Ezekiel 32
New English Translation
Lamentation over Pharaoh and Egypt
32 In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first of the month,[a] the Lord’s message came to me: 2 “Son of man, sing a lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him:
“‘You were like a lion[b] among the nations,
but you are a monster in the seas;
you thrash about in your streams,
stir up the water with your feet,
and muddy your[c] streams.
3 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“‘I will throw my net over you[d] in the assembly of many peoples;
and they will haul you up in my dragnet.
4 I will leave you on the ground,
I will fling you on the open field,
I will allow[e] all the birds of the sky to settle[f] on you,
and I will permit[g] all the wild animals[h] to gorge themselves on you.
5 I will put your flesh on the mountains,
and fill the valleys with your maggot-infested carcass.[i]
6 I will drench the land with the flow
of your blood up to the mountains,
and the ravines will be full of your blood.[j]
7 When I extinguish you, I will cover the sky;
I will darken its stars.
I will cover the sun with a cloud,
and the moon will not shine.[k]
8 I will darken all the lights in the sky over you,
and I will darken your land,
declares the Sovereign Lord.
9 I will disturb[l] many peoples,
when I bring about your destruction among the nations,
among countries you do not know.
10 I will shock many peoples with you,
and their kings will shiver with horror because of you.
When I brandish my sword before them,
every moment each one will tremble for his life, on the day of your fall.
11 “‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“‘The sword of the king of Babylon[m] will attack[n] you.
12 By the swords of the mighty warriors I will cause your hordes to fall—
all of them are the most terrifying among the nations.
They will devastate the pride of Egypt,
and all its hordes will be destroyed.
13 I will destroy all its cattle beside the plentiful waters;
and no human foot will disturb[o] the waters[p] again,
nor will the hooves of cattle disturb them.
14 Then I will make their waters calm,[q]
and will make their streams flow like olive oil, declares the Sovereign Lord.
15 When I turn the land of Egypt into desolation
and the land is destitute of everything that fills it,
when I strike all those who live in it,
then they will know that I am the Lord.’
16 This is a lament; they will chant it.
The daughters of the nations will chant it.
They will chant it over Egypt and over all her hordes,
declares the Sovereign Lord.”
17 In the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the month,[r] the Lord’s message came to me: 18 “Son of man, wail[s] over the horde of Egypt. Bring it down;[t] bring[u] her[v] and the daughters of powerful nations down to the lower parts of the earth, along with those who descend to the Pit. 19 Say to them,[w] ‘Whom do you surpass in beauty?[x] Go down and be laid to rest with the uncircumcised!’ 20 They will fall among those killed by the sword. The sword is drawn; they carry her and all her hordes away. 21 The bravest of the warriors will speak to him from the midst of Sheol along with his allies, saying: ‘The uncircumcised have come down; they lie still, killed by the sword.’
22 “Assyria is there with all her assembly around her grave,[y] all of them struck down by the sword.[z] 23 Their[aa] graves are located in the remote slopes of the Pit.[ab] Her assembly is around her grave, all of them struck down by the sword, those who spread terror in the land of the living.
24 “Elam is there with all her hordes around her grave; all of them struck down by the sword. They went down uncircumcised to the lower parts of the earth, those who spread terror in the land of the living. Now they will bear their shame with those who descend to the Pit. 25 Among the dead they have made a bed for her, along with all her hordes around her grave.[ac] All of them are uncircumcised, killed by the sword, for their terror had spread in the land of the living. They bear their shame along with those who descend to the Pit; they are placed among the dead.
26 “Meshech Tubal is there, along with all her hordes around her grave.[ad] All of them are uncircumcised, killed by the sword, for they spread their terror in the land of the living. 27 They do not lie with the fallen warriors of ancient times,[ae] who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war, having their swords placed under their heads and their shields on their bones,[af] when the terror of these warriors was in the land of the living.
28 “But as for you, in the midst of the uncircumcised you will be broken, and you will lie with those killed by the sword.
29 “Edom is there with her kings and all her princes. Despite their might they are laid with those killed by the sword; they lie with the uncircumcised and those who descend to the Pit.
