Ezekiel 21-29

New King James Version

Babylon, the Sword of God

21 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²^(A)“Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, ^(B)preach^[a] against the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel; ³and say to the land of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Behold, I am ^(C)against you, and I will draw My sword out of its sheath and cut off both ^(D)righteous and wicked from you. ⁴Because I will cut off both righteous and wicked from you, therefore My sword shall go out of its sheath against all flesh ^(E)from south to north, ⁵that all flesh may know that I, the Lord, have drawn My sword out of its sheath; it ^(F)shall not return anymore.” ’ ⁶^(G)Sigh therefore, son of man, with ^[b]a breaking heart, and sigh with bitterness before their eyes. ⁷And it shall be when they say to you, ‘Why are you sighing?’ that you shall answer, ‘Because of the news; when it comes, every heart will melt, ^(H)all hands will be feeble, every spirit will faint, and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it is coming and shall be brought to pass,’ says the Lord God.”

⁸Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ⁹“Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord!’ Say:

^(I)‘A sword, a sword is sharpened
And also polished!
¹⁰Sharpened to make a dreadful slaughter,
Polished to flash like lightning!
Should we then make mirth?
It despises the scepter of My son,
As it does all wood.
¹¹And He has given it to be polished,
That it may be handled;
This sword is sharpened, and it is polished
To be given into the hand of ^(J)the slayer.’

¹²“Cry and wail, son of man;
For it will be against My people,
Against all the princes of Israel.
Terrors including the sword will be against My people;
Therefore ^(K)strike your thigh.

¹³“Because it is ^(L)a testing,
And what if the sword despises even the scepter?
^(M)The scepter shall be no more,”

says the Lord God.

¹⁴“You therefore, son of man, prophesy,
And ^(N)strike your hands together.
The third time let the sword do double damage.
It is the sword that slays,
The sword that slays the great men,
That enters their ^(O)private chambers.
¹⁵I have set the point of the sword against all their gates,
That the heart may melt and many may stumble.
Ah! ^(P)It is made bright;
It is grasped for slaughter:

¹⁶“Swords^(Q)^[c] at the ready!
Thrust right!
Set your blade!
Thrust left—
Wherever your ^[d]edge is ordered!

¹⁷“I also will ^(R)beat My fists together,
And ^(S)I will cause My fury to rest;
I, the Lord, have spoken.”

¹⁸The word of the Lord came to me again, saying: ¹⁹“And son of man, appoint for yourself two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to go; both of them shall go from the same land. Make a sign; put it at the head of the road to the city. ²⁰Appoint a road for the sword to go to ^(T)Rabbah of the Ammonites, and to Judah, into fortified Jerusalem. ²¹For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the road, at the fork of the two roads, to use divination: he shakes the arrows, he consults the ^[e]images, he looks at the liver. ²²In his right hand is the divination for Jerusalem: to set up battering rams, to call for a slaughter, to ^(U)lift the voice with shouting, ^(V)to set battering rams against the gates, to heap up a siege mound, and to build a wall. ²³And it will be to them like a false divination in the eyes of those who ^(W)have sworn oaths with them; but he will bring their iniquity to remembrance, that they may be taken.

²⁴“Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Because you have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your doings your sins appear—because you have come to remembrance, you shall be taken in hand.

²⁵‘Now to you, O ^(X)profane, wicked prince of Israel, ^(Y)whose day has come, whose iniquity shall end, ²⁶thus says the Lord God:

“Remove the turban, and take off the crown;
Nothing shall remain the same.
^(Z)Exalt the humble, and humble the exalted.
²⁷^[f]Overthrown, overthrown,
I will make it overthrown!
^(AA)It shall be no longer,
Until He comes whose right it is,
And I will give it to ^(AB)Him.” ’

A Sword Against the Ammonites

²⁸“And you, son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God ^(AC)concerning the Ammonites and concerning their reproach,’ and say:

‘A sword, a sword is drawn,
Polished for slaughter,
For consuming, for flashing—
²⁹While they ^(AD)see false visions for you,
While they divine a lie to you,
To bring you on the necks of the wicked, the slain
^(AE)Whose day has come,
Whose iniquity shall end.

³⁰‘Return^(AF) it to its sheath.
^(AG)I will judge you
In the place where you were created,
^(AH)In the land of your ^[g]nativity.
³¹I will ^(AI)pour out My indignation on you;
I will ^(AJ)blow against you with the fire of My wrath,
And deliver you into the hands of brutal men who are skillful to ^(AK)destroy.
³²You shall be fuel for the fire;
Your blood shall be in the midst of the land.
^(AL)You shall not be remembered,
For I the Lord have spoken.’ ”

Sins of Jerusalem

22 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²“Now, son of man, ^(AM)will you judge, will you judge ^(AN)the bloody city? Yes, show her all her abominations! ³Then say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “The city sheds ^(AO)blood in her own midst, that her time may come; and she makes idols within herself to defile herself. ⁴You have become guilty by the blood which you have ^(AP)shed, and have defiled yourself with the idols which you have made. You have caused your days to draw near, and have come to the end of your years; ^(AQ)therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mockery to all countries. ⁵Those near and those far from you will mock you as ^[h]infamous and full of tumult.

