A Lament for Egypt

30 The word of the Lord came to me: (A)“Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord God:

(B)“Wail, ‘Alas for the day!’
    (C)For the day is near,
    (D)the day of the Lord is near;
it will be (E)a day of clouds,
    a time of doom for[a] the nations.
(F)A sword shall come upon Egypt,
    (G)and anguish shall be in (H)Cush,
when the slain fall in Egypt,
    and (I)her wealth[b] is carried away,
    and (J)her foundations are torn down.

(K)Cush, and (L)Put, and Lud, and (M)all Arabia, and Libya,[c] and the people of the land that is in league,[d] shall fall with them by the sword.

“Thus says the Lord:
(N)Those who support Egypt shall fall,
    and (O)her proud might shall come down;
(P)from Migdol to Syene
    they shall fall within her by the sword,
declares the Lord God.
(Q)And they shall be desolated in the midst of desolated countries,
    and their cities shall be in the midst of cities that are laid waste.
(R)Then they will know that I am the Lord,
    when (S)I have set fire to Egypt,
    and (T)all her helpers are broken.

“On that day (U)messengers shall go out from me in ships to terrify the unsuspecting (V)people of Cush, and (W)anguish shall come upon them on the day of Egypt's doom;[e] for, behold, it comes!

10 “Thus says the Lord God:

(X)“I will put an end to the wealth of Egypt,
    by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
11 He and his people with him, (Y)the most ruthless of nations,
    shall be brought in to destroy the land,
(Z)and they shall draw their swords against Egypt
    and fill the land with the slain.
12 And (AA)I will (AB)dry up the Nile
    and will sell the land into the hand of (AC)evildoers;
(AD)I will bring desolation upon the land and everything in it,
    by the hand of (AE)foreigners;
(AF)I am the Lord; I have spoken.

13 “Thus says the Lord God:

(AG)“I will destroy the idols
    and put an end to the images in (AH)Memphis;
(AI)there shall no longer be a prince from the land of Egypt;
    so (AJ)I will put fear in the land of Egypt.
14 I will make (AK)Pathros a desolation
    and will set fire to (AL)Zoan
    (AM)and will execute judgments on (AN)Thebes.
15 And I will pour out my wrath on Pelusium,
    the stronghold of Egypt,
    and cut off the multitude[f] of Thebes.
16 And I will set fire to Egypt;
    Pelusium shall be in great agony;
Thebes shall be breached,
    and (AO)Memphis shall face enemies[g] by day.
17 The young men of On and of Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword,
    and the women[h] shall go into captivity.
18 At (AP)Tehaphnehes (AQ)the day shall be dark,
    when I break there the yoke bars of Egypt,
and (AR)her proud might shall come to an end in her;
    she shall be covered by a cloud,
    and her daughters shall go into captivity.
19 Thus (AS)I will execute judgments on Egypt.
    (AT)Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

Egypt Shall Fall to Babylon

20 (AU)In the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 21 (AV)“Son of man, (AW)I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and behold, (AX)it has not been bound up, to heal it by binding it with a bandage, so that it may become strong to wield the sword. 22 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt and (AY)will break his arms, both the strong arm and the one that was broken, and I will make the sword fall from his hand. 23 (AZ)I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them through the countries. 24 And (BA)I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put (BB)my sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before him (BC)like a man mortally wounded. 25 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall. (BD)Then they shall know that I am the Lord, (BE)when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt. 26 And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

Pharaoh to Be Slain

31 (BF)In the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: (BG)“Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to (BH)his multitude:

(BI)“Whom are you like in your greatness?
    Behold, (BJ)Assyria was a (BK)cedar in (BL)Lebanon,
with beautiful branches and (BM)forest shade,
    (BN)and of towering height,
    its top among the clouds.[i]
The waters nourished it;
    the deep made it grow tall,
making (BO)its rivers flow
    around the place of its planting,
sending forth its streams
    to all the trees of the field.
So (BP)it towered high
    above all the trees of the field;
its boughs grew large
    and its branches long
    from (BQ)abundant water in its shoots.
(BR)All the birds of the heavens
    made their nests in its boughs;
under its branches all the beasts of the field
    gave birth to their young,
and under its shadow
    lived all great nations.
It was (BS)beautiful in its greatness,
    in the length of its branches;
(BT)for its roots went down
    to abundant waters.
(BU)The cedars (BV)in the garden of God could not rival it,
    nor the fir trees equal its boughs;
neither were the plane trees
    like its branches;
no tree (BW)in the garden of God
    was its equal in beauty.
I made it beautiful
    in the mass of its branches,
and all the trees of (BX)Eden envied it,
    that were in the garden of God.

