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
New Living Translation
A Warning for Pharaoh
32 On March 3,[a] during the twelfth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, this message came to me from the Lord: 2 “Son of man, mourn for Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and give him this message:
“You think of yourself as a strong young lion among the nations,
but you are really just a sea monster,
heaving around in your own rivers,
stirring up mud with your feet.
3 Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
I will send many people
to catch you in my net
and haul you out of the water.
4 I will leave you stranded on the land to die.
All the birds of the heavens will land on you,
and the wild animals of the whole earth
will gorge themselves on you.
5 I will scatter your flesh on the hills
and fill the valleys with your bones.
6 I will drench the earth with your gushing blood
all the way to the mountains,
filling the ravines to the brim.
7 When I blot you out,
I will veil the heavens and darken the stars.
I will cover the sun with a cloud,
and the moon will not give you its light.
8 I will darken the bright stars overhead
and cover your land in darkness.
I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!
9 “I will disturb many hearts when I bring news of your downfall to distant nations you have never seen. 10 Yes, I will shock many lands, and their kings will be terrified at your fate. They will shudder in fear for their lives as I brandish my sword before them on the day of your fall. 11 For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“The sword of the king of Babylon
will come against you.
12 I will destroy your hordes with the swords of mighty warriors—
the terror of the nations.
They will shatter the pride of Egypt,
and all its hordes will be destroyed.
13 I will destroy all your flocks and herds
that graze beside the streams.
Never again will people or animals
muddy those waters with their feet.
14 Then I will let the waters of Egypt become calm again,
and they will flow as smoothly as olive oil,
says the Sovereign Lord.
15 And when I destroy Egypt
and strip you of everything you own
and strike down all your people,
then you will know that I am the Lord.
16 Yes, this is the funeral song
they will sing for Egypt.
Let all the nations mourn.
Let them mourn for Egypt and its hordes.
I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”
Egypt Falls into the Pit
17 On March 17,[b] during the twelfth year, another message came to me from the Lord: 18 “Son of man, weep for the hordes of Egypt and for the other mighty nations.[c] For I will send them down to the world below in company with those who descend to the pit. 19 Say to them,
‘O Egypt, are you lovelier than the other nations?
No! So go down to the pit and lie there among the outcasts.[d]’
20 The Egyptians will fall with the many who have died by the sword, for the sword is drawn against them. Egypt and its hordes will be dragged away to their judgment. 21 Down in the grave[e] mighty leaders will mockingly welcome Egypt and its allies, saying, ‘They have come down; they lie among the outcasts, hordes slaughtered by the sword.’
22 “Assyria lies there surrounded by the graves of its army, those who were slaughtered by the sword. 23 Their graves are in the depths of the pit, and they are surrounded by their allies. They struck terror in the hearts of people everywhere, but now they have been slaughtered by the sword.
24 “Elam lies there surrounded by the graves of all its hordes, those who were slaughtered by the sword. They struck terror in the hearts of people everywhere, but now they have descended as outcasts to the world below. Now they lie in the pit and share the shame of those who have gone before them. 25 They have a resting place among the slaughtered, surrounded by the graves of all their hordes. Yes, they terrorized the nations while they lived, but now they lie in shame with others in the pit, all of them outcasts, slaughtered by the sword.
26 “Meshech and Tubal are there, surrounded by the graves of all their hordes. They once struck terror in the hearts of people everywhere. But now they are outcasts, all slaughtered by the sword. 27 They are not buried in honor like their fallen heroes, who went down to the grave[f] with their weapons—their shields covering their bodies[g] and their swords beneath their heads. Their guilt rests upon them because they brought terror to everyone while they were still alive.
28 “You too, Egypt, will lie crushed and broken among the outcasts, all slaughtered by the sword.
29 “Edom is there with its kings and princes. Mighty as they were, they also lie among those slaughtered by the sword, with the outcasts who have gone down to the pit.
30 “All the princes of the north and the Sidonians are there with others who have died. Once a terror, they have been put to shame. They lie there as outcasts with others who were slaughtered by the sword. They share the shame of all who have descended to the pit.
31 “When Pharaoh and his entire army arrive, he will take comfort that he is not alone in having his hordes killed, says the Sovereign Lord. 32 Although I have caused his terror to fall upon all the living, Pharaoh and his hordes will lie there among the outcasts who were slaughtered by the sword. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”
Footnotes
- 32:1 Hebrew On the first day of the twelfth month, of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. This event occurred on March 3, 585 B.c.; also see note on 1:1.
- 32:17 Hebrew On the fifteenth day of the month, presumably in the twelfth month of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar (see 32:1). This would put this message at the end of King Jehoiachin’s twelfth year of captivity, on March 17, 585 B.c.; also see note on 1:1. Greek version reads On the fifteenth day of the first month, which would put this message on April 27, 586 B.c., at the beginning of Jehoiachin’s twelfth year.
- 32:18 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
- 32:19 Hebrew the uncircumcised; also in 32:21, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32.
- 32:21 Hebrew in Sheol.
- 32:27a Hebrew to Sheol.
- 32:27b The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
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