Nile
    and will sell the land into the hand of evildoers;
I will bring desolation upon the land and everything in it
    by the hand of foreigners;
I the Lord have spoken.(AW)

13 Thus says the Lord God:

I will destroy the idols
    and put an end to the images in Memphis;
there shall no longer be a prince in the land of Egypt,
    so I will put fear in the land of Egypt.(AX)
14 I will make Pathros a desolation
    and will set fire to Zoan
    and will execute acts of judgment on Thebes.(AY)
15 I will pour my wrath upon Pelusium,
    the stronghold of Egypt,
    and will cut off the hordes of Thebes.(AZ)
16 I will set fire to Egypt;
    Pelusium shall be in great agony;
Thebes shall be breached
    and Memphis face adversaries by day.
17 The young men of On and of Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword,
    and the cities themselves[n] shall go into captivity.
18 At Tehaphnehes the day shall be dark,
    when I break there the dominion of Egypt,
and its proud might shall come to an end;
    the city[o] shall be covered by a cloud,
    and its daughter towns shall go into captivity.(BA)
19 Thus I will execute acts of judgment on Egypt.
    Then they shall know that I am the Lord.(BB)

Proclamation against Pharaoh

20 In the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 21 Mortal, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; it has not been bound up for healing or wrapped with a bandage, so that it may become strong to wield the sword.(BC) 22 Therefore thus says the Lord God: I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt and will break his arms, both the strong arm and the one that was broken, and I will make the sword fall from his hand.(BD) 23 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the lands.(BE) 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 with the groans of one mortally wounded.(BF) 25 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall. And they shall know that I am the Lord when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon. He shall stretch it out against the land of Egypt,(BG) 26 and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.(BH)

The Lofty Cedar

31 In the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: Mortal, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his hordes:

Whom are you like in your greatness?(BI)
    Consider Assyria, a cedar of Lebanon,
with fair branches and forest shade,
    and of great height,
    its top among the clouds.(BJ)
The waters nourished it;
    the deep made it grow tall,
flowing with its rivers
    around the place it was planted,
sending forth its streams
    to all the trees of the field.(BK)
So it towered high
    above all the trees of the field;
its boughs grew large
    and its branches long,
    from abundant water in its shoots.(BL)
All the birds of the air
    made their nests in its boughs;
under its branches all the animals of the field
    gave birth to their young,
and in its shade
    all great nations lived.(BM)
It was beautiful in its greatness,
    in the length of its branches,
for its roots went down
    to abundant water.
The cedars in the garden of God could not rival it
    nor the fir trees equal its boughs;
the plane trees were as nothing
    compared with its branches;
no tree in the garden of God
    was like it in beauty.(BN)
I made it beautiful
    with its mass of branches,
the envy of all the trees of Eden
    that were in the garden of God.

10 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because it[p] towered high and set its top among the clouds and its heart was proud of its height,(BO) 11 I gave it into the hand of the prince of the nations; he has dealt with it as its wickedness deserves. I have cast it out.(BP) 12 Foreigners from the most terrible of the nations have cut it down and left it. On the mountains and in all the valleys its branches have fallen, and its boughs lie broken in all the watercourses of the land, and all the peoples of the earth went away from its shade and left it.(BQ)

13 On its fallen trunk settle
    all the birds of the air,
and among its boughs lodge
    all the wild animals.(BR)

14 All this is in order that no trees by the waters may grow to lofty height or set their tops among the clouds and that no trees that drink water may reach up to them in height.

For all of them are handed over to death,
    to the world below;
along with mortals,
    with those who go down to the Pit.(BS)

15 Thus says the Lord God: On the day it went down to Sheol I closed the deep over it and covered it; I restrained its rivers, and its mighty waters were checked. I clothed Lebanon in gloom for it, and all the trees of the field fainted because of it.(BT) 16 I made the nations quake at the sound of its fall, when I cast it down to Sheol with those who go down to the Pit, and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that were well watered, were consoled in the world below.(BU) 17 They also went down to Sheol with it, to those killed by the sword, along with its allies,[q] those who lived in its shade among the nations.(BV)

18 Which among the trees of Eden was like you in glory and in greatness? Now you shall be brought down with the trees of Eden to the world below; you shall lie among the uncircumcised, with those who are killed by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his horde, says the Lord God.(BW)

