Ezekiel 32
Lexham English Bible
A Lament for Pharaoh, King of Egypt
32 And then[a] in the twelfth[b] year, in the twelfth[c] month, on the first day of the month, the word of Yahweh came[d] to me, saying,[e] 2 “Son of man,[f] raise a lament over Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and you must say to him,
‘With a fierce, strong lion among nations you compared yourself,
and you are like the sea monster in the seas,
and you thrash about in your rivers,
and you make water turbid with your feet,
and you make your rivers muddy.
3 Thus says the Lord Yahweh:
Now I will spread my net over you
in the assembly of many peoples,
and I will bring you up in my dragnet.
4 And I will throw you on the ground;
on the surface of the open field I will hurl you,
and I will cause every bird of the heaven to dwell on you,
and I will satisfy the animals[g] of all of the world from you.
5 And I will put your flesh on the mountains,
and I will fill the valleys with your carcass.
6 And I will water the land with your discharge from your blood
on the mountains,
and valleys will be filled from[h] you.
7 And I will cover you at[i] extinguishing your heavens,
and I will make dark their stars,
and I will cover the sun with the cloud,
and the moon will not give its light.
8 All[j] sources of light in the heavens,
I will make them dark over you,
and I will put[k] darkness on your land,’”
declares[l] the Lord Yahweh.
9 “And I will disturb the hearts[m] of many peoples
at my bringing about your captivity among the nations,
to countries that you do not know.
10 And I will cause many peoples to be awestruck over you,
and their kings will shudder over you in horror,
at[n] my brandishing my sword before their faces,
and they will tremble continually,[o]
each person for his life,
on the day of your downfall.”
11 For thus says the Lord Yahweh:
“The sword of the king of Babylon,
it will come to you.
12 By the swords of warriors I will cause to fall your hordes
by the most ruthless of the nations, all of them,
and they will devastate the majesty of Egypt,
and all of its hordes will be destroyed.
13 And I will destroy all her domestic livestock
beside[p] many waters.
The feet of humans[q] will not make them turbid again,
and the hooves of domestic livestock will not make them turbid.
14 Then I will make their waters settle,
and their rivers as the olive oil I will let flow,”
declares[r] the Lord Yahweh.
15 “Then I make the land of Egypt a desolation,
so that the land will be stripped from its fullness
when I strike all of those dwelling in it,
and they will know that I am Yahweh.
16 This is[s] a lament, and they will chant it as a lament; the daughters of the nations will chant it as a lament over Egypt, and over all of its hordes they will chant it as a lament,” declares[t] the Lord Yahweh.
17 And then[u] in the twelfth[v] year, on the fifteenth[w] day of the month, the word of Yahweh came[x] to me, saying,[y] 18 “Son of man,[z] mourn over the hordes of Egypt, and make her go down, and with her the daughters of mighty nations, down to the deep underworld[aa] with the people going down to the grave.[ab] 19 You are more lovely than whom?[ac] Go down and be laid in rest with the uncircumcised. 20 In the midst of the people slain by the sword it[ad] is given they will fall to a sword; they carried her[ae] off and all of her[af] hordes. 21 The chiefs of the warriors will speak to him from the middle of Sheol; with his helpers they have gone down; the uncircumcised lie still, those slain by the sword.[ag]
22 Assyria is there and all of its assembly; all around it are its graves, all of them killed, those fallen by the sword, 23 who[ah] will be given its graves in the remote areas of the pit, and its assembly will be all around its grave, all of them killed, fallen by the sword, those who spread terror in the land of the living.
24 Elam is there and all of its hordes, all around its grave, all of them dead who fell by the sword, those who went down uncircumcised to the depths of the underworld,[ai] those who spread their terror to the land of the living, and now they bear their disgrace with the people going down to the grave.[aj] 25 In the midst of the slain they made a bed for her with all of her hordes all around its graves, all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword, for their terror was spread in the land of the living, and they now bear their disgrace with the people going down to the grave;[ak] in the midst of the slain it was placed.
26 Meshech and Tubal are there and all of its hordes, all around him its graves, all of them uncircumcised and killed by the sword, for they gave their terror in the land of the living. 27 And they do not lie with warriors fallen from long ago, who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war,[al] and they placed their sword under their heads, and their shields[am] were on their bones, for the terror of the warriors was in the land of the living. 28 And you[an] too in the midst of uncircumcised people will be broken, and you will lie with those slain by the sword.