⁶“Look, ^(AR)the princes of Israel: each one has used his ^[i]power to shed blood in you. ⁷In you they have ^(AS)made light of father and mother; in your midst they have ^(AT)oppressed the stranger; in you they have mistreated the ^[j]fatherless and the widow. ⁸You have despised My holy things and ^(AU)profaned My Sabbaths. ⁹In you are ^(AV)men who slander to cause bloodshed; ^(AW)in you are those who eat on the mountains; in your midst they commit lewdness. ¹⁰In you men ^(AX)uncover their fathers’ nakedness; in you they violate women who are ^(AY)set apart during their impurity. ¹¹One commits abomination ^(AZ)with his neighbor’s wife; ^(BA)another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; and another in you violates his sister, his father’s ^(BB)daughter. ¹²In you ^(BC)they take bribes to shed blood; ^(BD)you take usury and increase; you have made profit from your neighbors by extortion, and ^(BE)have forgotten Me,” says the Lord God.

¹³“Behold, therefore, I ^(BF)beat My fists at the dishonest profit which you have made, and at the bloodshed which has been in your midst. ¹⁴^(BG)Can your heart endure, or can your hands remain strong, in the days when I shall deal with you? ^(BH)I, the Lord, have spoken, and will do it. ¹⁵^(BI)I will scatter you among the nations, disperse you throughout the countries, and ^(BJ)remove your filthiness completely from you. ¹⁶You shall defile yourself in the sight of the nations; then ^(BK)you shall know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”

Israel in the Furnace

¹⁷The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁸“Son of man, ^(BL)the house of Israel has become dross to Me; they are all bronze, tin, iron, and lead, in the midst of a ^(BM)furnace; they have become dross from silver. ¹⁹Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Because you have all become dross, therefore behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. ²⁰As men gather silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into the midst of a furnace, to blow fire on it, to ^(BN)melt it; so I will gather you in My anger and in My fury, and I will leave you there and melt you. ²¹Yes, I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you shall be melted in its midst. ²²As silver is melted in the midst of a furnace, so shall you be melted in its midst; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have ^(BO)poured out My fury on you.’ ”

Israel’s Wicked Leaders

²³And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²⁴“Son of man, say to her: ‘You are a land that is ^(BP)not ^[k]cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.’ ²⁵^(BQ)The conspiracy of her ^[l]prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they ^(BR)have devoured ^[m]people; ^(BS)they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst. ²⁶^(BT)Her priests have ^[n]violated My law and ^(BU)profaned My holy things; they have not ^(BV)distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. ²⁷Her ^(BW)princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, to shed blood, to destroy ^[o]people, and to get dishonest gain. ²⁸^(BX)Her prophets plastered them with untempered mortar, ^(BY)seeing false visions, and divining ^(BZ)lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ when the Lord had not spoken. ²⁹The people of the land have used oppressions, committed robbery, and mistreated the poor and needy; and they wrongfully ^(CA)oppress the stranger. ³⁰^(CB)So I sought for a man among them who would ^(CC)make a wall, and ^(CD)stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one. ³¹Therefore I have ^(CE)poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; and I have recompensed ^(CF)their deeds on their own heads,” says the Lord God.

Two Harlot Sisters

23 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying:

²“Son of man, there were ^(CG)two women,
The daughters of one mother.
³^(CH)They committed harlotry in Egypt,
They committed harlotry in ^(CI)their youth;
Their breasts were there embraced,
Their virgin bosom was there pressed.
⁴Their names: ^[p]Oholah the elder and ^[q]Oholibah ^(CJ)her sister;
^(CK)They were Mine,
And they bore sons and daughters.
As for their names,
Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem is Oholibah.

The Older Sister, Samaria

⁵“Oholah played the harlot even though she was Mine;
And she lusted for her lovers, the neighboring ^(CL)Assyrians,
⁶Who were clothed in purple,
Captains and rulers,
All of them desirable young men,
Horsemen riding on horses.
⁷Thus she committed her harlotry with them,
All of them choice men of Assyria;
And with all for whom she lusted,
With all their idols, she defiled herself.
⁸She has never given up her harlotry brought ^(CM)from Egypt,
For in her youth they had lain with her,
Pressed her virgin bosom,
And poured out their immorality upon her.