30 “All the leaders of the north are there, along with all the Sidonians; despite their might they have gone down in shameful terror with the dead. They lie uncircumcised with those killed by the sword, and bear their shame with those who descend to the Pit.
31 “Pharaoh will see them and be consoled over all his hordes who were killed by the sword, Pharaoh and all his army, declares the Sovereign Lord. 32 Indeed, I terrified him in the land of the living, yet he will lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with those killed by the sword, Pharaoh and all his hordes, declares the Sovereign Lord.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 32:1 sn This would be March 3, 585 b.c.
- Ezekiel 32:2 tn The lion was a figure of royalty (Ezek 19:1-9).
- Ezekiel 32:2 tc The Hebrew reads, “their streams”; the LXX reads, “your streams.”
- Ezekiel 32:3 tn The expression “throw my net” is common in Ezekiel (12:13; 17:20; 19:8).
- Ezekiel 32:4 tn Or “cause.”
- Ezekiel 32:4 tn Heb “live.”
- Ezekiel 32:4 tn Or “cause.”
- Ezekiel 32:4 tn Heb “the beasts of the field,” referring to wild as opposed to domesticated animals.
- Ezekiel 32:5 tc The Hebrew text is difficult here, apparently meaning “your height.” Following Symmachus and the Syriac, it is preferable to emend the text to read “your maggots.” See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:203.
- Ezekiel 32:6 tn Heb “from you.”
- Ezekiel 32:7 tn Heb “will not shine its light.” For similar features of cosmic eschatology, see Joel 2:10; 3:15; Amos 5:18-20; Zeph 1:5.
- Ezekiel 32:9 tn Heb “I will provoke the heart of.”
- Ezekiel 32:11 sn The king of Babylon referred to here was Nebuchadnezzar (Ezek 21:19).
- Ezekiel 32:11 tn Heb “approach.”
- Ezekiel 32:13 tn Heb “muddy.”
- Ezekiel 32:13 tn Heb “them,” that is, the waters mentioned in the previous line. The translation clarifies the referent.
- Ezekiel 32:14 tn Heb “sink,” that is, to settle and become clear, not muddied.
- Ezekiel 32:17 tn March 17, 585 b.c. The LXX adds “first month.”
- Ezekiel 32:18 tn The Hebrew verb is used as a response to death (Jer 9:17-19; Amos 5:16).
- Ezekiel 32:18 sn Through this prophetic lament given by God himself, the prophet activates the judgment described therein. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:217, and L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:136-37.
- Ezekiel 32:18 tn Heb “Bring him down, her and the daughters of the powerful nations, to the earth below.” The verb “bring down” appears in the Hebrew text only once. Because the verb takes several objects here, the repetition of the verb in the translation improves the English style.
- Ezekiel 32:18 tn This apparently refers to personified Egypt.
- Ezekiel 32:19 tc The LXX places this verse after v. 21.tn The words “say to them” are added in the translation for clarity to indicate the shift in addressee from the prophet to Egypt.
- Ezekiel 32:19 tn Heb “pleasantness.”
- Ezekiel 32:22 tn Heb “around him his graves.” The masculine pronominal suffixes are problematic; the expression is best emended to correspond to the phrase “around her grave” in v. 23. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:219.
- Ezekiel 32:22 tn Heb “all of them slain, the ones felled by the sword.” See as well vv. 23-24.
- Ezekiel 32:23 tn Heb “whose.”
- Ezekiel 32:23 tn The only other occurrence of the phrase “remote slopes of the Pit” is in Isa 14:15.
- Ezekiel 32:25 tn Heb “around him her graves,” but the expression is best emended to read “around her grave” (see vv. 23-24).
- Ezekiel 32:26 tn Heb “around him her graves,” but the expression is best emended to read “around her grave” (see vv. 23-24).
- Ezekiel 32:27 tc Heb “of the uncircumcised.” The LXX reads, probably correctly, “from of old” rather than “of the uncircumcised.” The phrases are very similar in spelling. The warriors of Meshech Tubal are described as uncircumcised, so it would be odd for them to not be buried with the uncircumcised. Verse 28 specifically says that they would lie with the uncircumcised.
