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Another Prophecy about Egypt

32 On the first day of the twelfth month of the twelfth year of our captivity,[a] a message came to me from the Lord, who had this to say:

“Son of Man, start singing this lamentation about Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Tell him,

‘You may have called yourself a lion among nations,
    but you’re a monster at sea.
You thrash about in your rivers,
    muddy the water with your feet,
        and relieve yourself in the rivers.’

“This is what the Lord God says:
    ‘I’m coming fishing for you!
Right in the sight of many nations
    they’ll haul you up in my dragnet.
I’ll fling you up onto the land;
    I’ll haul you into the field,
I’ll make every carrion-eating bird come to dine on you,
    and I’ll make all the scavenging animals gorge themselves on you.
I’ll cover the mountains with your flesh
    and fill their valleys with your rotting carcass.[b]
I’ll drench the land with your blood,
    right up to the mountains,
and the ravines will overflow
    with blood that comes from you!
When I extinguish your lights,
    I’ll cover the heavens
        and darken their stars.
I’ll cover the sun with a cloud
    and the moon won’t reflect its light.
I’ll darken the bright lights in the sky above you
    and bring darkness to your territory,’
        declares the Lord God.

“‘I’ll bring distress to the hearts of many nations when I destroy you among nations whose territories you have not known. 10 I’ll make many nations be appalled at you, and their kings will be terrified because of you when I brandish my sword right in their face. They will all tremble from fear for their own safety[c] on the day that you fall!’

11 “This is what the Lord God says: ‘The army[d] of the king of Babylon will attack you. 12 I’m going to make your gangs die using the weapons of valiant warriors, all of whom are ruthless people.

‘They will devastate the majesty of Egypt,
    destroying all of its hordes.
13 I’m going to destroy all of its livestock
    along its many riverbanks.
Human feet won’t muddy the rivers anymore,
    nor will the hooves of livestock stir up the water.
14 That’s when I’ll make their waterways flow smoothly,
    and their rivers flow like olive oil,’[e]
        declares the Lord God.”
15 ‘When I turn the land of Egypt into a desolation,
    and the land is emptied of everything that used to fill it,
when I strike everyone who lives there,
    they will learn that I am the Lord.’

16 “This has been a lamentation. They will chant it, and the citizens[f] of the nations will chant it, too. They’ll chant it about Egypt and about all of its hordes.”

Babylon’s Invasion of Egypt

17 On the fifteenth day of the first[g] month of the twelfth year of our captivity,[h] a message from the Lord came to me, and this is what it said: 18 “Son of Man, mourn about the hordes of Egypt. Bring them down—that is, her and the citizens[i] of those majestic[j] nations—whose destiny is the deep part of the Pit.[k]

19 “So who’s more beautiful than you?
    You’ll be buried with the uncircumcised.[l]

20 “They’ll die along with others who are killed violently.[m] Egypt has been given over to violence,[n] which will carry off both it and its hordes.”

Egypt Condemned by the Dead

21 “Mighty leaders will address them and those who assist them right out of the middle of Sheol:[o] ‘They’ve come down and will lie still, these uncircumcised people who have died violently.’[p] 22 Assyria will be there, along with all of those who keep company with her,[q] all of them killed violently. 23 Her grave will be set in the remotest part of the Pit,[r] surrounded by those who accompanied her. All of them will have been killed, executed violently, who spread terror throughout the land of the living.

24 “Elam will be there. Its hordes will surround Elam’s[s] grave. All of them have been killed. They died[t] violently, and they have descended uncircumcised into the world below after having spread terror throughout the land of the living. They will bear the shame of those who descend to the Pit.[u] 25 They have prepared a bed for her and for her hordes that surround her graves. All of them are uncircumcised, having been killed violently, because they had spread terror throughout the land of the living. They will bear the shame of those who descend to the Pit[v] and will take their place among the dead.