⁹“Therefore I have delivered her
Into the hand of her lovers,
Into the hand of the ^(CN)Assyrians,
For whom she lusted.
¹⁰They uncovered her nakedness,
Took away her sons and daughters,
And slew her with the sword;
She became a byword among women,
For they had executed judgment on her.

The Younger Sister, Jerusalem

¹¹“Now ^(CO)although her sister Oholibah saw this, ^(CP)she became more corrupt in her lust than she, and in her harlotry more corrupt than her sister’s harlotry.

¹²“She lusted for the neighboring ^(CQ)Assyrians,
^(CR)Captains and rulers,
Clothed most gorgeously,
Horsemen riding on horses,
All of them desirable young men.
¹³Then I saw that she was defiled;
Both took the same way.
¹⁴But she increased her harlotry;
She looked at men portrayed on the wall,
Images of ^(CS)Chaldeans portrayed in vermilion,
¹⁵Girded with belts around their waists,
Flowing turbans on their heads,
All of them looking like captains,
In the manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea,
The land of their nativity.
¹⁶^(CT)As soon as her eyes saw them,
She lusted for them
And sent ^(CU)messengers to them in Chaldea.

¹⁷“Then the ^[r]Babylonians came to her, into the bed of love,
And they defiled her with their immorality;
So she was defiled by them, ^(CV)and alienated herself from them.
¹⁸She revealed her harlotry and uncovered her nakedness.
Then ^(CW)I ^(CX)alienated Myself from her,
As I had alienated Myself from her sister.

¹⁹“Yet she multiplied her harlotry
In calling to remembrance the days of her youth,
^(CY)When she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt.
²⁰For she lusted for her ^[s]paramours,
Whose flesh is like the flesh of donkeys,
And whose issue is like the issue of horses.
²¹Thus you called to remembrance the lewdness of your youth,
When the ^(CZ)Egyptians pressed your bosom
Because of your youthful breasts.

Judgment on Jerusalem

²²“Therefore, Oholibah, thus says the Lord God:

^(DA)‘Behold, I will stir up your lovers against you,
From whom you have alienated yourself,
And I will bring them against you from every side:
²³The Babylonians,
All the Chaldeans,
^(DB)Pekod, Shoa, Koa,
^(DC)All the Assyrians with them,
All of them desirable young men,
Governors and rulers,
Captains and men of renown,
All of them riding on horses.
²⁴And they shall come against you
With chariots, wagons, and war-horses,
With a horde of people.
They shall array against you
Buckler, shield, and helmet all around.

‘I will delegate judgment to them,
And they shall judge you according to their judgments.
²⁵I will set My ^(DD)jealousy against you,
And they shall deal furiously with you;
They shall remove your nose and your ears,
And your remnant shall fall by the sword;
They shall take your sons and your daughters,
And your remnant shall be devoured by fire.
²⁶^(DE)They shall also strip you of your clothes
And take away your beautiful jewelry.

²⁷‘Thus ^(DF)I will make you cease your lewdness and your ^(DG)harlotry
Brought from the land of Egypt,
So that you will not lift your eyes to them,
Nor remember Egypt anymore.’

²⁸“For thus says the Lord God: ‘Surely I will deliver you into the hand of ^(DH)those you hate, into the hand of those ^(DI)from whom you alienated yourself. ²⁹^(DJ)They will deal hatefully with you, take away all you have worked for, and ^(DK)leave you naked and bare. The nakedness of your harlotry shall be uncovered, both your lewdness and your harlotry. ³⁰I will do these things to you because you have ^(DL)gone as a harlot after the Gentiles, because you have become defiled by their idols. ³¹You have walked in the way of your sister; therefore I will put her ^(DM)cup in your hand.’

³²“Thus says the Lord God:

‘You shall drink of your sister’s cup,
The deep and wide one;
^(DN)You shall be laughed to scorn
And held in derision;
It contains much.
³³You will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow,
The cup of horror and desolation,
The cup of your sister Samaria.
³⁴You shall ^(DO)drink and drain it,
You shall break its ^[t]shards,
And tear at your own breasts;
For I have spoken,’
Says the Lord God.

³⁵“Therefore thus says the Lord God:

‘Because you ^(DP)have forgotten Me and ^(DQ)cast Me behind your back,
Therefore you shall bear the penalty
Of your lewdness and your harlotry.’ ”

Both Sisters Judged

³⁶The Lord also said to me: “Son of man, will you ^(DR)judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then ^(DS)declare to them their abominations. ³⁷For they have committed adultery, and ^(DT)blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols, and even sacrificed their sons ^(DU)whom they bore to Me, passing them through the fire, to devour them. ³⁸Moreover they have done this to Me: They have ^(DV)defiled My sanctuary on the same day and ^(DW)profaned My Sabbaths. ³⁹For after they had slain their children for their idols, on the same day they came into My sanctuary to profane it; and indeed ^(DX)thus they have done in the midst of My house.

