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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: “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.

“‘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.
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.
I will put your flesh on the mountains,
and fill the valleys with your maggot-infested carcass.[i]
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]
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]
I will darken all the lights in the sky over you,
and I will darken your land,
declares the Sovereign Lord.
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

  1. Ezekiel 32:1 sn This would be March 3, 585 b.c.
  2. Ezekiel 32:2 tn The lion was a figure of royalty (Ezek 19:1-9).
  3. Ezekiel 32:2 tc The Hebrew reads, “their streams”; the LXX reads, “your streams.”
  4. Ezekiel 32:3 tn The expression “throw my net” is common in Ezekiel (12:13; 17:20; 19:8).
  5. Ezekiel 32:4 tn Or “cause.”
  6. Ezekiel 32:4 tn Heb “live.”
  7. Ezekiel 32:4 tn Or “cause.”
  8. Ezekiel 32:4 tn Heb “the beasts of the field,” referring to wild as opposed to domesticated animals.
  9. 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.
  10. Ezekiel 32:6 tn Heb “from you.”
  11. 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.
  12. Ezekiel 32:9 tn Heb “I will provoke the heart of.”
  13. Ezekiel 32:11 sn The king of Babylon referred to here was Nebuchadnezzar (Ezek 21:19).
  14. Ezekiel 32:11 tn Heb “approach.”
  15. Ezekiel 32:13 tn Heb “muddy.”
  16. Ezekiel 32:13 tn Heb “them,” that is, the waters mentioned in the previous line. The translation clarifies the referent.
  17. Ezekiel 32:14 tn Heb “sink,” that is, to settle and become clear, not muddied.
  18. Ezekiel 32:17 tn March 17, 585 b.c. The LXX adds “first month.”
  19. Ezekiel 32:18 tn The Hebrew verb is used as a response to death (Jer 9:17-19; Amos 5:16).
  20. 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.
  21. 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.
  22. Ezekiel 32:18 tn This apparently refers to personified Egypt.
  23. 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.
  24. Ezekiel 32:19 tn Heb “pleasantness.”
  25. 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.
  26. Ezekiel 32:22 tn Heb “all of them slain, the ones felled by the sword.” See as well vv. 23-24.
  27. Ezekiel 32:23 tn Heb “whose.”
  28. Ezekiel 32:23 tn The only other occurrence of the phrase “remote slopes of the Pit” is in Isa 14:15.
  29. Ezekiel 32:25 tn Heb “around him her graves,” but the expression is best emended to read “around her grave” (see vv. 23-24).
  30. Ezekiel 32:26 tn Heb “around him her graves,” but the expression is best emended to read “around her grave” (see vv. 23-24).
  31. 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.
  32. 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.

Lamentation for Pharaoh and Egypt

32 And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the (A)twelfth month, on the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Son of man, (B)take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him:

(C)‘You are like a young lion among the nations,
And (D)you are like a monster in the seas,
(E)Bursting forth in your rivers,
Troubling the waters with your feet,
And (F)fouling their rivers.

‘Thus says the Lord God:

“I will therefore (G)spread My net over you with a company of many people,
And they will draw you up in My net.
Then (H)I will leave you on the land;
I will cast you out on the open fields,
(I)And cause to [a]settle on you all the birds of the heavens.
And with you I will fill the beasts of the whole earth.
I will lay your flesh (J)on the mountains,
And fill the valleys with your carcass.

“I will also water the land with the flow of your blood,
Even to the mountains;
And the riverbeds will be full of you.
When I put out your light,
(K)I will cover the heavens, and make its stars dark;
I will cover the sun with a cloud,
And the moon shall not give her light.
All the [b]bright lights of the heavens I will make dark over you,
And bring darkness upon your land,”
Says the Lord God.

‘I will also trouble the hearts of many peoples, when I bring your destruction among the nations, into the countries which you have not known. 10 Yes, I will make many peoples astonished at you, and their kings shall be horribly afraid of you when I brandish My sword before them; and (L)they shall tremble every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of your fall.

11 (M)‘For thus says the Lord God: “The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon you. 12 By the swords of the mighty warriors, all of them (N)the most terrible of the nations, I will cause your multitude to fall.

(O)“They shall plunder the pomp of Egypt,
And all its multitude shall be destroyed.
13 Also I will destroy all its animals
From beside its great waters;
(P)The foot of man shall muddy them no more,
Nor shall the hooves of animals muddy them.
14 Then I will make their waters [c]clear,
And make their rivers run like oil,”
Says the Lord God.

