Beginning
Chapter 31
Allegory of the Great Cypress. 1 In the eleventh year, on the first day of the third month, this word of the Lord was addressed to me: 2 Son of man, say to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and to his hordes:
What can compare in greatness with you?
3 Consider Assyria, formerly a cypress in Lebanon,
with beautiful branches and lofty in stature,
and its top above the thick foliage.
4 The waters nourished it;
deep springs caused it to grow tall;
those springs also made its rivers flow
around the place it was planted,
sending forth streams of water
to all the trees of the field.[a]
5 Therefore, it towered in height
above all other trees of the field.
Its branches grew long
because of the abundant water.
6 All the birds of the air
rested in its boughs.
Under its branches, all the wild animals of the field
gave birth to their young,
and numerous people of every race
dwelt in its shade.
7 It was beautiful and stately
in the length of its branches,
for its roots sank down
to a source of abundant water.
8 The cedars in the garden of God
could not compare with it,
nor could the fir trees equal its boughs.
No plane tree had such branches;
no tree in the garden of God
could equal its beauty.
9 I made it beautiful
with its mass of foliage;
it was the envy of all the trees in Eden
that were in the garden of God.
10 Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Because it grew to a towering stature, with its top reaching the clouds, and then became arrogant with pride about its height, 11 I handed it over to the prince of the nations.[b] I empowered him to deal with it as its wickedness deserves. I have rejected it.
12 Foreigners from the most barbarous nations cut it down and abandoned it. Its branches have fallen on the mountains and in all the valleys, and its boughs lie broken in every ravine throughout the land. All the peoples of the land fled from its shade and abandoned it.
13 On its fallen trunk
all the birds of the air rested,
and all the wild animals
sought shelter among its branches.
14 Thus, never again will any tree by the waters grow to a lofty height and stretch its top to the clouds, nor will any well-watered tree ever attain such a height.
For all of them are destined for death,
for the depths below,
along with all mortal beings
who go down to the abyss.
15 Thus says the Lord God: On the day it went down to Sheol, I closed the deep over it. I stopped its streams, and its mighty waters were held back. I cast gloom over Lebanon because of it, and all the trees of the countryside began to wither. 16 I made the nations quake at the sound of its fall when I hurled it down to Sheol with those who go down to the abyss. All the trees of Eden, the loveliest and the best of Lebanon, were consoled, all that were well watered. 17 Those who dwelt in its shade, its allies among the nations, went down with it to Sheol, to those killed by the sword.
18 Which among the trees of Eden was your equal in glory and greatness? Yet you have been hurled down with the trees of Eden to the world below. You shall lie in the company of the uncircumcised who have been slain by the sword. Thus, it will be for Pharaoh and all his hordes, says the Lord God.
Chapter 32
Lamentation over Pharaoh.[c] 1 In the twelfth year, on the first day of the twelfth month, this word of the Lord came to me: 2 Son of man, raise a lament for Pharaoh, the king of Egypt:
Lion of the nations, your end has come.
You are like a monster in the seas,
thrashing about in your streams,
churning up the water with your feet
and fouling the streams.
3 Thus says the Lord God:
When many nations are assembled,
I will throw my net over you
and haul you up in my seine.
4 I will throw you on the ground
and fling you onto an open field.
I will let all the birds of the air settle on you,
and I will urge all the beasts of the earth
to eat their fill of you.
5 I will strew your flesh on the mountains
and fill the valleys with your carcass.
6 I will drench the land with your flowing blood
all the way to the mountains,
and the riverbeds will be filled with your blood.
7 [d]When I blot you out,
I will cover the heavens,
and all their stars I will darken.
I will cover the sun with clouds,
and the moon shall not give its light.
8 All the shining lights in the heavens
I will dim because of you,
and I will spread darkness over your land,
says the Lord God.
9 I will grieve the hearts of many peoples
when I lead you as captives among the nations,
into countries unknown to you.
10 I will cause many peoples to be appalled at you,
and their kings will shudder in horror at your fate
when I brandish my sword in their presence.