Footnotes

  1. 28.3 Or Danel
  2. 28.12 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  3. 28.13 Or lapis lazuli
  4. 28.13 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  5. 28.14 Gk: Heb adds anointed guardian
  6. 29.6 Gk Syr Vg: Heb they
  7. 29.7 Syr: Heb stand
  8. 29.9 Gk Syr Vg: Heb he
  9. 29.16 Heb It
  10. 30.3 Heb lacks of doom
  11. 30.5 Compare Gk Syr Vg: Heb Cub
  12. 30.5 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  13. 30.9 Heb the day of Egypt
  14. 30.17 Heb and they
  15. 30.18 Heb she
  16. 31.10 Syr Vg: Heb you
  17. 31.17 Heb its arms

A Prophecy Against the King of Tyre

28 The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man(A), say to the ruler of Tyre, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘In the pride of your heart
    you say, “I am a god;
I sit on the throne(B) of a god
    in the heart of the seas.”(C)
But you are a mere mortal and not a god,
    though you think you are as wise as a god.(D)
Are you wiser than Daniel[a]?(E)
    Is no secret hidden from you?
By your wisdom and understanding
    you have gained wealth for yourself
and amassed gold and silver
    in your treasuries.(F)
By your great skill in trading(G)
    you have increased your wealth,(H)
and because of your wealth
    your heart has grown proud.(I)

“‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘Because you think you are wise,
    as wise as a god,
I am going to bring foreigners against you,
    the most ruthless of nations;(J)
they will draw their swords against your beauty and wisdom(K)
    and pierce your shining splendor.(L)
They will bring you down to the pit,(M)
    and you will die a violent death(N)
    in the heart of the seas.(O)
Will you then say, “I am a god,”
    in the presence of those who kill you?
You will be but a mortal, not a god,(P)
    in the hands of those who slay you.(Q)
10 You will die the death of the uncircumcised(R)
    at the hands of foreigners.

I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”

11 The word of the Lord came to me: 12 “Son of man, take up a lament(S) concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘You were the seal of perfection,
    full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.(T)
13 You were in Eden,(U)
    the garden of God;(V)
every precious stone(W) adorned you:
    carnelian, chrysolite and emerald,
    topaz, onyx and jasper,
    lapis lazuli, turquoise(X) and beryl.[b]
Your settings and mountings[c] were made of gold;
    on the day you were created they were prepared.(Y)
14 You were anointed(Z) as a guardian cherub,(AA)
    for so I ordained you.
You were on the holy mount of God;
    you walked among the fiery stones.
15 You were blameless in your ways
    from the day you were created
    till wickedness was found in you.
16 Through your widespread trade
    you were filled with violence,(AB)
    and you sinned.
So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God,
    and I expelled you, guardian cherub,(AC)
    from among the fiery stones.
17 Your heart became proud(AD)
    on account of your beauty,
and you corrupted your wisdom
    because of your splendor.
So I threw you to the earth;
    I made a spectacle of you before kings.(AE)
18 By your many sins and dishonest trade
    you have desecrated your sanctuaries.
So I made a fire(AF) come out from you,
    and it consumed you,
and I reduced you to ashes(AG) on the ground
    in the sight of all who were watching.(AH)
19 All the nations who knew you
    are appalled(AI) at you;
you have come to a horrible end
    and will be no more.(AJ)’”

A Prophecy Against Sidon

20 The word of the Lord came to me: 21 “Son of man, set your face against(AK) Sidon;(AL) prophesy against her 22 and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘I am against you, Sidon,
    and among you I will display my glory.(AM)
You will know that I am the Lord,
    when I inflict punishment(AN) on you
    and within you am proved to be holy.(AO)
23 I will send a plague upon you
    and make blood flow in your streets.
The slain will fall within you,
    with the sword against you on every side.
Then you will know that I am the Lord.(AP)

24 “‘No longer will the people of Israel have malicious neighbors who are painful briers and sharp thorns.(AQ) Then they will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.

25 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When I gather(AR) the people of Israel from the nations where they have been scattered,(AS) I will be proved holy(AT) through them in the sight of the nations. Then they will live in their own land, which I gave to my servant Jacob.(AU) 26 They will live there in safety(AV) and will build houses and plant(AW) vineyards; they will live in safety when I inflict punishment(AX) on all their neighbors who maligned them. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God.(AY)’”

A Prophecy Against Egypt

Judgment on Pharaoh

29 In the tenth year, in the tenth month on the twelfth day, the word of the Lord came to me:(AZ) “Son of man, set your face against(BA) Pharaoh king of Egypt(BB) and prophesy against him and against all Egypt.(BC) Speak to him and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘I am against you, Pharaoh(BD) king of Egypt,
    you great monster(BE) lying among your streams.
You say, “The Nile(BF) belongs to me;
    I made it for myself.”
But I will put hooks(BG) in your jaws
    and make the fish of your streams stick to your scales.
I will pull you out from among your streams,
    with all the fish sticking to your scales.(BH)
I will leave you in the desert,
    you and all the fish of your streams.
You will fall on the open field
    and not be gathered(BI) or picked up.
I will give you as food
    to the beasts of the earth and the birds of the sky.(BJ)

Then all who live in Egypt will know that I am the Lord.

