Beginning
28 The word of Adonai came to me: 2 “Human being, tell the prince of Tzor that Adonai Elohim says:
‘Because you are so proud
and have said, “I am a god;
I sit on the throne of God,
surrounded by the sea”;
yet you are a man, not God,
even though you think that you think like God.
3 Sure, you are wiser than Dani’el!
No secret can be hidden from you!
4 By your wisdom and discernment
you have acquired wealth,
you have gathered gold and silver
into your treasuries.
5 By your great skill in trading
you have increased your wealth,
and it is because of your wealth
that you have become so proud.
6 “Therefore Adonai Elohim says,
‘Because you think that you think like God,
7 I will bring foreigners against you,
the most barbarous of the nations,
to draw their swords against your fine wisdom
and defile your splendor.
8 They will lower you into the pit to die
a violent death surrounded by the sea.
9 Will you still say, “I am God,”
to them who are about to kill you?
You are a man, you are not God,
in the hands of those who defile you.
10 You will die the deaths of the uncircumcised
at the hands of foreigners.
For I have spoken,’
says Adonai Elohim.”
11 The word of Adonai came to me: 12 “Human being, raise a lament for the king of Tzor, and tell him that Adonai Elohim says:
‘You put the seal on perfection;
you were full of wisdom and perfect in beauty;
13 you were in ‘Eden, the garden of God;
covered with all kinds of precious stones —
carnelians, topaz, diamonds,
beryl, onyx, jasper,
sapphires, green feldspar, emeralds;
your pendants and jewels were made of gold,
prepared the day you were created.
14 You were a keruv, protecting a large region;
I placed you on God’s holy mountain.
You walked back and forth
among stones of fire.
15 You were perfect in your ways
from the day you were created,
until unrighteousness
was found in you.
16 “‘When your commerce grew,
you became filled with violence;
and in this way you sinned.
Therefore I have thrown you out, defiled,
from the mountain of God;
I have destroyed you, protecting keruv,
from among the stones of fire.
17 Your heart grew proud because of your beauty,
you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.
But I have thrown you on the ground;
before kings I have made you a spectacle.
18 By your many crimes in dishonest trading,
you have profaned your sanctuaries;
therefore I brought forth fire from within you,
and it has devoured you;
I reduced you into ashes on the ground
in the sight of all who can see you.
19 All who know you among the peoples
will be aghast at you.
You are an object of terror,
and you will cease to exist.’”
20 The word of Adonai came to me: 21 “Human being, turn your face toward Tzidon, and prophesy against it. 22 Say that Adonai Elohim says:
‘I am against you, Tzidon;
but I will be glorified in you.
They will know that I am Adonai,
once I execute judgments in her
and show my holiness in her.
23 For I will send plagues into her,
and blood will flow in her streets;
attacked from all sides by the sword,
the wounded will fall within her.
Then they will know that I am Adonai.
24 “‘The house of Isra’el will no longer have a briar pricking away at them, no longer will any of its contemptuous neighbors be a thorn to stab them. Then they will know that I am Adonai Elohim.’
25 “Adonai Elohim says, ‘Once I have gathered the house of Isra’el from the peoples among whom they are scattered, once I have shown my holiness in them as the Goyim watch, then they will live in their own land, which I gave to my servant Ya‘akov. 26 They will have security when they live there, building houses and planting vineyards; yes, they will live in safety, once I have executed judgments against all their contemptuous neighbors. Then they will know that I am Adonai their God.’”
29 On the twelfth day of the tenth month of the tenth year, the word of Adonai came to me: 2 “Human being, turn your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt; prophesy against him and against all Egypt; 3 speak out; and say that Adonai Elohim says:
‘I am against you,
Pharaoh king of Egypt,
you big crocodile
lying in the streams of the Nile!
You say, “My Nile is mine;
I made it for myself.”
4 But I will put hooks in your jaws
and make your Nile fish stick to your scales.
Yes, I will bring you up from your Nile,
with all your Nile fish sticking to your scales,
5 and leave you in the desert,
you and all your Nile fish.
You will fall in the open field
and not be gathered or buried;
but I will give you as food
to wild animals and birds.
6 Then all who live in Egypt
will know that I am Adonai,
because they have been a support made of straw
for the house of Isra’el.
7 When they grasped you in hand, you splintered
and threw all their shoulders out of joint;
when they leaned on you, you broke
and made them all wrench their backs.’
8 “Therefore Adonai Elohim says, ‘I will bring the sword against you and eliminate both your people and your animals. 9 The land of Egypt will become a desolate waste, and they will know that I am Adonai; because he said, “The Nile is mine; I made it.” 10 So I am against you and your Nile; and I will make the land of Egypt a totally desolate waste from Migdol to S’venah, all the way to the border of Ethiopia. 11 No human foot will pass through it, and no animal foot will pass through it; it will be uninhabited for forty years. 12 Yes, I will make the land of Egypt desolate, even when compared with other desolate countries, likewise her cities in comparison with other ruined cities; they will be desolate forty years. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them through the countries.’
