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.
Ezekiel 32
New American Standard Bible
Grief over Pharaoh and Egypt
32 In the (A)twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, take up a (B)song of mourning over Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him,
‘You [a]compared yourself to a young (C)lion of the nations,
Yet you are like the (D)monster in the seas;
And you (E)burst forth in your rivers
And muddied the waters with your feet
And [b]fouled their rivers.’”
3 This is what the Lord [c]God says:
“Now I will (F)spread My net over you
With a contingent of many peoples,
And they will lift you up in My net.
4 I will leave you on the land;
I will hurl you on the [d]open field.
And I will cause all the (G)birds of the sky to [e]nest on you,
And I will satisfy the animals of the whole earth [f]with you.
5 I will lay your flesh (H)on the mountains
And fill the valleys with your refuse.
6 I will also make the land drink the discharge of your (I)blood
As far as the mountains,
And the ravines will be full of you.
7 And when I (J)extinguish you,
I will (K)cover the heavens and darken their (L)stars;
I will cover the (M)sun with a cloud
And the moon will not give its light.
8 All the shining (N)lights in the heavens
I will darken over you
And will set darkness on your land,”
Declares the Lord God.
9 “I will also (O)trouble the hearts of many peoples when I (P)bring your destruction among the nations, into lands which you have not known. 10 And I will make many peoples (Q)appalled at you, and their kings will be horribly afraid of you when I brandish My sword before them; and (R)they will tremble again and again, every person for his own life, on the day of your fall.”
11 For (S)the Lord God says (T)this: “The sword of the king of Babylon will [g]attack you. 12 By the swords of the warriors I will make your multitude fall; all of them are (U)tyrants of the nations,
And they will (V)devastate the pride of Egypt,
And all its multitude will be destroyed.
13 I will also eliminate all its cattle from beside many waters;
And (W)a human foot will not muddy them anymore,
And the hoofs of animals will not muddy them.
14 Then I will make their waters settle,
And make their rivers run like oil,”
Declares the Lord God.
15 “When I make the land of Egypt a (X)desolation,
And the land is destitute of that which filled it,
When I strike all those who live in it,
Then they shall (Y)know that I am the Lord.
16 This is a (Z)song of mourning, and they shall sing it. The daughters of the nations shall sing it. Over Egypt and over all her hordes they shall sing it,” declares the Lord God.
17 In the (AA)twelfth year, on the (AB)fifteenth of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 18 “Son of man, (AC)lament for the hordes of Egypt and (AD)bring it down, her and the daughters of the mighty nations, to the (AE)netherworld, with those who go down to the pit;
19 ‘Whom do you surpass in beauty?
Go down and make your bed with the (AF)uncircumcised.’
20 They shall fall in the midst of those who are killed by the sword. [h]She is turned over to the sword; they have (AG)dragged her and all her hordes away. 21 The (AH)strong among the mighty ones shall speak of him and his helpers from the midst of Sheol: ‘They have gone down, they lie still, the uncircumcised, killed by the sword.’
22 “(AI)Assyria is there and all her company; [i]her graves are all around [j]her. All of them killed, fallen by the sword, 23 whose (AJ)graves are set in the remotest parts of the pit, and her company is all around her grave. All of them killed, fallen by the sword, who [k]spread terror in the land of the living.
24 “(AK)Elam is there and all her hordes around her grave; all of them killed, fallen by the sword, who went down uncircumcised to the (AL)lower parts of the earth, who inflicted their terror on the (AM)land of the living, and (AN)bore their disgrace with those who go down to the pit. 25 They have made a (AO)bed for her among the slain with all her hordes. Her graves are around it, they are all uncircumcised, killed by the sword (although their terror was [l]inflicted on the land of the living), and they bore their disgrace with those who go down to the pit; [m]they were put in the midst of the slain.
26 “(AP)Meshech, (AQ)Tubal, and all their hordes are there; their graves [n]surround them. All of them were killed by the sword (AR)uncircumcised, though they inflicted their terror on the land of the living. 27 (AS)Nor do they lie beside the fallen [o](AT)heroes of the uncircumcised, who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war and whose swords were placed under their heads; but the punishment for their (AU)wrongdoing rested on their bones, though the terror of these [p]heroes was once in the land of the living. 28 But in the midst of the uncircumcised you will be broken and lie with those killed by the sword.
29 “There also is (AV)Edom, its kings and all its [q]princes, who [r]despite all their might are laid with those killed by the sword; they will lie with the uncircumcised and with those who go down to the pit.
30 “There also are the [s]chiefs of the (AW)north, all of them, and all the (AX)Sidonians, who in spite of the terror resulting from their might, in shame went down with the slain. So they lay down uncircumcised with those killed by the sword and bore their disgrace with those who go down to the pit.
31 “These Pharaoh will see, and he will (AY)find consolation regarding all his hordes killed by the sword, Pharaoh and all his army,” declares the Lord God. 32 “Though I inflicted the terror of him on the land of the living, yet he will be laid to rest among the uncircumcised along with those killed by the sword, Pharaoh and all his hordes,” declares the Lord God.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 32:2 Or were like
- Ezekiel 32:2 Lit fouled by stamping
- Ezekiel 32:3 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch
- Ezekiel 32:4 Lit faces of the field
- Ezekiel 32:4 Lit dwell
- Ezekiel 32:4 Lit from
- Ezekiel 32:11 Lit come upon you
- Ezekiel 32:20 Or The sword is given
- Ezekiel 32:22 Lit his
- Ezekiel 32:22 Lit him
- Ezekiel 32:23 Lit gave, and so throughout the ch
- Ezekiel 32:25 Lit given
- Ezekiel 32:25 As in ancient versions; MT he was
- Ezekiel 32:26 Lit are around him
- Ezekiel 32:27 Or mighty ones
- Ezekiel 32:27 Or mighty ones
- Ezekiel 32:29 Or leaders
- Ezekiel 32:29 Lit in
- Ezekiel 32:30 Or leaders
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