15 “When I make the land of Egypt desolate,
And the country is destitute of all that once filled it,
When I strike all who dwell in it,
(Q)Then they shall know that I am the Lord.

16 “This is the (R)lamentation
With which they shall lament her;
The daughters of the nations shall lament her;
They shall lament for her, for Egypt,
And for all her multitude,”
Says the Lord God.’ ”

Egypt and Others Consigned to the Pit

17 It came to pass also in the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the month, (S)that the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

18 “Son of man, wail over the multitude of Egypt,
And (T)cast them down to the depths of the earth,
Her and the daughters of the famous nations,
With those who go down to the Pit:
19 ‘Whom (U)do you surpass in beauty?
(V)Go down, be placed with the uncircumcised.’

20 “They shall fall in the midst of those slain by the sword;
She is delivered to the sword,
(W)Drawing her and all her multitudes.
21 (X)The strong among the mighty
Shall speak to him out of the midst of hell
With those who help him:
‘They have (Y)gone down,
They lie with the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.’

22 “Assyria(Z) is there, and all her company,
With their graves all around her,
All of them slain, fallen by the sword.
23 (AA)Her graves are set in the recesses of the Pit,
And her company is all around her grave,
All of them slain, fallen by the sword,
Who (AB)caused terror in the land of the living.

24 “There is (AC)Elam and all her multitude,
All around her grave,
All of them slain, fallen by the sword,
Who have (AD)gone down uncircumcised to the lower parts of the earth,
(AE)Who caused their terror in the land of the living;
Now they bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit.
25 They have set her (AF)bed in the midst of the slain,
With all her multitude,
With her graves all around it,
All of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword;
Though their terror was caused
In the land of the living,
Yet they bear their shame
With those who go down to the Pit;
It was put in the midst of the slain.

26 “There are (AG)Meshech and Tubal and all their multitudes,
With all their graves around it,
All of them (AH)uncircumcised, slain by the sword,
Though they caused their terror in the land of the living.
27 (AI)They do not lie with the mighty
Who are fallen of the uncircumcised,
Who have gone down to hell with their weapons of war;
They have laid their swords under their heads,
But their iniquities will be on their bones,
Because of the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.
28 Yes, you shall be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised,
And lie with those slain by the sword.

29 “There is (AJ)Edom,
Her kings and all her princes,
Who despite their might
Are laid beside those slain by the sword;
They shall lie with the uncircumcised,
And with those who go down to the Pit.
30 (AK)There are the princes of the north,
All of them, and all the (AL)Sidonians,
Who have gone down with the slain
In shame at the terror which they caused by their might;
They lie uncircumcised with those slain by the sword,
And bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit.

31 “Pharaoh will see them
And be (AM)comforted over all his multitude,
Pharaoh and all his army,
Slain by the sword,”
Says the Lord God.

32 “For I have caused My terror in the land of the living;
And he shall be placed in the midst of the uncircumcised
With those slain by the sword,
Pharaoh and all his multitude,”
Says the Lord God.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 32:4 Lit. sit or dwell
  2. Ezekiel 32:8 Or shining
  3. Ezekiel 32:14 Lit. sink; settle, grow clear

32 I tolfte året, på första dagen i tolfte månaden, kom HERRENS ord till mig; han sade:

Du människobarn, stäm upp en klagosång över Farao, konungen i Egypten, och säg till honom: Det är förbi med dig, du lejon bland folken! Och du var dock lik draken i havet, där du for fram i dina strömmar och rörde upp vattnet med dina fötter och grumlade dess strömmar.

Så säger nu Herren, HERREN: Jag skall breda ut mitt nät över dig genom skaror av många folk, och de skola draga upp dig i mitt garn.

Jag skall kasta dig upp på jorden, jag skall slunga dig bort på marken och låta alla himmelens fåglar slå ned på dig och låta de vilda djuren på hela jorden mätta sig med dig.

Jag skall kasta ditt kött på bergen och fylla dalarna med ditt stora skrov.

Och landet som du har nedsölat skall jag vattna med ditt blod ända upp till bergen, och bäckarna skola bliva fulla av dig.

Och när jag utsläcker dig, skall jag övertäcka himmelen och förmörka dess stjärnor; jag skall övertäcka solen med moln, och månens ljus skall icke lysa mer.

Alla ljus på himmelen skall jag förmörka för din skull och låta mörker komma över ditt land, säger Herren, HERREN.

Och många folks hjärtan skall jag slå med skräck, när jag gör din undergång bekant bland folkslagen, ja, i länder som du icke känner.

