A Lament for Pharaoh

32 In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, lament(A) for Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him,

‘You compare yourself to a lion of the nations,
but[a] you are like a monster[b](B) in the seas.
You thrash about in your rivers,
churn up the waters with your feet,
and muddy the[c] rivers.

“‘This is what the Lord God says:

I will spread my net over you(C)
with an assembly of many peoples,
and they[d] will haul you up in my net.
I will abandon you on the land
and throw you onto the open field.
I will cause all the birds of the sky
to settle on you
and let the wild creatures of the entire earth
eat their fill of you.(D)
I will put your flesh on the mountains(E)
and fill the valleys with your carcass.
I will drench the land
with the flow of your blood,
even to the mountains;
the ravines will be filled with your gore.
“‘When I snuff you out,
I will cover the heavens
and darken their stars.
I will cover the sun with a cloud,(F)
and the moon will not give its light.
I will darken all the shining lights
in the heavens over you,
and will bring darkness on your land.
This is the declaration of the Lord God.
“‘I will trouble the hearts of many peoples,
when I bring about your destruction
among the nations,
in countries you have not known.
10 I will cause many peoples to be appalled at you,
and their kings will shudder with fear because of you(G)
when I brandish my sword in front of them.
On the day of your downfall
each of them will tremble
every moment(H) for his life.

11 “‘For this is what the Lord God says:

The sword of Babylon’s king
will come against you!
12 I will make your hordes fall
by the swords of warriors,
all of them ruthless men from the nations.(I)
They will ravage Egypt’s pride,
and all its hordes will be destroyed.
13 I will slaughter all its cattle
that are beside many waters.
No human foot will churn them again,
and no cattle hooves will disturb them.(J)
14 Then I will let their waters settle
and will make their rivers flow like oil.
This is the declaration of the Lord God.
15 When I make the land of Egypt a desolation,
so that it is emptied of everything in it,
when I strike down all who live there,
then they will know that I am the Lord.(K)

16 “‘The daughters of the nations will chant that lament.(L) They will chant it over Egypt and all its hordes. This is the declaration of the Lord God.’”

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Footnotes

  1. 32:2 Or ‘Lion of the nations, you are destroyed;
  2. 32:2 Or crocodile
  3. 32:2 Lit their
  4. 32:3 LXX, Vg read I

Grief over Pharaoh and Egypt

32 In the (A)twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Son of man, take up a (B)song of mourning over Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him,

‘You [a]compared yourself to a young (C)lion of the nations,
Yet you are like the (D)monster in the seas;
And you (E)burst forth in your rivers
And muddied the waters with your feet
And [b]fouled their rivers.’”

This is what the Lord [c]God says:

“Now I will (F)spread My net over you
With a contingent of many peoples,
And they will lift you up in My net.
I will leave you on the land;
I will hurl you on the [d]open field.
And I will cause all the (G)birds of the sky to [e]nest on you,
And I will satisfy the animals of the whole earth [f]with you.
I will lay your flesh (H)on the mountains
And fill the valleys with your refuse.
I will also make the land drink the discharge of your (I)blood
As far as the mountains,
And the ravines will be full of you.
And when I (J)extinguish you,
I will (K)cover the heavens and darken their (L)stars;
I will cover the (M)sun with a cloud
And the moon will not give its light.
All the shining (N)lights in the heavens
I will darken over you
And will set darkness on your land,”
Declares the Lord God.

“I will also (O)trouble the hearts of many peoples when I (P)bring your destruction among the nations, into lands which you have not known. 10 And I will make many peoples (Q)appalled at you, and their kings will be horribly afraid of you when I brandish My sword before them; and (R)they will tremble again and again, every person for his own life, on the day of your fall.”

11 For (S)the Lord God says (T)this: “The sword of the king of Babylon will [g]attack you. 12 By the swords of the warriors I will make your multitude fall; all of them are (U)tyrants of the nations,

And they will (V)devastate the pride of Egypt,
And all its multitude will be destroyed.
13 I will also eliminate all its cattle from beside many waters;
And (W)a human foot will not muddy them anymore,
And the hoofs of animals will not muddy them.
14 Then I will make their waters settle,
And make their rivers run like oil,”
Declares the Lord God.
15 “When I make the land of Egypt a (X)desolation,
And the land is destitute of that which filled it,
When I strike all those who live in it,
Then they shall (Y)know that I am the Lord.

16 This is a (Z)song of mourning, and they shall sing it. The daughters of the nations shall sing it. Over Egypt and over all her hordes they shall sing it,” declares the Lord God.

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 32:2 Or were like
  2. Ezekiel 32:2 Lit fouled by stamping
  3. Ezekiel 32:3 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch
  4. Ezekiel 32:4 Lit faces of the field
  5. Ezekiel 32:4 Lit dwell
  6. Ezekiel 32:4 Lit from
  7. Ezekiel 32:11 Lit come upon you