Beginning
A Prophecy Against the King of Tyre
28 The Lord’s message came to me: 2 “Son of man, say to the prince[a] of Tyre, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“‘Your heart is proud[b] and you said, “I am a god;[c]
I sit in the seat of gods, in the heart of the seas”—
yet you are a man and not a god,
though you think you are godlike.[d]
3 Look, you are wiser than Daniel;[e]
no secret is hidden from you.[f]
4 By your wisdom and understanding you have gained wealth for yourself;
you have amassed gold and silver in your treasuries.
5 By your great skill[g] in trade you have increased your wealth,
and your heart is proud because of your wealth.
6 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
Because you think you are godlike,[h]
7 I am about to bring foreigners[i] against you, the most terrifying of nations.
They will draw their swords against the grandeur made by your wisdom,[j]
and they will defile your splendor.
8 They will bring you down to the Pit, and you will die violently[k] in the heart of the seas.
9 Will you still say, “I am a god,” before the one who kills you—
though you are a man and not a god—
when you are in the power of those who wound you?
10 You will die the death of the uncircumcised[l] by the hand of foreigners;
for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”
11 The Lord’s message came to me: 12 “Son of man, sing[m] a lament for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“‘You were the sealer[n] of perfection,
full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
13 You were in Eden, the garden of God.[o]
Every precious stone was your covering,
the ruby, topaz, and emerald,
the chrysolite, onyx, and jasper,
the sapphire, turquoise, and beryl;[p]
your settings and mounts were made of gold.
On the day you were created they were prepared.
14 I placed you there with an anointed[q] guardian[r] cherub;[s]
you were on the holy mountain of God;
you walked about amidst fiery stones.
15 You were blameless in your behavior[t] from the day you were created,
until sin was discovered in you.
16 In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence,[u] and you sinned;
so I defiled you and banished you[v] from the mountain of God—
the guardian cherub expelled you[w] from the midst of the stones of fire.
17 Your heart was proud because of your beauty;
you corrupted your wisdom on account of your splendor.
I threw you down to the ground;
I placed you before kings, that they might see you.
18 By the multitude of your iniquities, through the sinfulness of your trade,
you desecrated your sanctuaries.
So I drew fire out from within you;
it consumed you,
and I turned you to ashes on the earth
before the eyes of all who saw you.
19 All who know you among the peoples are shocked at you;
you have become terrified and will be no more.’”
A Prophecy Against Sidon
20 The Lord’s message came to me: 21 “Son of man, turn toward[x] Sidon[y] and prophesy against it. 22 Say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“‘Look, I am against you,[z] Sidon,
and I will magnify myself in your midst.
Then they will know that I am the Lord
when I execute judgments on her
and reveal my sovereign power[aa] in her.
23 I will send a plague into the city[ab] and bloodshed into its streets;
the slain will fall within it, by the sword that attacks it[ac] from every side.
Then they will know that I am the Lord.
24 “‘No longer will Israel suffer from the sharp briers[ad] or painful thorns of all who surround and scorn them.[ae] Then they will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.
25 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When I regather the house of Israel from the peoples where they are dispersed, I will reveal my sovereign power[af] over them in the sight of the nations, and they will live in their land that I gave to my servant Jacob. 26 They will live securely in it; they will build houses and plant vineyards. They will live securely[ag] when I execute my judgments on all those who scorn them and surround them. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God.’”
A Prophecy Against Egypt
29 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month,[ah] the Lord’s message came to me: 2 “Son of man, turn toward[ai] Pharaoh king of Egypt and prophesy against him and against all Egypt. 3 Tell them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“‘Look, I am against[aj] you, Pharaoh king of Egypt,
the great monster[ak] lying in the midst of its waterways,
who has said, “My Nile is my own, I made it for myself.”[al]
4 I will put hooks in your jaws
and stick the fish of your waterways to your scales.
I will haul you up from the midst of your waterways,
and all the fish of your waterways will stick to your scales.
5 I will leave you in the wilderness,
you and all the fish of your waterways;
you will fall in the open field and will not be gathered up or collected.[am]
I have given you as food to the beasts of the earth and the birds of the skies.
6 Then all those living in Egypt will know that I am the Lord
because they were a reed staff[an] for the house of Israel;
7 when they grasped you with their hand,[ao] you broke and tore[ap] their shoulders,
and when they leaned on you, you splintered and caused their legs to be unsteady.[aq]
8 “‘Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to bring a sword against you, and I will kill[ar] every person and every animal. 9 The land of Egypt will become a desolate ruin. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
“‘Because he said, “The Nile is mine and I made it,” 10 I am against[as] you and your waterways. I will turn the land of Egypt into an utter desolate ruin from Migdol[at] to Syene,[au] as far as the border with Ethiopia. 11 No human foot will pass through it, and no animal’s foot will pass through it; it will be uninhabited for forty years. 12 I will turn the land of Egypt into a desolation in the midst of desolate lands; for forty years her cities will lie desolate in the midst of ruined cities. I will scatter Egypt among the nations and disperse them among foreign countries.