10 Jag skall komma många folk att häpna för din skull, och deras konungar skola för din skull gripas av bävan, när jag i deras åsyn svänger mitt svärd; vart ögonblick skola de frukta, envar för sitt liv, på ditt falls dag.

11 Ty så säger Herren, HERREN: Den babyloniske konungens svärd skall komma över dig.

12 Jag skall låta din larmande hop falla för hjältars svärd, grymmast bland hedningar äro de alla. De skola föröda Egyptens härlighet, och hela dess larmande hop skall förgöras;

13 jag skall utrota all dess boskap, den som betar vid det myckna vattnet. Av människofot skall det icke mer röras upp, ej heller röras upp av boskapsklövar.

14 Sedan skall jag låta deras vatten sjunka undan och deras strömmar flyta bort såsom olja, säger Herren, HERREN,

15 i det jag gör Egyptens land till en ödslig ödemark och berövar landet allt vad däri är, när jag nu slår alla dess inbyggare, så att man förnimmer att jag är HERREN.

16 Detta är en klagosång som man skall sjunga, ja, folkens döttrar skola sjunga den; de skola sjunga den över Egypten med hela dess larmande hop, säger Herren, HERREN.

17 I tolfte året, på femtonde dagen i månaden, kom HERRENS ord till mig; han sade:

18 Du människobarn, sjung sorgesång över Egyptens larmande hop. Bjud henne att såsom döttrarna av de väldigaste folk fara ned i jordens djup, till dem som redan hava farit ned i graven.

19 Finnes någon så ringa att du är förmer än hon? Nej, far du ned och låt dig bäddas bland de oomskurna.

20 Bland män som äro slagna med svärd skola ock dina falla. Svärdet är redo; släpen bort henne med hela hennes larmande hop.

21 Mäktiga hjältar skola tala till Farao ur dödsriket, till honom och till hans hjälpare: »Ja, de hava måst fara hitned, och nu ligga de där, de oomskurna, slagna med svärd.»

22 Där ligger redan Assur med hela sin skara; runt omkring honom har denna sin gravplats. Allasammans ligga de där slagna, fallna för svärd.

23 Sin grav har han fått längst ned i underjorden, och runt omkring honom ligger hans skara begraven. Allasammans ligga de slagna, fallna för svärd, de man som en gång utbredde skräck i de levandes land.

24 Där ligger Elam med hela sin larmande hop, vilande runt omkring hans grav. Allasammans ligga de slagna, männen som föllo för svärd, och som oomskurna måste fara, ned i jordens djup, desamma som en gång utbredde skräck omkring sig i de levandes land; nu måste de bära sin skam bland de andra som hava farit ned i graven.

25 Ja, bland slagna har han fått sitt läger med hela sin larmande hop; runt omkring honom har denna sin gravplats. Allasammans ligga de där oomskurna, slagna med svärd; en gång utbredde sig ju skräck omkring dem i de levandes land, men de måste nu bära sin skam bland dem som hava farit ned i graven. Ja, bland slagna har han fått sin plats.

26 Där ligger Mesek-Tubal med hela sin larmande hop; runt omkring honom har denna sin gravplats. Allasammans ligga de där oomskurna, slagna med svärd; en gång utbredde de ju skräck omkring sig i de levandes land.

27 Men dessa fallna män ur de oomskurnas hop, de få icke vila bland hjältarna, bland dem som hava farit ned till dödsriket i sin krigiska rustning och fått sina svärd lagda under sina huvuden. Nej, deras missgärningar hava kommit över deras ben. De utbredde ju skräck i de levandes land, såsom hjältar göra.

28 Ja, också du skall bliva krossad bland de oomskurna och få ligga bland dem som äro slagna med svärd.

29 Där ligger Edom med sina konungar och alla sina hövdingar; huru mäktiga de än voro, hava de nu fått sin plats bland dem som äro slagna med svärd; de måste ligga bland de oomskurna, bland dem som hava farit ned i graven.

30 Där ligga Nordlandets furstar allasammans, med alla sidonier, ty de hava måst fara ned till de slagna, de hava kommit på skam, trots den skräck de utbredde genom sina väldiga gärningar. Och de ligga där oomskurna bland dem som hava blivit slagna med svärd; de måste bära sin skam bland dem som hava farit ned i graven.

31 Dem skall nu Farao få se, och han skall så trösta sig över hela sin larmande hop. Ja, Farao och hela hans har äro slagna med svärd, säger Herren, HERREN.

32 Ty väl utbredde jag skräck för honom i de levandes land, men nu måste han, Farao, med hela sin larmande hop, låta sig bäddas bland de oomskurna, hos dem som äro slagna med svärd, säger Herren, HERREN.