⁴⁰“Furthermore you sent for men to come from afar, ^(DY)to whom a messenger was sent; and there they came. And you ^(DZ)washed yourself for them, ^(EA)painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with ornaments. ⁴¹You sat on a stately ^(EB)couch, with a table prepared before it, ^(EC)on which you had set My incense and My oil. ⁴²The sound of a carefree multitude was with her, and ^[u]Sabeans were brought from the wilderness with men of the common sort, who put bracelets on their ^[v]wrists and beautiful crowns on their heads. ⁴³Then I said concerning her who had grown old in adulteries, ‘Will they commit harlotry with her now, and she with them?’ ⁴⁴Yet they went in to her, as men go in to a woman who plays the harlot; thus they went in to Oholah and Oholibah, the lewd women. ⁴⁵But righteous men will ^(ED)judge them after the manner of adulteresses, and after the manner of women who shed blood, because they are adulteresses, and ^(EE)blood is on their hands.

⁴⁶“For thus says the Lord God: ^(EF)‘Bring up an assembly against them, give them up to trouble and plunder. ⁴⁷^(EG)The assembly shall stone them with stones and ^[w]execute them with their swords; ^(EH)they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn their houses with fire. ⁴⁸Thus ^(EI)I will cause lewdness to cease from the land, ^(EJ)that all women may be taught not to practice your lewdness. ⁴⁹They shall repay you for your lewdness, and you shall ^(EK)pay for your idolatrous sins. ^(EL)Then you shall know that I am the Lord God.’ ”

Symbol of the Cooking Pot^(EM)

24 Again, in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²“Son of man, write down the name of the day, this very day—the king of Babylon started his siege against Jerusalem ^(EN)this very day. ³^(EO)And utter a parable to the rebellious house, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God:

^(EP)“Put on a pot, set it on,
And also pour water into it.
⁴Gather pieces of meat in it,
Every good piece,
The thigh and the shoulder.
Fill it with choice ^[x]cuts;
⁵Take the choice of the flock.
Also pile fuel bones under it,
Make it boil well,
And let the cuts simmer in it.”

⁶‘Therefore thus says the Lord God:

“Woe to ^(EQ)the bloody city,
To the pot whose scum is in it,
And whose scum is not gone from it!
Bring it out piece by piece,
On which no ^(ER)lot has fallen.
⁷For her blood is in her midst;
She set it on top of a rock;
^(ES)She did not pour it on the ground,
To cover it with dust.
⁸That it may raise up fury and take vengeance,
^(ET)I have set her blood on top of a rock,
That it may not be covered.”

⁹‘Therefore thus says the Lord God:

^(EU)“Woe to the bloody city!
I too will make the pyre great.
¹⁰Heap on the wood,
Kindle the fire;
Cook the meat well,
Mix in the spices,
And let the ^[y]cuts be burned up.

¹¹“Then set the pot empty on the coals,
That it may become hot and its bronze may burn,
That ^(EV)its filthiness may be melted in it,
That its scum may be consumed.
¹²She has ^[z]grown weary with ^[aa]lies,
And her great scum has not gone from her.
Let her scum be in the fire!
¹³In your ^(EW)filthiness is lewdness.
Because I have cleansed you, and you were not cleansed,
You will ^(EX)not be cleansed of your filthiness anymore,
^(EY)Till I have caused My fury to rest upon you.
¹⁴^(EZ)I, the Lord, have spoken it;
^(FA)It shall come to pass, and I will do it;
I will not hold back,
^(FB)Nor will I spare,
Nor will I relent;
According to your ways
And according to your deeds
^[ab]They will judge you,”
Says the Lord God.’ ”

The Prophet’s Wife Dies

¹⁵Also the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁶“Son of man, behold, I take away from you the desire of your eyes with one stroke; yet you shall ^(FC)neither mourn nor weep, nor shall your tears run down. ¹⁷Sigh in silence, ^(FD)make no mourning for the dead; ^(FE)bind your turban on your head, and ^(FF)put your sandals on your feet; ^(FG)do not cover your ^[ac]lips, and do not eat man’s bread of sorrow.”

¹⁸So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died; and the next morning I did as I was commanded.

¹⁹And the people said to me, ^(FH)“Will you not tell us what these things signify to us, that you behave so?”

