Ezekiel 30:20-31:18

English Standard Version

Egypt Shall Fall to Babylon

²⁰^(A)In the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: ²¹^(B)“Son of man, ^(C)I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and behold, ^(D)it has not been bound up, to heal it by binding it with a bandage, so that it may become strong to wield the sword. ²²Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt and ^(E)will break his arms, both the strong arm and the one that was broken, and I will make the sword fall from his hand. ²³^(F)I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them through the countries. ²⁴And ^(G)I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put ^(H)my sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before him ^(I)like a man mortally wounded. ²⁵I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall. ^(J)Then they shall know that I am the Lord, ^(K)when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt. ²⁶And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

Pharaoh to Be Slain

31 ^(L)In the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: ²^(M)“Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to ^(N)his multitude:

^(O)“Whom are you like in your greatness?
³    Behold, ^(P)Assyria was a ^(Q)cedar in ^(R)Lebanon,
with beautiful branches and ^(S)forest shade,
    ^(T)and of towering height,
    its top among the clouds.^[a]
⁴The waters nourished it;
    the deep made it grow tall,
making ^(U)its rivers flow
    around the place of its planting,
sending forth its streams
    to all the trees of the field.
⁵So ^(V)it towered high
    above all the trees of the field;
its boughs grew large
    and its branches long
    from ^(W)abundant water in its shoots.
⁶^(X)All the birds of the heavens
    made their nests in its boughs;
under its branches all the beasts of the field
    gave birth to their young,
and under its shadow
    lived all great nations.
⁷It was ^(Y)beautiful in its greatness,
    in the length of its branches;
^(Z)for its roots went down
    to abundant waters.
⁸^(AA)The cedars ^(AB)in the garden of God could not rival it,
    nor the fir trees equal its boughs;
neither were the plane trees
    like its branches;
no tree ^(AC)in the garden of God
    was its equal in beauty.
⁹I made it beautiful
    in the mass of its branches,
and all the trees of ^(AD)Eden envied it,
    that were in the garden of God.

¹⁰“Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because ^(AE)it^[b] towered high and set its top among the clouds,^[c] and ^(AF)its heart was proud of its height, ¹¹I will give it into the hand of a mighty one of the nations. He shall surely deal with it as its wickedness deserves. I have cast it out. ¹²^(AG)Foreigners, ^(AH)the most ruthless of nations, have cut it down and left it. ^(AI)On the mountains and in all the valleys its branches have fallen, and its boughs have been broken in all ^(AJ)the ravines of the land, and ^(AK)all the peoples of the earth have gone away from its shadow and left it. ¹³^(AL)On its fallen trunk dwell all the birds of the heavens, and on its branches are all the beasts of the field. ¹⁴^(AM)All this is in order that no trees by the waters may grow to towering height or set their tops among the clouds,^[d] and that no trees that drink water may reach up to them in height. For they are all given over to death, ^(AN)to the world ^(AO)below, among the children of man,^[e] with those who go down to the pit.

¹⁵“Thus says the Lord God: On the day ^(AP)the cedar^[f] went down to Sheol I caused mourning; I closed the deep over it, and restrained its rivers, and many waters were stopped. I clothed Lebanon in gloom for it, and all the trees of the field fainted because of it. ¹⁶^(AQ)I made the nations quake at the sound of its fall, ^(AR)when I cast it down to Sheol with those who go down to the pit. ^(AS)And all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, ^(AT)were comforted in the world below. ¹⁷They also went down to Sheol with it, ^(AU)to those who are slain by the sword; yes, ^(AV)those who were its arm, ^(AW)who lived under its shadow among the nations.

¹⁸^(AX)“Whom are you thus like in glory and in greatness ^(AY)among the trees of Eden? ^(AZ)You shall be brought down with ^(BA)the trees of Eden to the world below. ^(BB)You shall lie among the uncircumcised, ^(BC)with those who are slain by the sword.