26 “Meshech and Tubal will be there, along with all of the hordes that surround her grave. Every one of them is uncircumcised, killed violently, because they spread terror throughout the land of the living. 27 They won’t be buried with dead warriors from ancient times, who went straight to Sheol,[w] buried with their war weapons, with their swords placed under their heads and their shields laid on top of their bones, since they spread terror throughout the land of the living. 28 You’ll be broken, and you’ll lie down with the uncircumcised who died violently.

29 “Edom will be there, along with its kings and princes who despite all their power have been killed violently. They, too, are lying dead, along with the uncircumcised; that is, with those who descend into the Pit.[x]

30 “All of the princes from the North are there, along with the Sidonians, who have gone down in shame to join those who have been killed because of all the terror they caused by their military might. They lie dead, uncircumcised, with those who have been killed violently. They will bear their shame, along with those who descend into the Pit.[y]

31 “When Pharaoh sees them, he will take comfort in his hordes. Pharaoh and all his army will die violently,” says the Lord God, 32 “because he spread terror throughout the land of the living. Therefore he’ll be laid to rest among the uncircumcised, who have been killed violently; that is, Pharaoh and all of his hordes,” declares the Lord God.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 32:1 The Heb. lacks of our captivity
  2. Ezekiel 32:5 So MT; the Syr. Peshittas read your maggots
  3. Ezekiel 32:10 Lit. soul
  4. Ezekiel 32:11 Lit. sword
  5. Ezekiel 32:14 I.e. the rivers will be undisturbed by human activity
  6. Ezekiel 32:16 Lit. daughters
  7. Ezekiel 32:17 The Heb. lacks the first
  8. Ezekiel 32:17 The Heb. lacks of our captivity
  9. Ezekiel 32:18 Lit. daughters
  10. Ezekiel 32:18 Or powerful
  11. Ezekiel 32:18 I.e. the realm of punishment in the afterlife
  12. Ezekiel 32:19 I.e. as one who does not honor God, and so throughout the chapter
  13. Ezekiel 32:20 Lit. killed with the sword, and so throughout the chapter
  14. Ezekiel 32:20 Lit. to the sword, and so throughout the chapter
  15. Ezekiel 32:21 I.e. the realm of the afterlife
  16. Ezekiel 32:21 Lit. by the sword, and so throughout the chapter
  17. Ezekiel 32:22 I.e. the nation personified as a woman
  18. Ezekiel 32:23 I.e. the realm of punishment in the afterlife
  19. Ezekiel 32:24 Lit. its
  20. Ezekiel 32:24 Lit. fell
  21. Ezekiel 32:24 I.e. the realm of punishment in the afterlife
  22. Ezekiel 32:25 I.e. the realm of punishment in the afterlife
  23. Ezekiel 32:27 I.e. the realm of the afterlife
  24. Ezekiel 32:29 I.e. the realm of punishment in the afterlife
  25. Ezekiel 32:30 I.e. the realm of punishment in the afterlife

A Lament Over Pharaoh

32 In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month on the first day, the word of the Lord came to me:(A) “Son of man, take up a lament(B) concerning Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him:

“‘You are like a lion(C) among the nations;
    you are like a monster(D) in the seas(E)
thrashing about in your streams,
    churning the water with your feet
    and muddying the streams.(F)

“‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘With a great throng of people
    I will cast my net over you,
    and they will haul you up in my net.(G)
I will throw you on the land
    and hurl you on the open field.
I will let all the birds of the sky settle on you
    and all the animals of the wild gorge themselves on you.(H)
I will spread your flesh on the mountains
    and fill the valleys(I) with your remains.
I will drench the land with your flowing blood(J)
    all the way to the mountains,
    and the ravines will be filled with your flesh.(K)
When I snuff you out, I will cover the heavens
    and darken their stars;
I will cover the sun with a cloud,
    and the moon will not give its light.(L)
All the shining lights in the heavens
    I will darken(M) over you;
    I will bring darkness over your land,(N)
declares the Sovereign Lord.
I will trouble the hearts of many peoples
    when I bring about your destruction among the nations,
    among[a] lands you have not known.
10 I will cause many peoples to be appalled at you,
    and their kings will shudder with horror because of you
    when I brandish my sword(O) before them.
On the day(P) of your downfall
    each of them will tremble
    every moment for his life.(Q)