²⁰Then I answered them, “The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²¹‘Speak to the house of Israel, “Thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, ^(FI)I will profane My sanctuary, ^[ad]your arrogant boast, the desire of your eyes, the ^[ae]delight of your soul; ^(FJ)and your sons and daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword. ²²And you shall do as I have done; ^(FK)you shall not cover your ^[af]lips nor eat man’s bread of sorrow. ²³Your turbans shall be on your heads and your sandals on your feet; ^(FL)you shall neither mourn nor weep, but ^(FM)you shall pine away in your iniquities and mourn with one another. ²⁴Thus ^(FN)Ezekiel is a sign to you; according to all that he has done you shall do; ^(FO)and when this comes, ^(FP)you shall know that I am the Lord God.’ ”

²⁵‘And you, son of man—will it not be in the day when I take from them ^(FQ)their stronghold, their joy and their glory, the desire of their eyes, and ^[ag]that on which they set their minds, their sons and their daughters: ²⁶that on that day ^(FR)one who escapes will come to you to let you hear it with your ears? ²⁷^(FS)On that day your mouth will be opened to him who has escaped; you shall speak and no longer be mute. Thus you will be a sign to them, and they shall know that I am the Lord.’ ”

Proclamation Against Ammon

25 The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²“Son of man, ^(FT)set your face ^(FU)against the Ammonites, and prophesy against them. ³Say to the Ammonites, ‘Hear the word of the Lord God! Thus says the Lord God: ^(FV)“Because you said, ‘Aha!’ against My sanctuary when it was profaned, and against the land of Israel when it was desolate, and against the house of Judah when they went into captivity, ⁴indeed, therefore, I will deliver you as a possession to the ^[ah]men of the East, and they shall set their encampments among you and make their dwellings among you; they shall eat your fruit, and they shall drink your milk. ⁵And I will make ^(FW)Rabbah ^(FX)a stable for camels and Ammon a resting place for flocks. ^(FY)Then you shall know that I am the Lord.”

⁶‘For thus says the Lord God: “Because you ^(FZ)clapped your hands, stamped your feet, and ^(GA)rejoiced in heart with all your disdain for the land of Israel, ⁷indeed, therefore, I will ^(GB)stretch out My hand against you, and give you as plunder to the nations; I will cut you off from the peoples, and I will cause you to perish from the countries; I will destroy you, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

Proclamation Against Moab

⁸‘Thus says the Lord God: “Because ^(GC)Moab and ^(GD)Seir say, ‘Look! The house of Judah is like all the nations,’ ⁹therefore, behold, I will clear the territory of Moab of cities, of the cities on its frontier, the glory of the country, Beth Jeshimoth, Baal Meon, and ^(GE)Kirjathaim. ¹⁰^(GF)To the men of the East I will give it as a possession, together with the Ammonites, that the Ammonites ^(GG)may not be remembered among the nations. ¹¹And I will execute judgments upon Moab, and they shall know that I am the Lord.”

Proclamation Against Edom

¹²‘Thus says the Lord God: ^(GH)“Because of what Edom did against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and has greatly offended by avenging itself on them,” ¹³therefore thus says the Lord God: “I will also stretch out My hand against Edom, cut off man and beast from it, and make it desolate from Teman; ^[ai]Dedan shall fall by the sword. ¹⁴^(GI)I will lay My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel, that they may do in Edom according to My anger and according to My fury; and they shall know My vengeance,” says the Lord God.

Proclamation Against Philistia

¹⁵‘Thus says the Lord God: ^(GJ)“Because ^(GK)the Philistines dealt vengefully and took vengeance with ^[aj]a spiteful heart, to destroy because of the ^[ak]old hatred,” ¹⁶therefore thus says the Lord God: ^(GL)“I will stretch out My hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the ^(GM)Cherethites ^(GN)and destroy the remnant of the seacoast. ¹⁷I will ^(GO)execute great vengeance on them with furious rebukes; ^(GP)and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I lay My vengeance upon them.” ’ ”

Proclamation Against Tyre

26 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²“Son of man, ^(GQ)because Tyre has said against Jerusalem, ^(GR)‘Aha! She is broken who was the gateway of the peoples; now she is turned over to me; I shall be filled; she is laid waste.’

³“Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against you, as the sea causes its waves to come up. ⁴And they shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers; I will also scrape her dust from her, and ^(GS)make her like the top of a rock. ⁵It shall be a place for spreading nets ^(GT)in the midst of the sea, for I have spoken,’ says the Lord God; ‘it shall become plunder for the nations. ⁶Also her daughter villages which are in the fields shall be slain by the sword. ^(GU)Then they shall know that I am the Lord.’