“‘You have been a staff of reed(BK) for the people of Israel. When they grasped you with their hands, you splintered(BL) and you tore open their shoulders; when they leaned on you, you broke and their backs were wrenched.[d](BM)

“‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will bring a sword against you and kill both man and beast.(BN) Egypt will become a desolate wasteland. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

“‘Because you said, “The Nile(BO) is mine; I made it,(BP) 10 therefore I am against you(BQ) and against your streams, and I will make the land of Egypt(BR) a ruin and a desolate waste(BS) from Migdol(BT) to Aswan,(BU) as far as the border of Cush.[e](BV) 11 The foot of neither man nor beast will pass through it; no one will live there for forty years.(BW) 12 I will make the land of Egypt desolate(BX) among devastated lands, and her cities will lie desolate forty years among ruined cities. And I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them through the countries.(BY)

13 “‘Yet this is what the Sovereign Lord says: At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the nations where they were scattered. 14 I will bring them back from captivity and return them to Upper Egypt,(BZ) the land of their ancestry. There they will be a lowly(CA) kingdom.(CB) 15 It will be the lowliest of kingdoms and will never again exalt itself above the other nations.(CC) I will make it so weak that it will never again rule over the nations. 16 Egypt will no longer be a source of confidence(CD) for the people of Israel but will be a reminder(CE) of their sin in turning to her for help.(CF) Then they will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.(CG)’”

Nebuchadnezzar’s Reward

17 In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month on the first day, the word of the Lord came to me:(CH) 18 “Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar(CI) king of Babylon drove his army in a hard campaign against Tyre; every head was rubbed bare(CJ) and every shoulder made raw.(CK) Yet he and his army got no reward from the campaign he led against Tyre. 19 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am going to give Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king(CL) of Babylon, and he will carry off its wealth. He will loot and plunder(CM) the land as pay for his army.(CN) 20 I have given him Egypt(CO) as a reward for his efforts because he and his army did it for me, declares the Sovereign Lord.(CP)

21 “On that day I will make a horn[f](CQ) grow for the Israelites, and I will open your mouth(CR) among them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.(CS)

A Lament Over Egypt

30 The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, prophesy and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘Wail(CT) and say,
    “Alas for that day!”
For the day is near,(CU)
    the day of the Lord(CV) is near—
a day of clouds,
    a time of doom for the nations.
A sword will come against Egypt,(CW)
    and anguish will come upon Cush.[g](CX)
When the slain fall in Egypt,
    her wealth will be carried away
    and her foundations torn down.(CY)

Cush and Libya,(CZ) Lydia and all Arabia,(DA) Kub and the people(DB) of the covenant land will fall by the sword along with Egypt.(DC)

“‘This is what the Lord says:

“‘The allies of Egypt will fall
    and her proud strength will fail.
From Migdol to Aswan(DD)
    they will fall by the sword within her,
declares the Sovereign Lord.
“‘They will be desolate
    among desolate lands,
and their cities will lie
    among ruined cities.(DE)
Then they will know that I am the Lord,
    when I set fire(DF) to Egypt
    and all her helpers are crushed.(DG)

“‘On that day messengers will go out from me in ships to frighten Cush(DH) out of her complacency. Anguish(DI) will take hold of them on the day of Egypt’s doom, for it is sure to come.(DJ)

10 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘I will put an end to the hordes of Egypt
    by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar(DK) king of Babylon.(DL)
11 He and his army—the most ruthless of nations(DM)
    will be brought in to destroy the land.
They will draw their swords against Egypt
    and fill the land with the slain.(DN)
12 I will dry up(DO) the waters of the Nile(DP)
    and sell the land to an evil nation;
by the hand of foreigners
    I will lay waste(DQ) the land and everything in it.

I the Lord have spoken.

13 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘I will destroy the idols(DR)
    and put an end to the images in Memphis.(DS)
No longer will there be a prince in Egypt,(DT)
    and I will spread fear throughout the land.
14 I will lay(DU) waste Upper Egypt,
    set fire to Zoan(DV)
    and inflict punishment on Thebes.(DW)
15 I will pour out my wrath on Pelusium,
    the stronghold of Egypt,
    and wipe out the hordes of Thebes.
16 I will set fire(DX) to Egypt;
    Pelusium will writhe in agony.
Thebes will be taken by storm;
    Memphis(DY) will be in constant distress.
17 The young men of Heliopolis(DZ) and Bubastis
    will fall by the sword,
    and the cities themselves will go into captivity.
18 Dark will be the day at Tahpanhes(EA)
    when I break the yoke of Egypt;(EB)
    there her proud strength will come to an end.
She will be covered with clouds,
    and her villages will go into captivity.(EC)
19 So I will inflict punishment(ED) on Egypt,
    and they will know that I am the Lord.’”