29 There is Edom, its kings and all of its leaders who are laid along with their might with those killed by the sword; they will lie with the uncircumcised and with the people going down to the grave.[ao]
30 There are also the princes of the north, all of them, all of the Sidonians who have gone down, being ashamed to lie with the slain because[ap] of their terror that they caused from their might, and they lie uncircumcised with those killed by the sword, and they bear their disgrace along with the people going down to the grave.[aq]
31 Pharaoh will see them, and he will be comforted over all of his hordes killed by the sword, Pharaoh and all of his army,” declares[ar] the Lord Yahweh. 32 “For[as] he spread[at] my terror in the land of the living, and so he will be laid down in the midst of the uncircumcised with those killed by the sword: Pharaoh and all of his hordes,”declares[au] the Lord Yahweh.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 32:1 Literally “and it was/happened”
- Ezekiel 32:1 Literally “two of ten”
- Ezekiel 32:1 Literally “in two ten month”
- Ezekiel 32:1 Literally “was”
- Ezekiel 32:1 Literally “to say”
- Ezekiel 32:2 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
- Ezekiel 32:4 Hebrew “animal”
- Ezekiel 32:6 Or “with”
- Ezekiel 32:7 Or “by”
- Ezekiel 32:8 Or “every”
- Ezekiel 32:8 Or “give”
- Ezekiel 32:8 Literally “declaration of”
- Ezekiel 32:9 Hebrew “heart”
- Ezekiel 32:10 Or “when”
- Ezekiel 32:10 Literally “for moments/seconds”
- Ezekiel 32:13 Literally “from on”
- Ezekiel 32:13 Hebrew “human”
- Ezekiel 32:14 Literally “declaration of”
- Ezekiel 32:16 Literally “she is”
- Ezekiel 32:16 Literally “declaration of”
- Ezekiel 32:17 Literally “and it happened/was”
- Ezekiel 32:17 Literally “two of ten”
- Ezekiel 32:17 Literally “in the five ten of”
- Ezekiel 32:17 Literally “was”
- Ezekiel 32:17 Literally “to say”
- Ezekiel 32:18 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
- Ezekiel 32:18 Literally “to the world/earth deeps/depth”
- Ezekiel 32:18 Or “pit” or “netherworld”
- Ezekiel 32:19 Literally “from whom are you lovely”
- Ezekiel 32:20 Or “she”; that is, Egypt
- Ezekiel 32:20 Or “it”
- Ezekiel 32:20 Or “its”
- Ezekiel 32:21 Literally “the slain of the sword”
- Ezekiel 32:23 That is, Assyria
- Ezekiel 32:24 Literally “land/earth/world”
- Ezekiel 32:24 Or “pit” or “sheol”
- Ezekiel 32:25 Or “pit”
- Ezekiel 32:27 Literally “with the weapons of war their”
- Ezekiel 32:27 Reading “their shields” for “their guilt”
- Ezekiel 32:28 Evidently refers to Egypt
- Ezekiel 32:29 Or “pit”
- Ezekiel 32:30 Or “in spite of” (cf. NJPS, NIV)
- Ezekiel 32:30 Or “pit”
- Ezekiel 32:31 Literally “declaration of”
- Ezekiel 32:32 Or “although”
- Ezekiel 32:32 Hebrew “I gave”
- Ezekiel 32:32 Literally “declaration of”
Ezekiel 32
International Standard Version
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:
2 “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.’
3 “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.
4 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.
5 I’ll cover the mountains with your flesh
and fill their valleys with your rotting carcass.[b]
6 I’ll drench the land with your blood,
right up to the mountains,
and the ravines will overflow
with blood that comes from you!
7 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.
8 I’ll darken the bright lights in the sky above you
and bring darkness to your territory,’
declares the Lord God.
9 “‘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
- Ezekiel 32:1 The Heb. lacks of our captivity
- Ezekiel 32:5 So MT; the Syr. Peshittas read your maggots
- Ezekiel 32:10 Lit. soul
- Ezekiel 32:11 Lit. sword
- Ezekiel 32:14 I.e. the rivers will be undisturbed by human activity
- Ezekiel 32:16 Lit. daughters
- Ezekiel 32:17 The Heb. lacks the first
- Ezekiel 32:17 The Heb. lacks of our captivity
- Ezekiel 32:18 Lit. daughters
- Ezekiel 32:18 Or powerful
- Ezekiel 32:18 I.e. the realm of punishment in the afterlife
- Ezekiel 32:19 I.e. as one who does not honor God, and so throughout the chapter
- Ezekiel 32:20 Lit. killed with the sword, and so throughout the chapter
- Ezekiel 32:20 Lit. to the sword, and so throughout the chapter
- Ezekiel 32:21 I.e. the realm of the afterlife
- Ezekiel 32:21 Lit. by the sword, and so throughout the chapter
- Ezekiel 32:22 I.e. the nation personified as a woman
- Ezekiel 32:23 I.e. the realm of punishment in the afterlife
- Ezekiel 32:24 Lit. its
- Ezekiel 32:24 Lit. fell
- Ezekiel 32:24 I.e. the realm of punishment in the afterlife
- Ezekiel 32:25 I.e. the realm of punishment in the afterlife
- Ezekiel 32:27 I.e. the realm of the afterlife
- Ezekiel 32:29 I.e. the realm of punishment in the afterlife
- Ezekiel 32:30 I.e. the realm of punishment in the afterlife
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