Beginning
Tyre’s King Is Expelled From Eden
28 The word of the Lord came to me. 2 Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre that this is what the Lord God says.
Because you became arrogant and said, “I am a god, and I occupy a throne of a god in the heart of the seas,” even though you are a mere man and not a god, and because you regard your wisdom as divine wisdom— 3 You really think you are wiser than Daniel, don’t you? No mystery baffles you. 4 By your wisdom and your shrewdness you have gained wealth for yourself and put gold and silver into your treasuries. 5 By your great skill in trading, you increased your wealth, but you became conceited because of your wealth.
6 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says. Because you regard your wisdom as divine wisdom, 7 therefore, I am about to bring foreigners against you, the most ruthless of nations. They will unsheathe their swords against your beautiful wisdom, and they will desecrate your radiant splendor. 8 They will cast you down to the pit, and you will die a violent death in the heart of the sea. 9 Will you still claim “I am a god” in the presence of the one who kills you? It will be clear that you are merely a man and not a god when you fall into the hands of those who run you through. 10 You will die a death like that of the uncircumcised by the hand of foreigners, for I have spoken, declares the Lord God.
11 The word of the Lord came to me.
12 Son of man, raise a lament over the king of Tyre. Say to him that this is what the Lord God says.
You were a seal of perfection, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. 13 You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every kind of precious stone was covering you: carnelian, diamond, emerald, topaz, onyx, jasper, sapphire, agate, and beryl.[a] Your mountings and your settings were worked in gold. They were prepared on the day you were created.
14 You were a cherub, the anointed guardian. I appointed you. You were on the holy mountain of God, and you walked about in the midst of sparkling stones. 15 Your conduct was blameless from the day you were created until guilt was found in you. 16 In your widespread trade, you practiced much violence and you sinned. I defiled you by banishing you from the mountain of God. I expelled you, you guardian cherub, from among the sparkling stones.
17 You became arrogant because of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom together with your splendor. So I hurled you down to the earth and set you in front of kings who gloated over you. 18 By your many sins during your unscrupulous trade, you defiled your sanctuaries. So I made fire break out from your midst, and it devoured you. I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of all who were watching. 19 All those among the people who knew you are appalled at you. You have become horrifying, and you will never exist again, forever.
An Oracle Against Sidon
20 The word of the Lord came to me.
21 Son of man, set your face toward Sidon, and prophesy against her. 22 Say that this is what the Lord God says.
I am against you, Sidon. I will display my glory in your midst, and they will know that I am the Lord, when I inflict punishments on you and display my holiness in you. 23 I will release the plague in her. There will be blood in her streets, and the slain will fall in her midst when the sword comes against her from all sides. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
Hope for Israel
24 Never again will the house of Israel be subjected to those who deride them, who are all around them like prickly briers or painful thorns. Then they will know that I am the Lord God.
25 This is what the Lord God says. When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples where they have been scattered, I will display my holiness through them in the sight of the nations. Then they will live on their own land, which I gave to my servant Jacob. 26 They will live on it in security. They will build houses and plant vineyards. They will live on it in security when I inflict judgments upon all those around them who despise them. Then they will know that I am the Lord, their God.
An Oracle Against Egypt
29 In the tenth year in the tenth month,[b] on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me.
2 Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt. 3 Speak and tell them that this is what the Lord God says.
I am against you, Pharaoh, king of Egypt, the great monster who stretches out in the channels[c] of the Nile. You say, “It is my Nile. I made it for myself.” 4 But I, the Lord, will put hooks in your jaws and make the fish of your Nile stick to your scales. I will haul you up from the middle of your Nile with all the fish from the Nile clinging to your scales. 5 I will leave you in the wilderness—you and all the fish of your Nile. You will lie fallen on the surface of the ground. You will not be collected or gathered up.[d] I will give you as food to the wild animals of the earth and to the birds of the air. 6 Then all the inhabitants of Egypt will know that I am the Lord.
For the house of Israel, the Egyptians have been a staff made out of a reed. 7 When Israel grasped you with their hands, you would splinter and tear open all their shoulders. When they leaned on you, you would break and make them lose their balance.[e] 8 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: I am about to bring a sword against you and cut off man and beast from you. 9 The land of Egypt will become a desolate ruin, and they will know that I am the Lord.
