Beginning
God warns the king of Tyre
28 The Lord gave this message to me: 2 ‘Son of man, say this to the ruler of Tyre. “This is what the Almighty Lord says:
You are a very proud man.
You say, ‘I am a god and Tyre is my throne.
I rule over all the seas around me.’
But, whatever you think, you are only a man. You are not a god.
3 You think that you are wiser than Daniel,
and that you know all secrets.
4 You have been wise and clever enough to make yourself rich.
You have stored much gold and silver in your palace.
5 Because you are a clever trader,
you have become even richer.
And because of your riches, you have become very proud.
6 So this is what the Almighty Lord says:
You think that you are as wise as a god.
7 So listen! I will bring a foreign army to attack you.
They will be a very cruel enemy.
They will use their swords to destroy your beautiful city.
They will spoil the beautiful things that you have used your wisdom to get for yourselves.
8 They will kill you violently in battle,
and the sea will become your grave.
9 When your enemies attack you,
you will no longer say, ‘I am a god.’
When they are ready to kill you,
you will know that you are only human.
10 Foreign people will kill you.
You will die like people who do not belong to me.
I, the Almighty Lord have said this.” ’
11 The Lord gave this message to me: 12 ‘Son of man, sing this funeral song about the king of Tyre. Tell him, “This is what the Almighty Lord says:
At one time, you were the example of a good man.
You were completely wise and beautiful.
13 You lived in God's beautiful garden, Eden.
You wore valuable jewels on your clothes.
The jewels were ruby, topaz, emerald,
chrysolite, onyx, jasper,
sapphire, turquoise and beryl.[a]
They were fixed to pieces of gold.
They were ready for you to wear on the day that you were born.
14 I put you there with a cherub to be your guard.
You lived on my holy mountain.
You walked among the stones that burned with fire.
15 Everything that you did was completely good
from the day that you were born.
But later, you started to do wicked things.
16 As a trader, you bought and sold many things.
As a result, you became violent and you did evil things.
So I sent you away in shame.
I would not allow you to remain on my mountain.
The cherub that had been your guard chased you out.
You could no longer walk among the stones that burned with fire.
17 But because you were so beautiful, you were very proud.
You used your wisdom to do bad things,
because you loved to have beautiful things.
So I threw you down to the ground.
I let other kings see what had happened to you.
18 As a trader, you did many wrong things to cheat people.
Your holy places became unclean.
So I caused fire to completely destroy your city.
Everyone could see that only ashes remained on the ground.
19 All the people of other nations who knew you are very afraid.
They have seen the terrible thing that has happened to you.
You have come to a complete end and you will never return.” ’
God warns Sidon[b]
20 The Lord gave this message to me: 21 ‘Son of man, turn and look towards Sidon. Tell them my message to warn them. 22 Say, “This is what the Almighty Lord says:
Listen! I have become your enemy, Sidon.
I will show your people how great I am.
Then they will know that I am the Lord.
I will punish your people for their sins
so that they know that I am a holy God.
23 I will cause disease to kill people in the city.
Enemies will attack from all around the city,
and people will die in the streets.
Then they will know that I am the Lord.
24 Israel will no longer suffer because of the nations that are around them. Those nations will not be like sharp thorns that give the Israelites pain. They will not insult the Israelites any more. Then they will know that I am the Almighty Lord.
25 This is what the Almighty Lord says: I will bring Israel's people back from the countries where I sent them to live. Then all the nations will see that I am a holy God for my people. My people will live in their own land that I gave to my servant, Jacob.[c] 26 They will live there safely. They will build houses and they will plant vineyards. I will punish all the nations around them who have insulted them. Then my people will live safely in their homes. And they will know that I am the Lord their God.” ’
God warns Egypt
29 The Lord gave this message to me on the 12th day of the 10th month of the 10th year: 2 ‘Son of man, turn and look towards Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. You must speak my message to warn him and all Egypt's people. 3 Tell them, “The Almighty Lord says this:
Listen, Pharaoh, king of Egypt, I have become your enemy.
You are like the great monster that lies in Egypt's streams.
You say, ‘The Nile river belongs to me! I made it for myself.’
4 But I will put hooks into your mouth and catch you.
I will cause the fish in your streams to hang on your scales.[d]
I will pull you out from the streams with all those fish on you.
5 I will leave you in the wilderness with all your fish.
You will lie on the ground in the open fields.
Nobody will pick you up or take care of you.
I will give you to the wild animals and birds to be their food.
6 Then all the people who live in Egypt will know that I am the Lord. Israel's people thought that you would help them. But you were only like a weak stick for them. 7 When they wanted you to hold them up, you broke into pieces. Your sharp pieces tore their shoulders. When they held on to you, you caused their legs to shake.
8 So this is what the Almighty Lord says: I will bring am army to attack you. I will use them to kill all your men and your animals. 9 The land of Egypt will become an empty place. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
You said, ‘The Nile river belongs to me. I made it for myself.’ 10 Because of that, I have become the enemy of you and your streams. I will destroy the land of Egypt. It will be an empty place, and its buildings will become heaps of stones. I will do that everywhere, from Migdol to Aswan and as far as Ethiopia's border. 11 No men or animals will walk through that land. Nobody will live there for 40 years. 12 Egypt will become like a desert among empty lands. Its cities will be empty for 40 years, among cities that have become heaps of stones. I will cause the Egyptians to go and live among other nations in places far away.