10 “Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because (BY)it[j] towered high and set its top among the clouds,[k] and (BZ)its heart was proud of its height, 11 I will give it into the hand of a mighty one of the nations. He shall surely deal with it as its wickedness deserves. I have cast it out. 12 (CA)Foreigners, (CB)the most ruthless of nations, have cut it down and left it. (CC)On the mountains and in all the valleys its branches have fallen, and its boughs have been broken in all (CD)the ravines of the land, and (CE)all the peoples of the earth have gone away from its shadow and left it. 13 (CF)On its fallen trunk dwell all the birds of the heavens, and on its branches are all the beasts of the field. 14 (CG)All this is in order that no trees by the waters may grow to towering height or set their tops among the clouds,[l] and that no trees that drink water may reach up to them in height. For they are all given over to death, (CH)to the world (CI)below, among the children of man,[m] with those who go down to the pit.

15 “Thus says the Lord God: On the day (CJ)the cedar[n] went down to Sheol I caused mourning; I closed the deep over it, and restrained its rivers, and many waters were stopped. I clothed Lebanon in gloom for it, and all the trees of the field fainted because of it. 16 (CK)I made the nations quake at the sound of its fall, (CL)when I cast it down to Sheol with those who go down to the pit. (CM)And all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, (CN)were comforted in the world below. 17 They also went down to Sheol with it, (CO)to those who are slain by the sword; yes, (CP)those who were its arm, (CQ)who lived under its shadow among the nations.

18 (CR)“Whom are you thus like in glory and in greatness (CS)among the trees of Eden? (CT)You shall be brought down with (CU)the trees of Eden to the world below. (CV)You shall lie among the uncircumcised, (CW)with those who are slain by the sword.

(CX)“This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares the Lord God.”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 30:3 Hebrew lacks doom for
  2. Ezekiel 30:4 Or multitude; also verse 10
  3. Ezekiel 30:5 With Septuagint; Hebrew Cub
  4. Ezekiel 30:5 Hebrew and the sons of the land of the covenant
  5. Ezekiel 30:9 Hebrew the day of Egypt
  6. Ezekiel 30:15 Or wealth
  7. Ezekiel 30:16 Or distress
  8. Ezekiel 30:17 Or the cities; Hebrew they
  9. Ezekiel 31:3 Or its top went through the thick boughs
  10. Ezekiel 31:10 Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew you
  11. Ezekiel 31:10 Or its top through the thick boughs
  12. Ezekiel 31:14 Or their tops through the thick boughs
  13. Ezekiel 31:14 Or of Adam
  14. Ezekiel 31:15 Hebrew it

A Lament Over Egypt

30 The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, prophesy and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘Wail(A) and say,
    “Alas for that day!”
For the day is near,(B)
    the day of the Lord(C) is near—
a day of clouds,
    a time of doom for the nations.
A sword will come against Egypt,(D)
    and anguish will come upon Cush.[a](E)
When the slain fall in Egypt,
    her wealth will be carried away
    and her foundations torn down.(F)

Cush and Libya,(G) Lydia and all Arabia,(H) Kub and the people(I) of the covenant land will fall by the sword along with Egypt.(J)

“‘This is what the Lord says:

“‘The allies of Egypt will fall
    and her proud strength will fail.
From Migdol to Aswan(K)
    they will fall by the sword within her,
declares the Sovereign Lord.
“‘They will be desolate
    among desolate lands,
and their cities will lie
    among ruined cities.(L)
Then they will know that I am the Lord,
    when I set fire(M) to Egypt
    and all her helpers are crushed.(N)

“‘On that day messengers will go out from me in ships to frighten Cush(O) out of her complacency. Anguish(P) will take hold of them on the day of Egypt’s doom, for it is sure to come.(Q)

10 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘I will put an end to the hordes of Egypt
    by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar(R) king of Babylon.(S)
11 He and his army—the most ruthless of nations(T)
    will be brought in to destroy the land.
They will draw their swords against Egypt
    and fill the land with the slain.(U)
12 I will dry up(V) the waters of the Nile(W)
    and sell the land to an evil nation;
by the hand of foreigners
    I will lay waste(X) the land and everything in it.

I the Lord have spoken.