On the day of your downfall,
each one will tremble for his life.
11 For thus says the Lord God:
The sword of the king of Babylon
will come against you.
12 I will demolish your hordes
with the swords of my warriors,
the most ruthless among the nations.
They shall cause the pride of Egypt to be shattered,
and all its hordes will be destroyed.
13 I will destroy all its livestock
on the shores of abundant waters.
No human foot will cause them further trouble,
nor shall the hooves of cattle disturb them.
14 Then I will make their waters crystal clear
and cause her streams to flow like oil,
says the Lord God.
15 When I have turned the land of Egypt
into a wasteland,
and when the land is stripped
of everything that was in it,
and when I strike down all its inhabitants,
then they shall know that I am the Lord.
16 This is a lamentation and it will be chanted;
the daughters of the nations[e] will chant it.
They shall raise the lamentation
over Egypt and all its hordes,
says the Lord God.
17 Lamentation over Egypt. On the fifteenth day of the first month in the twelfth year, this word of the Lord came to me:
18 Son of man, raise a cry of lament
over the hordes of Egypt
and the daughters of mighty nations
and consign them to the world below
with those who go down to the pit.
19 Say to them, “Whom do you surpass in beauty?
Go down and lie with the uncircumcised.”
20 They shall fall in the midst of those slain by the sword, and room will be made to accommodate them and their hordes. 21 From the depths of Sheol, the mighty leaders will say of Egypt and its allies, “They have come down, they and their allies; they lie there, the uncircumcised dead, slain by the sword.”
22 Assyria is there with all her hordes. Their graves surround her on all sides, all of them slaughtered, victims of the sword. 23 Their graves are located in the farthest depths of the pit, and her army lies around Egypt’s grave, all of them slain by the sword, after spreading terror in the land of the living.
24 Elam is there with all her hordes around Egypt’s grave, all of them slain by the sword. Having spread terror in the land of the living, they descended uncircumcised into the world below. They bear their shame with those who go down to the pit. 25 A bed has been made for Elam among the slain with all her hordes’ graves surrounding it. All of them were uncircumcised, and they were slain by the sword for having spread terror in the land of the living. They bear their shame with those who go down to the pit, and they have been placed among the slain.
26 Meshech and Tubal[f] are there with the graves of their followers all around them. All of them are uncircumcised, slain by the sword, for they spread terror in the land of the living. 27 They do not lie with the fallen warriors of ages past who went down to the netherworld with their weapons of war, whose swords were laid under their heads and whose shields were placed over their bones, since they filled the land of the living with terror. 28 Therefore, you will lie broken among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword.
29 Edom is there, with her kings and all her princes; who, despite their might, have been placed with those slain by the sword. They lie with the uncircumcised, with those who go down to the pit.
30 All of the princes of the north and all the Sidonians are there. They descended in shame with the slain because of all the terror that they caused by their might. They lie uncircumcised with those who were killed by the sword, and they bear their shame with those who descend into the pit.
31 When Pharaoh sees them, he will be comforted for all his hordes slain by the sword—Pharaoh and all his army, says the Lord God. 32 Since he spread terror throughout the land of the living, he will be laid among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword—Pharaoh and all his multitude, says the Lord God.
Israel’s Restoration[g]
Chapter 33
Ezekiel as Sentry. 1 This word of the Lord came to me: 2 Son of man, speak to your fellow countrymen and say to them: When I bring the sword upon a country, and the people of that country designate one of their number to be their watchman, 3 and if he sees the sword coming against that country and blows his trumpet to warn the people, 4 then if any who hear the sound of the trumpet pay no attention to the warning, and the sword comes against them and destroys them, they shall bear the responsibility for their own death.
5 Since they had heard the sound of the trumpet and nevertheless ignored the warning, their blood will be on their own heads. But if they had heeded the warning, they would have saved their lives. 6 However, if the watchman sees the sword coming and fails to blow the trumpet to warn the people, and the sword then comes and slays anyone, I will hold the watchman responsible for that person’s death.