Pharaoh’s Arms Are Broken

20 In the eleventh year, in the first month on the seventh day, the word of the Lord came to me:(EE) 21 “Son of man, I have broken the arm(EF) of Pharaoh(EG) king of Egypt. It has not been bound up to be healed(EH) 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.(EI) I will break both his arms, the good arm as well as the broken one, and make the sword fall from his hand.(EJ) 23 I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them through the countries.(EK) 24 I will strengthen(EL) the arms of the king of Babylon and put my sword(EM) in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan(EN) 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(EO) into the hand of the king of Babylon and he brandishes it against Egypt.(EP) 26 I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them through the countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord.(EQ)

Pharaoh as a Felled Cedar of Lebanon

31 In the eleventh year,(ER) in the third month on the first day, the word of the Lord came to me:(ES) “Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his hordes:

“‘Who can be compared with you in majesty?
Consider Assyria,(ET) once a cedar in Lebanon,(EU)
    with beautiful branches overshadowing the forest;
it towered on high,
    its top above the thick foliage.(EV)
The waters(EW) nourished it,
    deep springs made it grow tall;
their streams flowed
    all around its base
and sent their channels
    to all the trees of the field.(EX)
So it towered higher(EY)
    than all the trees of the field;
its boughs increased
    and its branches grew long,
    spreading because of abundant waters.(EZ)
All the birds of the sky
    nested in its boughs,
all the animals of the wild
    gave birth(FA) under its branches;
all the great nations
    lived in its shade.(FB)
It was majestic in beauty,
    with its spreading boughs,
for its roots went down
    to abundant waters.(FC)
The cedars(FD) in the garden of God
    could not rival it,
nor could the junipers
    equal its boughs,
nor could the plane trees(FE)
    compare with its branches—
no tree in the garden of God
    could match its beauty.(FF)
I made it beautiful
    with abundant branches,
the envy of all the trees of Eden(FG)
    in the garden of God.(FH)

10 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because the great cedar towered over the thick foliage, and because it was proud(FI) of its height, 11 I gave it into the hands of the ruler of the nations, for him to deal with according to its wickedness. I cast it aside,(FJ) 12 and the most ruthless of foreign nations(FK) cut it down and left it. Its boughs fell on the mountains and in all the valleys;(FL) its branches lay broken in all the ravines of the land. All the nations of the earth came out from under its shade and left it.(FM) 13 All the birds settled on the fallen tree, and all the wild animals lived among its branches.(FN) 14 Therefore no other trees by the waters are ever to tower proudly on high, lifting their tops above the thick foliage. No other trees so well-watered are ever to reach such a height; they are all destined(FO) for death,(FP) for the earth below, among mortals who go down to the realm of the dead.(FQ)

15 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On the day it was brought down to the realm of the dead I covered the deep springs with mourning for it; I held back its streams, and its abundant waters were restrained. Because of it I clothed Lebanon with gloom, and all the trees of the field withered away.(FR) 16 I made the nations tremble(FS) at the sound of its fall when I brought it down to the realm of the dead to be with those who go down to the pit. Then all the trees(FT) of Eden,(FU) the choicest and best of Lebanon, the well-watered trees, were consoled(FV) in the earth below.(FW) 17 They too, like the great cedar, had gone down to the realm of the dead, to those killed by the sword,(FX) along with the armed men who lived in its shade among the nations.

18 “‘Which of the trees of Eden can be compared with you in splendor and majesty? Yet you, too, will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the earth below; you will lie among the uncircumcised,(FY) with those killed by the sword.

“‘This is Pharaoh and all his hordes, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 28:3 Or Danel, a man of renown in ancient literature
  2. Ezekiel 28:13 The precise identification of some of these precious stones is uncertain.
  3. Ezekiel 28:13 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
  4. Ezekiel 29:7 Syriac (see also Septuagint and Vulgate); Hebrew and you caused their backs to stand
  5. Ezekiel 29:10 That is, the upper Nile region
  6. Ezekiel 29:21 Horn here symbolizes strength.
  7. Ezekiel 30:4 That is, the upper Nile region; also in verses 5 and 9