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31 2 A comparison of the prosperity of Pharaoh with the prosperity of the Assyrians. 10 He prophesieth a like destruction to them both.
1 And in the [a]eleventh year, in the third month, and in the first day of the month the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude, Whom art thou [b]like in thy greatness?
3 Behold, Assyria was like a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with thick shadowing boughs, and shot up very high, and his top was among the thick boughs.
4 The waters nourished him, and the deep exalted him on high with her rivers running round about his plants, and sent out her [c]little rivers unto all the trees of the [d]field.
5 Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees of the field, and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches were long, because of the multitude of the waters, which the deep sent out.
6 All the fowls of the heavens made their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all mighty nations.
7 Thus was he fair in his greatness, and in the length of his branches: for his root was near great waters.
8 The cedars in the garden [e]of God could not hide him: no fir tree was like his branches: and the chestnut trees were not like his boughs: all the trees in the garden of God were not like unto him in his beauty.
9 I made him fair by the multitude of his branches: so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied him.
10 Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Because [f]he is lifted up on high, and hath shot up his top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height,
11 I have therefore delivered him into the hands of the [g]mightiest among the heathen: he shall handle him, for I have cast him away for his wickedness.
12 And the strangers have destroyed him, even the terrible nations, and they have left him upon the mountains, and in all the valleys his branches are fallen, and his boughs are [h]broken by all the rivers of the land: and all the people of the earth are departed from his shadow, and have forsaken him.
13 Upon his ruin shall all the fowls of the heaven remain, and all the beasts of the field shall be upon his branches,
14 So that none of all the trees by the waters shall be exalted by their height, neither shall shoot up their top among the thick boughs, neither shall their leaves stand up in their height, which drink so much water: for they are all delivered unto death in the nether parts of the earth in the midst of the children of men among them that go down to the pit.
15 Thus saith the Lord God, In the day when he went down to hell, I caused them to mourn, and I [i]covered the deep for him, and I did restrain the floods thereof, and the great waters were stayed: I caused Lebanon to mourn for him, and all the trees of the field fainted.
16 I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell, with them that descend into the pit, and all the excellent trees of Eden, and the best of Lebanon: even all that are nourished with waters, shall [j]be comforted in the nether parts of the earth.
17 They also went down to hell with him unto them that were slain with the sword, and his arm, and they that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the heathen.
18 To whom [k]art thou thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? yet thou shalt be cast down with the trees of Eden unto the nether parts of the earth: thou shalt sleep in the midst of the [l]uncircumcised, with them that be slain by the sword: this is Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord God.
32 2 The Prophet is commanded to bewail Pharaoh King of Egypt. 12 He prophesieth that destruction shall come unto Egypt through the King of Babylon.
1 And in the [m]twelfth year in the twelfth month, and in the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou art like a [n]lion of the nations, and art as a [o]dragon in the sea: thou castedst out thy rivers [p]and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and stampedst in their rivers.
3 Thus saith the Lord God, (A)I will therefore spread my net over thee a great multitude of people, and they shall make thee come up into my net,
4 Then will I leave thee upon the land, and I will cast thee upon the open field, and I will cause all the fowls of the heaven to remain upon thee, and I will fill all the beasts of the field with thee.
5 And I will lay thy flesh upon the mountains, and fill the valleys [q]with thine height.
6 I will also water with thy blood the land wherein thou [r]swimmest, even to the mountains, and the rivers shall be full of thee.
7 And when I shall [s]put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark: (B)I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light.
8 All the lights of heaven will I make dark for thee, and bring [t]darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord God.
9 I will also trouble the hearts of many people, when I shall bring thy destruction among the nations, and upon the countries which thou hast not known.
10 Yea, I will make many people amazed at thee, and their kings shall be astonished with fear for thee, when I shall make my sword to glitter against their faces, and they shall be afraid at every moment: every man for his own life in the day of thy fall.
11 For thus saith the Lord God, The sword of the king of Babel shall come upon thee.
12 By the swords of the mighty will I cause thy multitude to fall: they all shall be terrible nations, and they shall destroy the [u]pomp of Egypt, and all the multitude thereof shall be consumed.
13 I will destroy also all the beasts thereof from the great watersides, neither shall the foot of man trouble them anymore, nor the hooves of beasts trouble them.
14 Then will I make [v]their waters deep, and cause their rivers to run like oil, saith the Lord God.
15 When I shall make the land of Egypt desolate, and the country with all that is therein, shall be laid waste: when I shall smite all them which dwell therein, then shall they know that I am the Lord.
16 This is the mourning wherewith they shall lament her: the daughters of the nations shall lament her: they shall lament for Egypt, and for all her multitude, saith the Lord God.
17 ¶ In the twelfth year also in the fifteenth day of the month, came the word of the Lord unto me, saying,
18 Son of man, lament for the multitude of Egypt, and [w]cast them down, even them and the daughters of the mighty nations under the nether parts of the earth, with them that go down into the pit.
19 Whom dost thou pass [x]in beauty? go down and sleep with the uncircumcised.
20 They shall fall in the midst of them that are slain by the sword: [y]she is delivered to the sword: draw her down, and all her multitude.
21 The most mighty and strong shall speak to [z]him out of the midst of hell with them that help her: they are gone down, and sleep with the uncircumcised that be slain by the sword.