7 I have appointed you, son of man, as a watchman for the house of Israel. Therefore, whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you must pass along my warning to them. 8 If I say to the wicked person, “You shall surely die,” and you do not speak up to warn that person to renounce his evil ways, he will die because of his guilt, but I will hold you responsible for his death. 9 However, if you warn a wicked person to renounce his ways and repent, and he fails to do so, then he will die for his guilt, but you will have saved your life.
10 Message of Conversion.[h] Son of man, say to the house of Israel: You continually complain, “Our crimes and our sins weigh heavily upon us, and we are wasting away because of them. How are we to go on living?” 11 Say to them: As I live, says the Lord God, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather in their decision to turn from their evil ways and live. Repent and turn from your evil ways. Why should you die, O house of Israel?
12 As for you, son of man, say to your countrymen: The virtue of a righteous man will not save him when he transgresses. Nor will the evil deeds of a wicked man cause his downfall once he renounces his wickedness, any more than the righteous will be able to live by their righteousness when they sin.
13 If I say to the righteous that they will surely live, but then they presume on their righteousness and commit iniquity, none of their righteous deeds will be remembered. Because of the wrong they have done, they will die.
14 Again, if I say to the wicked that they will surely die, and then they turn away from sin and do what is lawful and upright, 15 give back what they took in pledge for a loan, return what they have stolen, adhere to the practices that ensure life, and commit no wrongful acts, they shall surely live; they shall not die. 16 None of the previous sins they committed will be remembered against them. Because they have done what is lawful and upright, they shall surely live.
17 Yet your countrymen say, “The way of the Lord is not just,” when it is their own way that is not just. 18 When a virtuous man turns away from his righteous ways and does wrong, he shall die for it. 19 And when a wicked man turns from his wicked ways and does what is lawful and right, he shall live. 20 Yet you say, “The way of the Lord is not just.” I will judge each one of you according to your ways, O house of Israel.
21 The Fugitive from Jerusalem.[i] In the twelfth year of our exile, on the fifth day of the tenth month, a fugitive arrived from Jerusalem and said to me, “The city has fallen.” 22 The evening before the fugitive had arrived, the hand of the Lord had come on me, but he had opened my mouth by the time the fugitive had come to me in the morning. Therefore, my mouth was opened, and I was no longer unable to speak.
23 Desolation in Judah. This word of the Lord then came to me: 24 Son of man, those people who live in the ruins of the land of Israel say repeatedly, “Even though he was merely one person, Abraham received possession of this country. But we are many in number. Surely the land has been given to us as our possession.”
25 Tell them this in response: Thus says the Lord God: You consume meat with the blood still in it, you raise your eyes to worship idols, and you shed blood. Should you then be permitted to possess the land? 26 You rely on your swords, you engage in abominable practices, and each of you defiles his neighbor’s wife. Should you then be permitted to possess the land?
27 Give them this message: Thus says the Lord God: As I live, I swear that those who dwell in the ruins shall fall by the sword, those who live in the countryside I will give to the wild animals to be devoured, and those who inhabit dens and caves will die of the plague. 28 I will make the land a desolate waste, and its proud strength will come to an end. Furthermore, the mountains of Israel will be so desolate that no one will cross them. 29 Then they will know that I am the Lord when I have made the land a desolate waste because of all the abominable deeds that they have committed.
30 Ezekiel’s False Popularity. As for you, son of man, your fellow countrymen gossip incessantly about you along the walls and in the doorways of houses, saying to one another, “Let us go to hear what message the Lord has to give us.” 31 My people come to you, as they are accustomed to do. They sit down in front of you and listen to your words, but they refuse to obey them. They flatter you with their lips, but their hearts are only interested in dishonest gain.
32 To them you are like a singer of lovely songs with a beautiful voice and skill in playing a musical instrument. They listen to your words, but they refuse to obey them. 33 But when all this comes to pass—and that moment is soon approaching—they will know that a prophet has been in their midst.
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