⁷“For thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, I will bring against Tyre from the north ^(GV)Nebuchadnezzar^[al] king of Babylon, ^(GW)king of kings, with horses, with chariots, and with horsemen, and an army with many people. ⁸He will slay with the sword your daughter villages in the fields; he will ^(GX)heap up a siege mound against you, build a wall against you, and raise a ^[am]defense against you. ⁹He will direct his battering rams against your walls, and with his axes he will break down your towers. ¹⁰Because of the abundance of his horses, their dust will cover you; your walls will shake at the noise of the horsemen, the wagons, and the chariots, when he enters your gates, as men enter a city that has been breached. ¹¹With the hooves of his ^(GY)horses he will trample all your streets; he will slay your people by the sword, and your strong pillars will fall to the ground. ¹²They will plunder your riches and pillage your merchandise; they will break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses; they will lay your stones, your timber, and your soil in the ^(GZ)midst of the water. ¹³^(HA)I will put an end to the sound of ^(HB)your songs, and the sound of your harps shall be heard no more. ¹⁴^(HC)I will make you like the top of a rock; you shall be a place for spreading nets, and you shall never be rebuilt, for I the Lord have spoken,’ says the Lord God.

¹⁵“Thus says the Lord God to Tyre: ‘Will the coastlands not ^(HD)shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded cry, when slaughter is made in the midst of you? ¹⁶Then all the ^(HE)princes of the sea will ^(HF)come down from their thrones, lay aside their robes, and take off their embroidered garments; they will clothe themselves with trembling; ^(HG)they will sit on the ground, ^(HH)tremble every moment, and ^(HI)be astonished at you. ¹⁷And they will take up a ^(HJ)lamentation for you, and say to you:

“How you have perished,
O one inhabited by seafaring men,
O renowned city,
Who was ^(HK)strong at sea,
She and her inhabitants,
Who caused their terror to be on all her inhabitants!
¹⁸Now ^(HL)the coastlands tremble on the day of your fall;
Yes, the coastlands by the sea are troubled at your departure.” ’

¹⁹“For thus says the Lord God: ‘When I make you a desolate city, like cities that are not inhabited, when I bring the deep upon you, and great waters cover you, ²⁰then I will bring you down ^(HM)with those who descend into the Pit, to the people of old, and I will make you dwell in the lowest part of the earth, in places desolate from antiquity, with those who go down to the Pit, so that you may never be inhabited; and I shall establish glory ^(HN)in the land of the living. ²¹^(HO)I will make you a terror, and you shall be no more; ^(HP)though you are sought for, you will never be found again,’ says the Lord God.”

Lamentation for Tyre

27 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, ²“Now, son of man, ^(HQ)take up a lamentation for Tyre, ³and say to Tyre, ^(HR)‘You who ^[an]are situated at the entrance of the sea, ^(HS)merchant of the peoples on many coastlands, thus says the Lord God:

“O Tyre, you have said,
^(HT)‘I am perfect in beauty.’
⁴Your borders are in the midst of the seas.
Your builders have perfected your beauty.
⁵They ^[ao]made all your planks of fir trees from ^(HU)Senir;
They took a cedar from Lebanon to make you a mast.
⁶Of ^(HV)oaks from Bashan they made your oars;
The company of Ashurites have inlaid your planks
With ivory from ^(HW)the coasts of ^[ap]Cyprus.
⁷Fine embroidered linen from Egypt was what you spread for your sail;
Blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah was what covered you.

⁸“Inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad were your oarsmen;
Your wise men, O Tyre, were in you;
They became your pilots.
⁹Elders of ^(HX)Gebal and its wise men
Were in you to caulk your seams;
All the ships of the sea
And their oarsmen were in you
To market your merchandise.

¹⁰“Those from Persia, ^[aq]Lydia, and ^[ar]Libya
Were in your army as men of war;
They hung shield and helmet in you;
They gave splendor to you.
¹¹Men of Arvad with your army were on your walls all around,
And the men of Gammad were in your towers;
They hung their shields on your walls all around;
They made ^(HY)your beauty perfect.

¹²^(HZ)“Tarshish was your merchant because of your many luxury goods. They gave you silver, iron, tin, and lead for your goods. ¹³^(IA)Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your traders. They bartered ^(IB)human lives and vessels of bronze for your merchandise. ¹⁴Those from the house of ^(IC)Togarmah traded for your wares with horses, steeds, and mules. ¹⁵The men of ^(ID)Dedan were your traders; many isles were the market of your hand. They brought you ivory tusks and ebony as payment. ¹⁶Syria was your merchant because of the abundance of goods you made. They gave you for your wares emeralds, purple, embroidery, fine linen, corals, and rubies. ¹⁷Judah and the land of Israel were your traders. They traded for your merchandise wheat of ^(IE)Minnith, millet, honey, oil, and ^(IF)balm. ¹⁸Damascus was your merchant because of the abundance of goods you made, because of your many luxury items, with the wine of Helbon and with white wool. ¹⁹Dan and Javan paid for your wares, ^[as]traversing back and forth. Wrought iron, cassia, and cane were among your merchandise. ²⁰^(IG)Dedan was your merchant in saddlecloths for riding. ²¹Arabia and all the princes of ^(IH)Kedar were your regular merchants. They traded with you in lambs, rams, and goats. ²²The merchants of ^(II)Sheba and Raamah were your merchants. They traded for your wares the choicest spices, all kinds of precious stones, and gold. ²³^(IJ)Haran, Canneh, Eden, the merchants of ^(IK)Sheba, Assyria, and Chilmad were your merchants. ²⁴These were your merchants in choice items—in purple clothes, in embroidered garments, in chests of multicolored apparel, in sturdy woven cords, which were in your marketplace.