22 Assyria is there and all his company: their graves are about him: all they are slain and fallen by the sword.
23 Whose graves are made in the side of the pit, and his multitude are round about his grave: all they are slain and fallen by the sword, which caused fear to be in the land of the living.
24 There is [aa]Elam and all his multitude round about his grave: all they are slain and fallen by the sword, which are gone down with the uncircumcised into the nether parts of the earth, which caused themselves to be feared in the land of the [ab]living, yet have they borne their shame with them that are gone down to the pit.
25 They have made his bed in the midst of the slain with all his multitude: their graves are round about him: all these uncircumcised are slain by the sword: though they have caused their fear in the land of the living, yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit: they are laid in the midst of them that be slain.
26 There is [ac]Meshech, Tubal, and all their multitude: their graves are round about them: all these uncircumcised were slain by the sword, though they caused their fear to be in the land of the living.
27 And they shall not lie with the valiant [ad]of the uncircumcised, that are fallen, which are gone down to the grave with their weapons of war, and have laid their swords under their heads, but their iniquity shall be upon their bones: because they were the fear of the mighty in the land of the living.
28 Yea, thou shalt be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised, and lie with them that are slain by the sword.
29 There is Edom, his kings, and all his princes, which with their strength are laid by them that were slain by the sword: they shall sleep with the uncircumcised, and with them that go down to the pit.
30 There be all the princes of the [ae]North, with all the Sidonians, which are gone down with the slain, with their fear: they are ashamed of their strength, and the uncircumcised sleep with them that be slain by the sword, and bear their shame with them that go down to the pit.
31 Pharaoh shall see them, and he shall be [af]comforted over all his multitude: Pharaoh, and all his army shall be slain by the sword, saith the Lord God.
32 For I have caused my [ag]fear to be in the land of the living: and he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised with them, that are slain by the sword, even Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord God.
33 2 The office of the governors and ministers. 14 He strengtheneth them that despair, and boldeneth them with the promise of mercy. 30 The word of the Lord against the mockers of the Prophet.
1 Again, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man [ah]from among them, and make him their [ai]watchman,
3 If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people,
4 Then he that heareth the sound of the trumpet, and will not be warned, if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.
5 For he heard the sound of the trumpet, and would not be admonished: therefore his blood shall be upon him: but he that receiveth warning, shall save his life.
6 But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned: if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away for his [aj]iniquity, but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.
7 (C)So thou, O son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore thou shalt hear the word at my [ak]mouth, and admonish them from me.
8 When I shall say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt die the death, if thou dost not speak and admonish the wicked of his way, that wicked man shall die for his iniquity, but his blood will I [al]require at thine hand.
9 Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it, if he do not turn from his way, he shall die for his iniquity, but thou hast delivered thy soul.
10 Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel, Thus ye speak and say, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we are consumed because of them, [am]how should we then live?
11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, [an]I desire not the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn you, turn you from your evil ways, for why will ye die, O ye house of Israel?
12 Therefore thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The [ao]righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression, nor the wickedness of the wicked shall cause him to fall therein, in the day that he returneth from his wickedness, neither shall the righteous live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth.
13 When I shall say unto the righteous, that he shall surely live, if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousness shall be no more remembered, but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for the same.
14 Again when I shall say unto the wicked, Thou shalt die the death, if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and [ap]right,
15 To wit, if the wicked restore the pledge, and give again that he had robbed, and walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity, he shall surely live, and not die.
16 None of his sins that he hath committed, shall be mentioned unto him: because he hath done that, which is lawful and right, he shall surely live.
17 Yet the children of thy people say, (D)The way of the Lord is not equal: but their own way is unequal.
18 When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby.
19 But if the wicked return from his wickedness, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby.
20 Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal, O ye house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways.
21 Also in the twelfth year of our [aq]captivity, in the tenth month, and in the fifth day of the month, one that had escaped out of Jerusalem, came unto me, and said, The city is smitten.
22 Now the [ar]hand of the Lord had been upon me in the evening afore he that had escaped, came, and had opened my mouth until he came to me in the morning: and when he had opened my [as]mouth, I was no more dumb.
23 Again the word of the Lord came unto me, and said,
24 Son of man, these that dwell in the desolate places of the land of Israel, talk and say, [at]Abraham was but one, and he possessed the land: but we are many, therefore the land shall be given us in possession.
25 Wherefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God, Ye eat with the [au]blood, and lifted up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood: should ye then possess the land?
26 Ye lean upon your [av]swords, ye work abomination, and ye defile every one his neighbor’s wife: should ye then possess the land?
27 Say thus unto them, Thus saith the Lord God, As I live, so surely they that are in the desolate places, shall fall by the sword: and him that is in the open field, will I give unto the beasts to be devoured: and they that be in the forts and in the caves, shall die of the pestilence.
28 For I will lay the land desolate and waste, and the (E)pomp of her strength shall cease: and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, and none shall pass through.
29 Then shall they know that I am the Lord, when I have laid the land desolate and waste, because of all their abominations, that they have committed.
30 Also thou son of man, the children of thy people that [aw]talk of thee by the walls and in the doors of houses, and speak one to another, everyone to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh from the Lord.
31 For they come unto thee, as the people useth to come: and my people sit before thee, and hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouths they make [ax]jests, and their heart goeth after their covetousness.
32 And lo, thou art unto them, as a [ay]jesting song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can sing well: for they hear thy words, but they do them not.
33 And when this cometh to pass (for lo, it will come) then shall they know, that a Prophet hath been among them.
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