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.’ ”

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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 And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

“Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt and say unto him, “‘Thou art like a young lion of the nations, and thou art as a whale in the seas; and thou camest forth with thy rivers, and troubled the waters with thy feet and fouled their rivers.

“‘Thus saith the Lord God: I will therefore spread out My net over thee with a company of many people; and they shall bring thee up in My net.

Then will I leave thee upon the land; I will cast thee forth upon the open field and will cause all the fowls of the heaven to remain upon thee, and I will fill the beasts of the whole earth with thee.

And I will lay thy flesh upon the mountains, and fill the valleys with thy height.

I will also water with thy blood the land wherein thou swimmest, even to the mountains; and the rivers shall be full of thee.

And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light.

All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord God.

“‘I will also vex the hearts of many people when I shall bring thy destruction among the nations, into the countries which thou hast not known.

10 Yea, I will make many people amazed at thee, and their kings shall be horribly afraid for thee when I shall brandish My sword before them; and they shall tremble at every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of thy fall.

11 “‘For thus saith the Lord God: The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon thee;

12 by the swords of the mighty will I cause thy multitude to fall, the terrible of the nations, all of them. And they shall despoil the pomp of Egypt, and all the multitude thereof shall be destroyed.

13 I will destroy also all the beasts thereof from beside the great waters; neither shall the foot of man trouble them any more, nor the hoofs of beasts trouble them.

14 Then will I make their waters deep, and cause their rivers to run like oil, saith the Lord God.

15 When I shall make the land of Egypt desolate, and the country shall be destitute of that whereof it was full, when I shall smite all them that dwell therein, then shall they know that I am the Lord.’

16 “This is the lamentation wherewith they shall lament her. The daughters of the nations shall lament her; they shall lament for her, even for Egypt, and for all her multitude, saith the Lord God.”

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