13 But this is what the Almighty Lord says: After 40 years, I will bring the Egyptians back from the places where I sent them. 14 I will bring them back home to live in peace. I will bring them to Pathros, the land of their ancestors. There they will be a weak kingdom. 15 Egypt will be the least important of all kingdoms. It will never again have power over other nations. I will make it too weak to rule over other nations. 16 Israel will never again hope that Egypt has the power to help them. Instead, Egypt will cause Israel's people to remember their sin. Their sin was to ask Egypt for help. Then they will know that I am the Almighty Lord.” ’
17 The Lord gave this message to me on the first day of the first month of the 27th year: 18 ‘Son of man, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked the city of Tyre with his army. His soldiers had to work very hard. They carried heavy loads so that it hurt their heads and their shoulders. They had a lot of pain. But they did not get anything valuable from Tyre, even though they worked so hard.
19 So this is what the Almighty Lord says: Listen! I will give the land of Egypt to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. He will take away all its riches and its valuable things. He will take all those things to pay the soldiers of his army. 20 I will give Egypt to him to pay him for his work. When his army attacked Tyre, they did that work for me. That is what the Almighty Lord says.
21 At that time, I will make Israel a powerful nation again. Then I will give you a message to speak to them, Ezekiel. They will listen to what you say. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’
A funeral song for Egypt
30 The Lord gave this message to me: 2 ‘Son of man, prophesy to the people. Say to them, “This is what the Almighty Lord says:
Weep and cry aloud, ‘Help! The day of great trouble is coming!’
3 Yes, that day will be very soon. It is the day of the Lord.
It will be a day of dark clouds,
when the Lord will punish the nations.
4 An enemy army will attack Egypt.
The people of Ethiopia will be afraid.
Many people in Egypt will die in the battle.
Enemies will carry away Egypt's riches.
They will knock down Egypt's buildings.
5 Soldiers from other nations will also die in the battle.
They are soldiers from Ethiopia, Put, Lydia, Libya, and Arabia,
as well as men who belong to my own people.
6 This is what the Lord says:
All the people who help Egypt will die in the battle.
Egypt will no longer be proud of her great power.
Egypt's soldiers will die everywhere, from Migdol to Aswan.
That is what the Almighty Lord says.
7 Egypt will become like a desert among other deserts.
Its cities will become heaps of stones.
8 I will burn Egypt with fire.
I will destroy all those who fight to help Egypt.
Then they will know that I am the Lord.
9 At that time, I will send messengers in ships to Ethiopia. I will stop the Ethiopian people being proud of their power. Instead, the news about Egypt's trouble will make them very afraid. That day is coming soon! Be careful!
10 This is what the Almighty Lord says:
I will use King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon to destroy Egypt's army.
11 The king and his army will come to destroy the land.
They are a nation of cruel people.
They will attack Egypt's people with their swords.
They will fill the land with dead bodies.
12 I will cause the Nile river to become dry.
I will put the land under the power of evil men.
Foreigners will destroy the land of Egypt
and everything that is in it.
That is what I, the Lord, say.
13 The Almighty Lord says this:
I will destroy Egypt's idols and the false gods in Memphis.
Egypt will no longer have its own ruler.
I will cause Egypt's people to be very afraid.
14 I will make Pathros a desert.
I will burn Zoan with fire.
I will punish the city of Thebes.
15 I will punish Egypt's strong city of Pelusium.
I will show the people there that I am very angry.
I will destroy all the soldiers in Thebes.
16 Yes, I will destroy all of Egypt with fire!
The people of Pelusium will suffer with great pain.
Enemies will knock down the walls of Thebes.
The people of Memphis will live in fear every day.
17 The young men of Heliopolis and Bubastis will die in the war.
Enemies will take the other people from those cities as their prisoners.
18 It will be a very dark day in Tahpanhes
when I destroy Egypt's strength.
Egypt will not be proud of her great power any more.
A dark cloud will cover the land.
Enemies will take away the people from Egypt's villages as prisoners.
19 That is how I will punish Egypt.
Then they will know that I am the Lord.” ’
20 The Lord gave this message to me on the 7th day of the first month, in the 11th year:
21 ‘Son of man, I have removed the strength of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. It is as if I have broken his arm and nobody has helped it to mend. He will never again have the power to fight battles. 22 So this is what the Almighty Lord says: Listen! I have become the enemy of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. I will make him like a man with two broken arms. I will break his strong arm and his broken arm. He will not be able to fight at all! 23 I will cause the Egyptian people to run away to live in foreign countries. 24 I will make the king of Babylon powerful, to fight battles on my behalf. But I will cause Pharaoh to be weak. He will cry in pain when the king of Babylon attacks. He will receive wounds that cause him to die. 25 Yes, I will make the king of Babylon strong. But Pharaoh, king of Egypt, will become weak. I will give the king of Babylon power to fight on my behalf. He will use that power to attack Egypt. Then they will know that I am the Lord. 26 I will send the Egyptian people away to many different countries. They will live among other nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord. ’
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