A Lament Over Pharaoh

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

“‘You are like a lion(C) among the nations;
    you are like a monster(D) in the seas(E)
thrashing about in your streams,
    churning the water with your feet
    and muddying the streams.(F)

“‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘With a great throng of people
    I will cast my net over you,
    and they will haul you up in my net.(G)
I will throw you on the land
    and hurl you on the open field.
I will let all the birds of the sky settle on you
    and all the animals of the wild gorge themselves on you.(H)
I will spread your flesh on the mountains
    and fill the valleys(I) with your remains.
I will drench the land with your flowing blood(J)
    all the way to the mountains,
    and the ravines will be filled with your flesh.(K)
When I snuff you out, I will cover the heavens
    and darken their stars;
I will cover the sun with a cloud,
    and the moon will not give its light.(L)
All the shining lights in the heavens
    I will darken(M) over you;
    I will bring darkness over your land,(N)
declares the Sovereign Lord.
I will trouble the hearts of many peoples
    when I bring about your destruction among the nations,
    among[a] lands you have not known.
10 I will cause many peoples to be appalled at you,
    and their kings will shudder with horror because of you
    when I brandish my sword(O) before them.
On the day(P) of your downfall
    each of them will tremble
    every moment for his life.(Q)

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

“‘The sword(R) of the king of Babylon(S)
    will come against you.(T)
12 I will cause your hordes to fall
    by the swords of mighty men—
    the most ruthless of all nations.(U)
They will shatter the pride of Egypt,
    and all her hordes will be overthrown.(V)
13 I will destroy all her cattle
    from beside abundant waters
no longer to be stirred by the foot of man
    or muddied by the hooves of cattle.(W)
14 Then I will let her waters settle
    and make her streams flow like oil,
declares the Sovereign Lord.
15 When I make Egypt desolate
    and strip the land of everything in it,
when I strike down all who live there,
    then they will know that I am the Lord.(X)

16 “This is the lament(Y) they will chant for her. The daughters of the nations will chant it; for Egypt and all her hordes they will chant it, declares the Sovereign Lord.”

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 32:9 Hebrew; Septuagint bring you into captivity among the nations, / to

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: 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)
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)
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)
I will strew your flesh on the mountains
    and fill the valleys with your carcass.[c]
I will drench the land with your flowing blood
    up to the mountains,
    and the watercourses will be filled with you.(D)
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)
All the shining lights of the heavens
    I will darken above you
    and put darkness on your land,
            says the Lord God.
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)

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Footnotes

  1. 32.2 Heb their
  2. 32.3 Gk Vg: Heb they
  3. 32.5 Symmachus Syr Vg: Heb your height
  4. 32.9 Gk: Heb bring your destruction