²⁵“The ^(IL)ships of Tarshish were carriers of your merchandise.
You were filled and very glorious ^(IM)in the midst of the seas.
²⁶Your oarsmen brought you into many waters,
But ^(IN)the east wind broke you in the midst of the seas.

²⁷“Your ^(IO)riches, wares, and merchandise,
Your mariners and pilots,
Your caulkers and merchandisers,
All your men of war who are in you,
And the entire company which is in your midst,
Will fall into the midst of the seas on the day of your ruin.
²⁸The ^(IP)common-land^[at] will shake at the sound of the cry of your pilots.

²⁹“All ^(IQ)who handle the oar,
The mariners,
All the pilots of the sea
Will come down from their ships and stand on the ^[au]shore.
³⁰They will make their voice heard because of you;
They will cry bitterly and ^(IR)cast dust on their heads;
They ^(IS)will roll about in ashes;
³¹They will ^(IT)shave themselves completely bald because of you,
Gird themselves with sackcloth,
And weep for you
With bitterness of heart and bitter wailing.
³²In their wailing for you
They will ^(IU)take up a lamentation,
And lament for you:
^(IV)‘What city is like Tyre,
Destroyed in the midst of the sea?

³³‘When^(IW) your wares went out by sea,
You satisfied many people;
You enriched the kings of the earth
With your many luxury goods and your merchandise.
³⁴But ^(IX)you are broken by the seas in the depths of the waters;
^(IY)Your merchandise and the entire company will fall in your midst.
³⁵^(IZ)All the inhabitants of the isles will be astonished at you;
Their kings will be greatly afraid,
And their countenance will be troubled.
³⁶The merchants among the peoples ^(JA)will hiss at you;
^(JB)You will become a horror, and be no ^(JC)more forever.’ ” ’ ”

Proclamation Against the King of Tyre

28 The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, ²“Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, ‘Thus says the Lord God:

“Because your heart is ^(JD)lifted^[av] up,
And ^(JE)you say, ‘I am a god,
I sit in the seat of gods,
^(JF)In the midst of the seas,’
^(JG)Yet you are a man, and not a god,
Though you set your heart as the heart of a god
³(Behold, ^(JH)you are wiser than Daniel!
There is no secret that can be hidden from you!
⁴With your wisdom and your understanding
You have gained ^(JI)riches for yourself,
And gathered gold and silver into your treasuries;
⁵^(JJ)By your great wisdom in trade you have increased your riches,
And your heart is lifted up because of your riches),”

⁶‘Therefore thus says the Lord God:

“Because you have set your heart as the heart of a god,
⁷Behold, therefore, I will bring ^(JK)strangers against you,
^(JL)The most terrible of the nations;
And they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom,
And defile your splendor.
⁸They shall throw you down into the ^(JM)Pit,
And you shall die the death of the slain
In the midst of the seas.

⁹“Will you still ^(JN)say before him who slays you,
‘I am a god’?
But you shall be a man, and not a god,
In the hand of him who slays you.
¹⁰You shall die the death of ^(JO)the uncircumcised
By the hand of aliens;
For I have spoken,” says the Lord God.’ ”

Lamentation for the King of Tyre

¹¹Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹²“Son of man, ^(JP)take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God:

^(JQ)“You were the seal of perfection,
Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
¹³You were in ^(JR)Eden, the garden of God;
Every precious stone was your covering:
The sardius, topaz, and diamond,
Beryl, onyx, and jasper,
Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold.
The workmanship of ^(JS)your timbrels and pipes
Was prepared for you on the day you were created.

¹⁴“You were the anointed ^(JT)cherub who covers;
I established you;
You were on ^(JU)the holy mountain of God;
You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones.
¹⁵You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created,
Till ^(JV)iniquity was found in you.

¹⁶“By the abundance of your trading
You became filled with violence within,
And you sinned;
Therefore I cast you as a profane thing
Out of the mountain of God;
And I destroyed you, ^(JW)O covering cherub,
From the midst of the fiery stones.

