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Ezekiel 32:1-16
New English Translation
Ezekiel 32:1-16
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.”
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 32:1-16
New International Version
Ezekiel 32:1-16
New International Version
A Lament Over Pharaoh
32 In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month on the first day, the word of the Lord came to me:(A) 2 “Son of man, take up a lament(B) concerning Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him:
“‘You are like a lion(C) among the nations;
you are like a monster(D) in the seas(E)
thrashing about in your streams,
churning the water with your feet
and muddying the streams.(F)
3 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“‘With a great throng of people
I will cast my net over you,
and they will haul you up in my net.(G)
4 I will throw you on the land
and hurl you on the open field.
I will let all the birds of the sky settle on you
and all the animals of the wild gorge themselves on you.(H)
5 I will spread your flesh on the mountains
and fill the valleys(I) with your remains.
6 I will drench the land with your flowing blood(J)
all the way to the mountains,
and the ravines will be filled with your flesh.(K)
7 When I snuff you out, I will cover the heavens
and darken their stars;
I will cover the sun with a cloud,
and the moon will not give its light.(L)
8 All the shining lights in the heavens
I will darken(M) over you;
I will bring darkness over your land,(N)
declares the Sovereign Lord.
9 I will trouble the hearts of many peoples
when I bring about your destruction among the nations,
among[a] lands you have not known.
10 I will cause many peoples to be appalled at you,
and their kings will shudder with horror because of you
when I brandish my sword(O) before them.
On the day(P) of your downfall
each of them will tremble
every moment for his life.(Q)
11 “‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“‘The sword(R) of the king of Babylon(S)
will come against you.(T)
12 I will cause your hordes to fall
by the swords of mighty men—
the most ruthless of all nations.(U)
They will shatter the pride of Egypt,
and all her hordes will be overthrown.(V)
13 I will destroy all her cattle
from beside abundant waters
no longer to be stirred by the foot of man
or muddied by the hooves of cattle.(W)
14 Then I will let her waters settle
and make her streams flow like oil,
declares the Sovereign Lord.
15 When I make Egypt desolate
and strip the land of everything in it,
when I strike down all who live there,
then they will know that I am the Lord.(X)’
16 “This is the lament(Y) they will chant for her. The daughters of the nations will chant it; for Egypt and all her hordes they will chant it, declares the Sovereign Lord.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 32:9 Hebrew; Septuagint bring you into captivity among the nations, / to
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