13 “For this is what Adonai Elohim says: ‘At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples where they were scattered — 14 I will restore the fortunes of Egypt and cause them to return to the land of their origin, Patros. But there they will be a humble kingdom, 15 the humblest of kingdoms. It will never again dominate other nations; I will reduce them, so that they never again rule other nations. 16 Moreover, they will no longer be a source of confidence for Isra’el to turn to; rather, it will only bring to mind their guilt in having turned to them before. Then they will know that I am Adonai Elohim.’”
17 On the first day of the first month of the twenty-seventh year, the word of Adonai came to me: 18 “Human being, N’vukhadretzar king of Bavel had his army mount a massive expedition against Tzor; [the loads of dirt they carried] made every head bald and every shoulder raw; yet neither he nor his army derived any benefit from Tzor out of this expedition against it. 19 Therefore Adonai Elohim says, ‘I will give the land of Egypt to N’vukhadretzar king of Bavel. He will carry off its riches, take its spoil and its prey; and these will be the wages for his army. 20 I am giving him the land of Egypt as his wages for which he worked, because they were working for me,’ says Adonai Elohim. 21 ‘When that day comes I will cause power to return to the house of Isra’el, and I will enable you [Yechezk’el] to open your mouth among them. Then they will know that I am Adonai.’”
30 The word of Adonai came to me: 2 “Human being, prophesy; say that Adonai Elohim says,
‘Wail, “Oh no! It’s today!”
3 For the day is near,
the Day of Adonai, a day of clouds,
the time of the Goyim.
4 The sword will come against Egypt,
and Ethiopia will be in anguish,
when the slain fall in Egypt,
when they take away her wealth,
and her foundations are torn down.
5 Ethiopia, Put and Lud,
all the mixed population and Kuv,
and the people of allied lands
will die by the sword with them.’
6 “Adonai says this:
‘Those supporting Egypt will fall;
its arrogant power will be brought down;
from Migdol to S’venah they will die by the sword,’
says Adonai Elohim.
7 “They will be desolate even when compared with other desolate countries, likewise her cities in comparison with other ruined cities. 8 They will know that I am Adonai when I set fire to Egypt, and those supporting it are destroyed. 9 When that day comes, I will send out messengers in ships to terrify the unsuspecting Ethiopians; and anguish will overcome them on the day of Egypt. Yes, here it comes!
10 “Adonai Elohim says:
‘I will destroy the hordes of Egypt
through N’vukhadretzar king of Bavel.
11 He and his people, the most barbarous of the nations,
will be brought in to ravage the land.
They will unsheathe their swords against Egypt
and fill the land with corpses.
12 I will dry up the streams of the Nile
and sell the land to the wicked.
Through the power of foreigners I will make the land
and all that is in it desolate.
I, Adonai, have spoken.’
13 “Here is what Adonai Elohim says:
‘I will destroy the idols,
make the false gods in Nof cease to exist.
No longer will there be a prince from the land of Egypt;
I will put fear in the land of Egypt,
14 desolate Patros, set fire to Tzo‘an,
execute judgements in No,
15 pour my fury on Seen the stronghold of Egypt,
and destroy the hordes of No.
16 Yes, I will set fire to Egypt;
Seen will writhe in anguish;
No will be torn apart;
enemies will attack Nof in broad daylight.
17 The young men of On and Pi-Veset
will die by the sword,
while the cities themselves
will go into captivity.
18 At T’chafn’ches the day will grow dark
when I break the yokes of Egypt there,
and the pride she takes in her power ceases.
A cloud will cover her,
and her daughters will go into captivity.
19 Thus will I execute judgments on Egypt.
Then they will know that I am Adonai.’”
20 On the seventh day of the first month of the eleventh year, the word of Adonai came to me: 21 “Human being, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; it has not been bound up with dressings and bandages, so that it can heal and become strong enough again to wield the sword. 22 Therefore Adonai Elohim says this: ‘I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt. I will break his arms, both the sound one and the broken one, and I will make the sword fall from his hand. 23 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. 24 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Bavel and put my sword in his hand; but I will break the arms of Pharaoh; he will groan like a man mortally wounded. 25 Yes, I will hold up the arms of the king of Bavel; but the arms of Pharaoh will droop. They will know that I am Adonai when I put my sword in the hand of the king of Bavel, and he stretches it out over the land of Egypt. 26 Yes, I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries; and they will know that I am Adonai.’”
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.