11 “‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘The sword(R) of the king of Babylon(S)
    will come against you.(T)
12 I will cause your hordes to fall
    by the swords of mighty men—
    the most ruthless of all nations.(U)
They will shatter the pride of Egypt,
    and all her hordes will be overthrown.(V)
13 I will destroy all her cattle
    from beside abundant waters
no longer to be stirred by the foot of man
    or muddied by the hooves of cattle.(W)
14 Then I will let her waters settle
    and make her streams flow like oil,
declares the Sovereign Lord.
15 When I make Egypt desolate
    and strip the land of everything in it,
when I strike down all who live there,
    then they will know that I am the Lord.(X)

16 “This is the lament(Y) they will chant for her. The daughters of the nations will chant it; for Egypt and all her hordes they will chant it, declares the Sovereign Lord.”

Egypt’s Descent Into the Realm of the Dead

17 In the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me:(Z) 18 “Son of man, wail for the hordes of Egypt and consign(AA) to the earth below both her and the daughters of mighty nations, along with those who go down to the pit.(AB) 19 Say to them, ‘Are you more favored than others? Go down and be laid among the uncircumcised.’(AC) 20 They will fall among those killed by the sword. The sword is drawn; let her be dragged(AD) off with all her hordes.(AE) 21 From within the realm of the dead(AF) the mighty leaders will say of Egypt and her allies, ‘They have come down and they lie with the uncircumcised,(AG) with those killed by the sword.’

22 “Assyria is there with her whole army; she is surrounded by the graves of all her slain, all who have fallen by the sword. 23 Their graves are in the depths of the pit(AH) and her army lies around her grave.(AI) All who had spread terror in the land of the living are slain, fallen by the sword.

24 “Elam(AJ) is there, with all her hordes around her grave. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword.(AK) All who had spread terror in the land of the living(AL) went down uncircumcised to the earth below. They bear their shame with those who go down to the pit.(AM) 25 A bed is made for her among the slain, with all her hordes around her grave. All of them are uncircumcised,(AN) killed by the sword. Because their terror had spread in the land of the living, they bear their shame with those who go down to the pit; they are laid among the slain.

26 “Meshek and Tubal(AO) are there, with all their hordes around their graves. All of them are uncircumcised, killed by the sword because they spread their terror in the land of the living. 27 But they do not lie with the fallen warriors of old,[b](AP) who went down to the realm of the dead with their weapons of war—their swords placed under their heads and their shields[c] resting on their bones—though these warriors also had terrorized the land of the living.

28 “You too, Pharaoh, will be broken and will lie among the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword.

29 “Edom(AQ) is there, her kings and all her princes; despite their power, they are laid with those killed by the sword. They lie with the uncircumcised, with those who go down to the pit.(AR)

30 “All the princes of the north(AS) and all the Sidonians(AT) are there; they went down with the slain in disgrace despite the terror caused by their power. They lie uncircumcised(AU) with those killed by the sword and bear their shame with those who go down to the pit.(AV)

31 “Pharaoh—he and all his army—will see them and he will be consoled(AW) for all his hordes that were killed by the sword, declares the Sovereign Lord. 32 Although I had him spread terror in the land of the living, Pharaoh(AX) and all his hordes will be laid among the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword, declares the Sovereign Lord.”(AY)

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 32:9 Hebrew; Septuagint bring you into captivity among the nations, / to
  2. Ezekiel 32:27 Septuagint; Hebrew warriors who were uncircumcised
  3. Ezekiel 32:27 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text punishment