A Dirge for Egypt

¹⁷ In the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ¹⁸ Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt and cast it down, her and the daughters of the powerful nations, to the nether parts of the earth, with those who go down into the pit. ¹⁹ “Whom do you surpass in beauty? Descend and make your bed with the uncircumcised.” ²⁰ They shall fall in the midst of those who are slain by the sword. She is delivered to the sword. They have drawn her and all her multitudes away. ²¹ The strong among the mighty shall speak to him and those who help him out of the midst of Sheol: “They have gone down, they lie still, uncircumcised, slain by the sword.”

²² Assyria is there and all her company. Her graves are around her. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword, ²³ whose graves are set in the sides of the pit and her company is all around her grave. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword, who cause terror in the land of the living.

²⁴ There is Elam and all her multitude all around her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who descended uncircumcised into the nether parts of the earth, who caused their terror in the land of the living and bore their shame with those who went down to the pit. ²⁵ They have set a bed for her in the midst of the slain with all her multitude. Her graves are all around it. All of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; though their terror was caused in the land of the living, yet they have borne their shame with those who go down to the pit. They were put in the midst of those who are slain.

²⁶ There is Meshek, Tubal, and all her multitude. Their graves are all around them. All of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword, though they caused their terror in the land of the living. ²⁷ They shall not lie with the mighty who are fallen of the uncircumcised, who have gone down to Sheol with their weapons of war and whose swords were laid under their heads. But the punishment for their iniquity rested upon their bones, though the terror of these mighty ones was once in the land of the living.

²⁸ Indeed, you shall be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised and shall lie with those who are slain with the sword.

²⁹ There is Edom also, its kings and all its officials, who for all their might are laid by those who were slain by the sword. They shall lie with the uncircumcised and with those who go down to the pit.

³⁰ There are also the officials of the north, all of them, and all the Sidonians, who in spite of the terror from their might have gone down in shame with the slain. So they lie down uncircumcised with those who are slain by the sword, and bear their shame with those who go down to the pit.

³¹ Pharaoh shall see them, and shall be comforted over all his multitude slain by the sword, even Pharaoh and all his army, says the Lord God. ³² Though I have caused a terror of him in the land of the living, yet he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised with those who are slain with the sword, even Pharaoh and all his multitude, says the Lord God.