Because he said, “It is my Nile. I made it for myself,” 10 therefore, I am against you and against the channels of your Nile. I will turn the land of Egypt into ruins, a parched desolation—from Migdol to Aswan, that is, up to the border with Cush.[f] 11 No one will set foot in it. No animal will set foot in it. It will remain uninhabited for forty years. 12 I will make the land of Egypt more desolate than any other land, and its cities will be the most desolate of ruined cities for forty years. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the countries.
13 Furthermore, this is what the Lord God says. At the end of forty years, I will gather the Egyptians from among the peoples where they were scattered. 14 I will bring about the restoration of Egypt and return them to Upper Egypt,[g] the land of their origin, and there they will be a lowly kingdom. 15 It will be the lowliest of kingdoms, and it will never again exalt itself above other nations. I will make it so weak that it will never again rule over the nations. 16 It will never again be a source of trust for the house of Israel. It will be a reminder of their guilt when they turned to Egypt for help. Then they will know that I am the Lord God.
A Reward for Babylon
17 In the twenty-seventh year,[h] in the first month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me.
18 Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre. Every head was made bald, and every shoulder rubbed raw, yet neither he nor his army received any reward for the labor they had expended against Tyre.
19 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says. I am about to give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. He will carry off its wealth, plunder it, and pillage it. That will be the reward for his army. 20 As his pay for which he labored, I have given him the land of Egypt, because his army did it for me, declares the Lord God.
A Horn for Israel
21 On that day I will make a horn[i] sprout for the house of Israel, and I will open your mouth among them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
Egypt Will Fall
30 The word of the Lord came to me. 2 Son of man, prophesy and say, “This is what the Lord God says.”
All of you, wail! What a miserable day! 3 Yes, that day is near. The Day of the Lord is near. It will be a day of clouds, a time for the nations. 4 A sword will enter Egypt, and there will be anguish in Cush[j] when the slain fall in Egypt. Then they will take away its wealth, and its foundations will be demolished. 5 Cush, Put,[k] Lud,[l] and all the other mercenaries,[m] Libya[n] and the men from the land of the covenant[o] will fall by the sword along with them.
6 This is what the Lord says. Those who prop up Egypt will fall, and its proud power will sink down. From Migdol to Aswan, those in Egypt will fall by the sword, declares the Lord God. 7 It will be the most desolate among the desolate lands, and its cities will be the most ruined among the ruined cities. 8 They will know that I am the Lord when I set fire to Egypt, and all its helpers are crushed. 9 On that day, messengers will go out from me in ships to terrify confident Cush, and there will be panic among them on the day for Egypt, for it is surely coming.
10 This is what the Lord God says. I will put an end to the horde of Egypt by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. 11 He and his army with him, the most ruthless of nations, will be brought in to destroy the land. They will unsheathe their swords against Egypt and fill the land with the fallen. 12 I will dry up the channels of the Nile and sell the land to evil men. I will devastate the land and everything in it by the hand of foreigners. I, the Lord, have spoken.
13 This is what the Lord God says. I will destroy the filthy idols[p] and eliminate from Memphis the gods that are not gods. There will no longer be a ruler in the land of Egypt, and I will put fear into the land of Egypt. 14 I will desolate Upper Egypt.[q] I will set fire to Zoan and inflict punishments on Thebes.[r] 15 I will pour out my wrath on Pelusium, the stronghold of Egypt, and I will cut off the horde of Thebes. 16 I will set fire to Egypt. Pelusium will writhe in pain. The defenses of Thebes will be broken down, and Memphis will face enemies every day. 17 The young men of Heliopolis and Bubastis will fall by the sword, and the women[s] will go into captivity. 18 At Tahpanhes the day will grow dark when I break the yokes[t] of Egypt there, and there its proud power will cease. A cloud will cover it, and its daughters will go into captivity. 19 I will inflict judgment on Egypt. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
Pharaoh’s Arm Will Be Broken
20 In the eleventh year,[u] in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me.
21 Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. But it has not been wrapped up so that it can heal. It has not been wrapped tightly with a splint to help it heal, so that it can become strong enough to grasp a sword.
22 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says. I am against Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and I will break his arms, both the strong one and the one that was broken, and in this way I will cause the sword to fall from his hand. 23 I will scatter Egypt among the nations and disperse them among the countries. 24 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put my sword into his hand. But I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan in the presence of the king of Babylon with groans like someone who is mortally wounded. 25 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will hang limp. They will know that I am the Lord when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt. 26 I will scatter Egypt among the nations and disperse them among the countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.