13 “‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: At the end of forty years[av] I will gather Egypt from the peoples where they were scattered. 14 I will restore the fortunes of Egypt and will bring them back[aw] to the land of Pathros, to the land of their origin; there they will be an insignificant kingdom. 15 It will be the most insignificant of the kingdoms; it will never again exalt itself over the nations. I will make them so small that they will not rule over the nations. 16 It will never again be Israel’s source of confidence, but a reminder of how they sinned by turning to Egypt for help.[ax] Then they will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.’”
17 In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month,[ay] the Lord’s message came to me: 18 “Son of man, King Nebuchadrezzar[az] of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre.[ba] Every head was rubbed bald and every shoulder rubbed bare; yet he and his army received no wages from Tyre for the work he carried out against it. 19 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to give the land of Egypt to King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon. He will carry off her wealth, capture her loot, and seize her plunder; it will be his army’s wages. 20 I have given him the land of Egypt as his compensation for attacking Tyre,[bb] because they did it for me, declares the Sovereign Lord. 21 On that day I will make Israel powerful,[bc] and I will give you the right to be heard[bd] among them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
A Lament Over Egypt
30 The Lord’s message came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“‘Wail, “Alas, the day is here!”[be]
3 For the day is near,
the day of the Lord is near;
it will be a day of storm clouds,[bf]
it will be a time of judgment[bg] for the nations.
4 A sword will come against Egypt
and panic will overtake Ethiopia
when the slain fall in Egypt
and they carry away her wealth
and dismantle her foundations.
5 Ethiopia, Put, Lud, all the foreigners,[bh] Libya, and the people[bi] of the covenant land[bj] will die by the sword along with them.
6 “‘This is what the Lord says:
Egypt’s supporters will fall;
her confident pride will crumble.[bk]
From Migdol to Syene[bl] they will die by the sword within her,
declares the Sovereign Lord.
7 They will be desolate among desolate lands,
and their cities will be among ruined cities.
8 They will know that I am the Lord
when I ignite a fire in Egypt
and all her allies are defeated.[bm]
9 “‘On that day messengers will go out from me in ships to frighten overconfident Ethiopia; panic will overtake them on the day of Egypt’s doom;[bn] for beware—it is coming!
10 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
I will put an end to the hordes of Egypt,
by the hand of King Nebuchadrezzar[bo] of Babylon.
11 He and his people with him,
the most terrifying of the nations,[bp]
will be brought there to destroy the land.
They will draw their swords against Egypt,
and fill the land with corpses.
12 I will dry up the waterways
and hand the land over to[bq] evil men.
I will make the land and everything in it desolate by the hand of foreigners.
I, the Lord, have spoken!
13 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
I will destroy the idols,
and put an end to the gods of Memphis.
There will no longer be a prince from the land of Egypt;
so I will make the land of Egypt fearful.[br]
14 I will desolate Pathros,
I will ignite a fire in Zoan,
and I will execute judgments on Thebes.
15 I will pour out my anger upon Pelusium,[bs]
the stronghold of Egypt;
I will cut off[bt] the hordes of Thebes.
16 I will ignite a fire in Egypt;
Syene[bu] will writhe in agony,
Thebes will be broken down,
and Memphis will face enemies every day.
17 The young men of On and of Pi Beseth[bv] will die by the sword;
and the cities will go[bw] into captivity.
18 In Tahpanhes the day will be dark[bx]
when I break the yoke of Egypt there.
Her confident pride will cease within her;
a cloud will cover her, and her daughters will go into captivity.
19 I will execute judgments on Egypt.
Then they will know that I am the Lord.’”
20 In the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month,[by] the Lord’s message came to me: 21 “Son of man, I have broken the arm[bz] of Pharaoh king of Egypt.[ca] Look, it has not been bandaged for healing or set with a dressing so that it might become strong enough to grasp a sword. 22 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look,[cb] I am against[cc] Pharaoh king of Egypt, and I will break his arms, the strong arm and the broken one, and I will make the sword drop from his hand. 23 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among foreign countries. 24 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and I will place my sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan like the fatally wounded before the king of Babylon.[cd] 25 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fall limp. Then they will know that I am the Lord when I place my sword in the hand of the king of Babylon and he extends it against the land of Egypt. 26 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among foreign countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
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