13 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘I will destroy the idols(Y)
    and put an end to the images in Memphis.(Z)
No longer will there be a prince in Egypt,(AA)
    and I will spread fear throughout the land.
14 I will lay(AB) waste Upper Egypt,
    set fire to Zoan(AC)
    and inflict punishment on Thebes.(AD)
15 I will pour out my wrath on Pelusium,
    the stronghold of Egypt,
    and wipe out the hordes of Thebes.
16 I will set fire(AE) to Egypt;
    Pelusium will writhe in agony.
Thebes will be taken by storm;
    Memphis(AF) will be in constant distress.
17 The young men of Heliopolis(AG) and Bubastis
    will fall by the sword,
    and the cities themselves will go into captivity.
18 Dark will be the day at Tahpanhes(AH)
    when I break the yoke of Egypt;(AI)
    there her proud strength will come to an end.
She will be covered with clouds,
    and her villages will go into captivity.(AJ)
19 So I will inflict punishment(AK) on Egypt,
    and they will know that I am the Lord.’”

Pharaoh’s Arms Are Broken

20 In the eleventh year, in the first month on the seventh day, the word of the Lord came to me:(AL) 21 “Son of man, I have broken the arm(AM) of Pharaoh(AN) king of Egypt. It has not been bound up to be healed(AO) or put in a splint so that it may become strong enough to hold a sword. 22 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt.(AP) I will break both his arms, the good arm as well as the broken one, and make the sword fall from his hand.(AQ) 23 I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them through the countries.(AR) 24 I will strengthen(AS) the arms of the king of Babylon and put my sword(AT) in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan(AU) before him like a mortally wounded man. 25 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fall limp. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I put my sword(AV) into the hand of the king of Babylon and he brandishes it against Egypt.(AW) 26 I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them through the countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord.(AX)

Pharaoh as a Felled Cedar of Lebanon

31 In the eleventh year,(AY) in the third month on the first day, the word of the Lord came to me:(AZ) “Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his hordes:

“‘Who can be compared with you in majesty?
Consider Assyria,(BA) once a cedar in Lebanon,(BB)
    with beautiful branches overshadowing the forest;
it towered on high,
    its top above the thick foliage.(BC)
The waters(BD) nourished it,
    deep springs made it grow tall;
their streams flowed
    all around its base
and sent their channels
    to all the trees of the field.(BE)
So it towered higher(BF)
    than all the trees of the field;
its boughs increased
    and its branches grew long,
    spreading because of abundant waters.(BG)
All the birds of the sky
    nested in its boughs,
all the animals of the wild
    gave birth(BH) under its branches;
all the great nations
    lived in its shade.(BI)
It was majestic in beauty,
    with its spreading boughs,
for its roots went down
    to abundant waters.(BJ)
The cedars(BK) in the garden of God
    could not rival it,
nor could the junipers
    equal its boughs,
nor could the plane trees(BL)
    compare with its branches—
no tree in the garden of God
    could match its beauty.(BM)
I made it beautiful
    with abundant branches,
the envy of all the trees of Eden(BN)
    in the garden of God.(BO)

10 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because the great cedar towered over the thick foliage, and because it was proud(BP) of its height, 11 I gave it into the hands of the ruler of the nations, for him to deal with according to its wickedness. I cast it aside,(BQ) 12 and the most ruthless of foreign nations(BR) cut it down and left it. Its boughs fell on the mountains and in all the valleys;(BS) its branches lay broken in all the ravines of the land. All the nations of the earth came out from under its shade and left it.(BT) 13 All the birds settled on the fallen tree, and all the wild animals lived among its branches.(BU) 14 Therefore no other trees by the waters are ever to tower proudly on high, lifting their tops above the thick foliage. No other trees so well-watered are ever to reach such a height; they are all destined(BV) for death,(BW) for the earth below, among mortals who go down to the realm of the dead.(BX)

15 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On the day it was brought down to the realm of the dead I covered the deep springs with mourning for it; I held back its streams, and its abundant waters were restrained. Because of it I clothed Lebanon with gloom, and all the trees of the field withered away.(BY) 16 I made the nations tremble(BZ) at the sound of its fall when I brought it down to the realm of the dead to be with those who go down to the pit. Then all the trees(CA) of Eden,(CB) the choicest and best of Lebanon, the well-watered trees, were consoled(CC) in the earth below.(CD) 17 They too, like the great cedar, had gone down to the realm of the dead, to those killed by the sword,(CE) along with the armed men who lived in its shade among the nations.

18 “‘Which of the trees of Eden can be compared with you in splendor and majesty? Yet you, too, will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the earth below; you will lie among the uncircumcised,(CF) with those killed by the sword.

“‘This is Pharaoh and all his hordes, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 30:4 That is, the upper Nile region; also in verses 5 and 9