¹⁷“Your ^(JX)heart was ^[aw]lifted up because of your beauty;
You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor;
I cast you to the ground,
I laid you before kings,
That they might gaze at you.

¹⁸“You defiled your sanctuaries
By the multitude of your iniquities,
By the iniquity of your trading;
Therefore I brought fire from your midst;
It devoured you,
And I turned you to ashes upon the earth
In the sight of all who saw you.
¹⁹All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you;
^(JY)You have become a horror,
And shall be no ^(JZ)more forever.” ’ ”

Proclamation Against Sidon

²⁰Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²¹“Son of man, ^(KA)set your face ^(KB)toward Sidon, and prophesy against her, ²²and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God:

^(KC)“Behold, I am against you, O Sidon;
I will be glorified in your midst;
And ^(KD)they shall know that I am the Lord,
When I execute judgments in her and am ^(KE)hallowed in her.
²³^(KF)For I will send pestilence upon her,
And blood in her streets;
The wounded shall be judged in her midst
By the sword against her on every side;
Then they shall know that I am the Lord.

²⁴“And there shall no longer be a pricking brier or ^(KG)a painful thorn for the house of Israel from among all who are around them, who ^(KH)despise them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord God.”

Israel’s Future Blessing

²⁵‘Thus says the Lord God: “When I have ^(KI)gathered the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and am ^(KJ)hallowed in them in the sight of the Gentiles, then they will dwell in their own land which I gave to My servant Jacob. ²⁶And they will ^(KK)dwell ^[ax]safely there, ^(KL)build houses, and ^(KM)plant vineyards; yes, they will dwell securely, when I execute judgments on all those around them who despise them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord their God.” ’ ”

Proclamation Against Egypt

29 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²“Son of man, ^(KN)set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and ^(KO)against all Egypt. ³Speak, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God:

^(KP)“Behold, I am against you,
O Pharaoh king of Egypt,
O great ^(KQ)monster who lies in the midst of his rivers,
^(KR)Who has said, ‘My ^[ay]River is my own;
I have made it for myself.’
⁴But ^(KS)I will put hooks in your jaws,
And cause the fish of your rivers to stick to your scales;
I will bring you up out of the midst of your rivers,
And all the fish in your rivers will stick to your scales.
⁵I will leave you in the wilderness,
You and all the fish of your rivers;
You shall fall on the ^[az]open ^(KT)field;
^(KU)You shall not be picked up or ^[ba]gathered.
^(KV)I have given you as food
To the beasts of the field
And to the birds of the heavens.

⁶“Then all the inhabitants of Egypt
Shall know that I am the Lord,
Because they have been a ^(KW)staff of reed to the house of Israel.
⁷^(KX)When they took hold of you with the hand,
You broke and tore all their ^[bb]shoulders;
When they leaned on you,
You broke and made all their backs quiver.”

⁸‘Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Surely I will bring ^(KY)a sword upon you and cut off from you man and beast. ⁹And the land of Egypt shall become ^(KZ)desolate and waste; then they will know that I am the Lord, because he said, ‘The River is mine, and I have made it.’ ¹⁰Indeed, therefore, I am against you and against your rivers, ^(LA)and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, ^(LB)from ^[bc]Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of Ethiopia. ¹¹^(LC)Neither foot of man shall pass through it nor foot of beast pass through it, and it shall be uninhabited forty years. ¹²^(LD)I will make the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate; and among the cities that are laid waste, her cities shall be desolate forty years; and I will ^(LE)scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries.”

¹³‘Yet, thus says the Lord God: “At the ^(LF)end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered. ¹⁴I will bring back the captives of Egypt and cause them to return to the land of Pathros, to the land of their origin, and there they shall be a ^(LG)lowly kingdom. ¹⁵It shall be the lowliest of kingdoms; it shall never again exalt itself above the nations, for I will diminish them so that they will not rule over the nations anymore. ¹⁶No longer shall it be ^(LH)the confidence of the house of Israel, but will remind them of their iniquity when they turned to follow them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord God.” ’ ”

Babylonia Will Plunder Egypt

¹⁷And it came to pass in the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁸“Son of man, ^(LI)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre; every head was made ^(LJ)bald, and every shoulder rubbed raw; yet neither he nor his army received wages from Tyre, for the labor which they expended on it. ¹⁹Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Surely I will give the land of Egypt to ^(LK)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; he shall take away her wealth, carry off her spoil, and remove her pillage; and that will be the wages for his army. ²⁰I have given him the land of Egypt for his labor, because they ^(LL)worked for Me,’ says the Lord God.

²¹‘In that day ^(LM)I will cause the ^[bd]horn of the house of Israel to spring forth, and I will ^(LN)open your mouth to speak in their midst. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.’ ”