- Ezekiel 32:27 tc Heb “and their iniquities were over their bones.” The meaning of this statement is unclear. In light of the parallelism (see “swords”) it is preferable to emend עֲוֹנֹתָם (ʿavonotam; “their iniquities”) to צִנּוֹתָם or צִנָּתָם (tsinnotam or tsinnatam; “their shields” or “their shield”) See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:135.
Ezekiel 32
Expanded Bible
A Funeral Song
32 It was in the twelfth year [C since King Jehoiachin’s exile (1:2)], in the twelfth month, on the first day of the month [C March 3, 585 bc]. The ·Lord spoke his word [L word of the Lord came] to me, saying: 2 “·Human [T Son of man; 2:1], sing a ·funeral song [lament; dirge] about Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Say to him:
‘You are like a young lion [19:1–9] among the nations.
You are like a ·crocodile [or monster; or dragon; 29:4] in the seas.
You ·splash [thrash] around in your streams
and stir up the water with your feet,
making the rivers muddy.
3 “‘This is what the Lord God says:
I will spread my net over you,
and I will use a ·large group of [assembly of many] people
to ·pull [haul] you up in my net.
4 Then I will ·throw [cast; or abandon] you on the land
·dropping [hurling] you onto the ·ground [open field].
I will let the birds of the ·sky [heavens] ·rest [settle] on you
and all the animals of the earth ·eat you until they are full [gorge themselves on you; Rev. 19:21].
5 I will scatter your flesh on the mountains
and fill the valleys with ·what is left of you [your remains; L your height].
6 I will drench the land with your flowing blood
as far as the mountains,
and the ravines will be full of your flesh.
7 When I ·make you disappear [snuff/blot you out],
I will cover the ·sky [heavens] and make the stars dark.
I will cover the sun with a cloud,
and the moon will not shine.
8 I will make all the shining lights in the ·sky [heavens]
become dark over you;
I will bring darkness over your land,
says the Lord God.
9 I will ·cause many people to be afraid [L trouble the hearts of many peoples]
when I bring ·you as a captive into other [or about your destruction among the] nations,
to lands you have not known.
10 I will cause many people to be shocked about you.
Their kings will tremble with ·fear [horror] because of you
when I ·swing [brandish] my sword in front of them.
They will ·shake [tremble] every moment
on the day ·you fall [of your downfall];
each ·king [one] will ·be afraid [tremble] for his own life.
11 “‘So this is what the Lord God says:
The sword of the king of Babylon
will attack you.
12 I will cause your people to fall
by the swords of mighty soldiers,
the most ·terrible [ruthless] ·in the world [of nations].
They will ·destroy [shatter] the pride of Egypt
and all its ·people [L hordes/armies will be destroyed].
13 I will also destroy all Egypt’s cattle
that live alongside much water.
The foot of a human will not ·stir [disturb] the water,
and the hoofs of cattle will not muddy it anymore.
14 So I will let ·the Egyptians’ [L their] water ·become clear [or calm; L sink; settle].
I will cause their rivers to run ·as smoothly as [L like] olive oil,
says the Lord God.
15 When I make the land of Egypt ·empty [a desolation]
and ·take [strip out; empty] everything that is in the land,
when I ·destroy [strike down] all those who live in Egypt,
then they will know that I am the Lord.’
16 “This is the ·funeral song [lament; dirge] people will sing for Egypt. The ·women [L daughters] of the nations will ·sing [chant] it; they will ·sing [chant] it for Egypt and all ·its people [her hordes/armies], says the Lord God.”
