Ezekiel 32:1-16
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Lamentation over Pharaoh and Egypt
32 In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 2 Mortal, raise a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him:
You consider yourself a lion among the nations,
but you are like a dragon in the seas;
you thrash about in your streams,
trouble the water with your feet,
and foul your[a] streams.(A)
3 Thus says the Lord God:
In an assembly of many peoples
I will throw my net over you,
and I[b] will haul you up in my dragnet.(B)
4 I will throw you on the ground;
on the open field I will fling you
and will cause all the birds of the air to settle on you,
and I will let the wild animals of the whole earth gorge themselves on you.(C)
5 I will strew your flesh on the mountains
and fill the valleys with your carcass.[c]
6 I will drench the land with your flowing blood
up to the mountains,
and the watercourses will be filled with you.(D)
7 When I blot you out, I will cover the heavens
and make their stars dark;
I will cover the sun with a cloud,
and the moon shall not give its light.(E)
8 All the shining lights of the heavens
I will darken above you
and put darkness on your land,
says the Lord God.
9 I will trouble the hearts of many peoples
as I carry you captive[d] among the nations,
into countries you have not known.(F)
10 I will make many peoples appalled at you;
their kings shall shudder because of you.
When I brandish my sword before them,
they shall tremble every moment
for their lives, each one of them,
on the day of your downfall.(G)
11 For thus says the Lord God:
The sword of the king of Babylon shall come against you.(H)
12 I will cause your hordes to fall
by the swords of mighty ones,
all of them most terrible among the nations.
They shall bring to ruin the pride of Egypt,
and all its hordes shall perish.(I)
13 I will destroy all its livestock
from beside abundant waters,
and no human foot shall trouble them any more,
nor shall the hoofs of cattle trouble them.(J)
14 Then I will make their waters clear
and cause their streams to run like oil, says the Lord God.
15 When I make the land of Egypt desolate
and when the land is stripped of all that fills it,
when I strike down all who live in it,
then they shall know that I am the Lord.(K)
16 This is a lamentation; it shall be chanted.
The women of the nations shall chant it.
Over Egypt and all its hordes they shall chant it,
says the Lord God.(L)
Ezekiel 32:1-16
International Standard Version
Another Prophecy about Egypt
32 On the first day of the twelfth month of the twelfth year of our captivity,[a] a message came to me from the Lord, who had this to say:
2 “Son of Man, start singing this lamentation about Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Tell him,
‘You may have called yourself a lion among nations,
but you’re a monster at sea.
You thrash about in your rivers,
muddy the water with your feet,
and relieve yourself in the rivers.’
3 “This is what the Lord God says:
‘I’m coming fishing for you!
Right in the sight of many nations
they’ll haul you up in my dragnet.
4 I’ll fling you up onto the land;
I’ll haul you into the field,
I’ll make every carrion-eating bird come to dine on you,
and I’ll make all the scavenging animals gorge themselves on you.
5 I’ll cover the mountains with your flesh
and fill their valleys with your rotting carcass.[b]
6 I’ll drench the land with your blood,
right up to the mountains,
and the ravines will overflow
with blood that comes from you!
7 When I extinguish your lights,
I’ll cover the heavens
and darken their stars.
I’ll cover the sun with a cloud
and the moon won’t reflect its light.
8 I’ll darken the bright lights in the sky above you
and bring darkness to your territory,’
declares the Lord God.
9 “‘I’ll bring distress to the hearts of many nations when I destroy you among nations whose territories you have not known. 10 I’ll make many nations be appalled at you, and their kings will be terrified because of you when I brandish my sword right in their face. They will all tremble from fear for their own safety[c] on the day that you fall!’
11 “This is what the Lord God says: ‘The army[d] of the king of Babylon will attack you. 12 I’m going to make your gangs die using the weapons of valiant warriors, all of whom are ruthless people.
‘They will devastate the majesty of Egypt,
destroying all of its hordes.
13 I’m going to destroy all of its livestock
along its many riverbanks.
Human feet won’t muddy the rivers anymore,
nor will the hooves of livestock stir up the water.
14 That’s when I’ll make their waterways flow smoothly,
and their rivers flow like olive oil,’[e]
declares the Lord God.”
15 ‘When I turn the land of Egypt into a desolation,
and the land is emptied of everything that used to fill it,
when I strike everyone who lives there,
they will learn that I am the Lord.’
16 “This has been a lamentation. They will chant it, and the citizens[f] of the nations will chant it, too. They’ll chant it about Egypt and about all of its hordes.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Ezekiel 32:1 The Heb. lacks of our captivity
- Ezekiel 32:5 So MT; the Syr. Peshittas read your maggots
- Ezekiel 32:10 Lit. soul
- Ezekiel 32:11 Lit. sword
- Ezekiel 32:14 I.e. the rivers will be undisturbed by human activity
- Ezekiel 32:16 Lit. daughters
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