Egypt to Be Destroyed
17 It was in the twelfth year [C since King Jehoiachin’s exile (1:2)], on the fifteenth day of the month [C March 17, 585 bc]. The ·Lord spoke his word [L word of the Lord came] to me, saying: 18 “·Human [T Son of man; 2:1], ·cry [wail] for the people of Egypt. Bring down Egypt, together with the ·women [L daughters] of the powerful nations; bring them down to the ·place of the dead below the earth [underworld; world below] to join those who go to the ·place of the dead [L pit]. 19 Say to them: ‘Are you more ·beautiful [or favored] than others? Go lie down [C in death] with ·those who are unclean [L the uncircumcised].’ 20 ·The Egyptians [L They] will fall among those killed ·in war [L by the sword]. The sword is ·ready [drawn; or appointed]; ·the enemy [L they] will drag Egypt and all her ·people [hordes; armies] away. 21 From the ·place of the dead [L midst of Sheol] the ·leaders of the mighty ones [or mighty leaders; warrior chiefs] will speak ·about [or to] ·the king of Egypt and the nations which help him [L him and his allies]: ‘The ·unclean [L uncircumcised], those killed ·in war [L by the sword], have come down here and ·lie dead [L lie].’
22 “Assyria and all its ·army [assembly; company] lie dead there. ·The graves of their soldiers [L Its graves] are all around. All were ·killed in war [L struck down by the sword], 23 and their graves were put in the deepest parts of the ·place of the dead [L pit]. ·Assyria’s army [L Her assembly/company] lies around its grave. When they ·lived on earth [L were in the land of the living], they ·frightened people [spread terror], but now all of them have been ·killed in war [L struck down by the sword].
24 “The nation of Elam [C a country east of Assyria; present-day Iran] is there with all its ·army [hordes] around its grave. All of them were ·killed in war [L struck down by the sword]. They had ·frightened people [L spread terror] ·on earth [L in the land of the living] and so went down ·unclean [L uncircumcised] to the ·lowest parts of the place of the dead [underworld; world below]. They must carry their shame with those who have gone down to the ·place of the dead [L pit]. 25 A ·bed [resting place] has been made for Elam [v. 24] ·with all those killed in war [among the slain]. The graves of her ·soldiers [hordes] are all around her. All Elam’s people are ·unclean [L uncircumcised], killed ·in war [L by the sword]. They ·frightened people [spread terror] ·when they lived on earth [L in the land of the living], but now they must carry their shame with those who have gone down to the ·place of the dead [L pit]. ·Their graves are [or They are assigned a place; L They are set] with the rest who were killed.
26 “·Meshech and Tubal [or Meshech-tubal; C people from Asia Minor, southeast of the Black Sea; 27:13] are there with the graves of all their ·soldiers [hordes] around them. All of them are ·unclean [uncircumcised] and have been killed ·in war [L by the sword]. They also ·frightened people [spread terror] ·when they lived on earth [L in the land of the living]. 27 But they ·are not buried [L do not lie] with the ·other soldiers who were killed in battle [fallen warriors of] long ago,[a] those who went with their weapons of war to ·the place of the dead [L Sheol]. These soldiers had their swords laid under their heads and their ·shields [or iniquities; guilt] resting on their ·bodies [L bones]. These mighty soldiers used to ·frighten [terrorize] people ·when they lived on earth [L in the land of the living].
28 “You [C addressing Pharaoh, king of Egypt] will be broken and lie among ·those who are unclean [L the uncircumcised], who were killed ·in war [L by the sword].
29 “Edom is there also, with its kings and all its ·leaders [princes]. They were mighty, but now they lie [C in death] with those killed ·in war [L by the sword], with those who are ·unclean [L uncircumcised], with those who have gone down to the ·place of the dead [L pit].
30 “All the ·rulers [princes] of the north and all the Sidonians are there. Their strength frightened people, but they have gone down in shame with those who were killed. They are ·unclean [L uncircumcised], lying with those killed ·in war [L by the sword]. They carry their shame with those who have gone down to the ·place of the dead [L pit].
31 “·The king of Egypt [L Pharaoh] and his army will see ·these who have been killed in war [L them]. Then he will be comforted for all his ·soldiers [hordes] killed ·in war [L by the sword], says the Lord God. 32 I ·made people afraid of the king of Egypt [or terrified him] ·while he lived on earth [L in the land of the living]. But he and all his ·people [hordes; armies] will lie among those who are ·unclean [L uncircumcised], who were killed ·in war [L by the sword], says the Lord God.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 32:27 long ago Greek copies read “long ago.” Hebrew copies read “of the uncircumcised.”
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.