Bible in 90 Days
40 What is worse,[a] they sent for men who come[b] from a distant place, to whom a messenger was sent to them, and look! They came! Men for whom you bathed and painted your eyes, and you adorned yourself with an ornament. 41 And you sat on a magnificent couch and a table prepared before her,[c] and my incense and my olive oil you put on her.[d] 42 And a sound of a carefree crowd was with it,[e] and in addition to these men, a crowd of drunken men[f] was brought in[g] from the desert,[h] and they put bracelets on their arms and a crown of splendor on their heads. 43 And I said to[i] the one worn out with adulteries, ‘Now they will prostitute her concerning her fornication, even her.’[j] 44 And so they went to her like going to a female[k] prostitute; and thus they went to Oholah and to Oholibah, the women of obscene conduct. 45 But righteous men, they will judge them with the judgment of committing adultery, and with the judgment of shedding blood; for they were committing adultery, and blood was on their hands.”
46 For thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Bring up against them an assembly, and make them as a thing of horror and as plunder. 47 And an assembly must stone them with stones,[l] and they must cut them down. With their swords they shall kill their sons and their daughters, and with fire they shall burn their houses. 48 And I will cause obscene conduct to cease from the land,[m] and all of the women will be warned, and they will not do according to your wickedness. 49 And they will repay your obscene conduct upon you, and the guilt of your idols you will bear, and you will know that I am the Lord Yahweh.
The Boiling Pot and the Death of Ezekiel’s Wife
24 And the word of Yahweh came[n] to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, saying,[o] 2 “Son of man,[p] write for yourself the name of the day, this very day.[q] The king of Babylon laid siege to Jerusalem on exactly this day! 3 And deliver a proverb[r] to the rebellious house,[s] and you must say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Place the pot! Place it and also pour water into it. 4 Gather its pieces to it, every good piece, thigh and shoulder, fill it with choice bones; 5 take the choicest of the flock, and also pile the bones[t] under it; boil it vigorously;[u] indeed,[v] its bones boiled in the midst of it.”’”
6 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Woe to the city of bloodguilt! A pot that has its rust in it; its rust did not go out from it.[w] Bring it out piece by piece;[x] one is as good as another.[y] 7 For her blood was in the midst of her; she put it on a bare rock;[z] she did not pour it on the ground to cover it with dust.[aa] 8 To stir up rage, to avenge myself through vengeance, I placed its blood on the barrenness of a rock, so that it may not be covered.”[ab]
9 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Woe to the city of bloodguilt! I, even I, will make the pile of wood great! 10 Pile up the logs; kindle the fire; finish cooking the meat, and mix in the spices, and let the bones be burned.[ac] 11 And make it stand[ad] empty upon its burning coals so that it may become hot, and its copper may become molten and be melted in the midst of it,[ae] so that its uncleanness and its rust be consumed. 12 Through effort she has caused weariness; its thick rust[af] went not out of it. Its rust! Into the fire with its rust! 13 In your uncleanness is obscene conduct, because I cleansed you, but you were not clean from your uncleanness; you will not be clean again until I fully vent my rage[ag] on you. 14 I, Yahweh, I have spoken. It is coming, and I did it; I will not disregard, and I will not take pity, and I will not reconsider. According to your ways and according to your deeds they will judge you!”[ah] declares[ai] the Lord Yahweh.
15 And the word of Yahweh came[aj] to me, saying,[ak] 16 “Son of man,[al] look! I am taking from you what is pleasing to your eyes with a plague,[am] but you shall not mourn, and you shall not weep, and your tears shall not run down. 17 Sigh in silence for the dead; you shall not make a mourning ceremony. Bind your turban on you, and you must put your sandals on your feet. You must not cover your upper lip,[an] and the bread of mourners[ao] you shall not eat.” 18 And I spoke to the people in the morning, and my wife died in the evening, and I did in the morning just as[ap] I was commanded. 19 And the people said to me, “Will you not make known to us what these things that you are doing mean for us?” 20 And I said to them that the word of Yahweh came[aq] to me, saying,[ar] 21 “Say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I will be profaning my sanctuary, the pride of your strength and the delight of your eyes and the object of your own[as] affection; and your sons and your daughters whom you left behind will fall by the sword, 22 and you shall do just as[at] I did: You shall not cover your upper lip,[au] and you shall not eat the bread of mourners.[av] 23 And your turban must be on your heads, and your sandals must be on your feet. You shall not mourn, and you shall not weep, but you shall waste away because of your iniquities, and you shall groan to one another.[aw] 24 And Ezekiel will be to you as a sign; everything that he did[ax] you shall do; and when it comes you will know that I am the Lord Yahweh.
25 “And you, son of man,[ay] will it not be that on the day when I take from them[az] their stronghold, the joy of their glory, the delight of their eyes, and the longing of their inner self,[ba] their sons and daughters— 26 on that day a survivor will come to you with the news.[bb] 27 On that day your mouth shall be opened at the arrival of the fugitive,[bc] and you shall speak, and you shall not be silent any longer, and you shall be to them as a sign, and they will know that I am Yahweh.”
Judgment upon Various Gentile Nations
25 And the word of Yahweh came[bd] to me, saying,[be] 2 “Son of man,[bf] set your face toward the Ammonites[bg] and prophesy against them, 3 and you must say to the Ammonites,[bh] ‘Hear the word of the Lord Yahweh! Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Because of your saying, ‘Ah!’ to my sanctuary when it was profaned, and to the land of Israel when it was[bi] desolate, and to the house of Judah when they went into the exile, 4 therefore look! I am giving you to the people[bj] of the East as a possession, and they will set up their encampments in you, and they will make in you their dwelling places; they themselves[bk] will eat your fruit and they themselves[bl] will drink your milk. 5 And I will make Rabbah as a pasture of camels and the Ammonites[bm] as a haunt of flocks, and they will know that I am Yahweh.”’” 6 For thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Because of clapping your hand and stamping with your foot, and because you rejoiced in[bn] yourself with all of your malice over the land of Israel, 7 therefore look! I stretched out my hand against you, and I will give you as plunder[bo] to the nations, and I will cut you off from the peoples, and I will destroy you from the countries, and I will wipe you out, and you will know that I am Yahweh.”
8 Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Because of Moab and Seir saying, ‘The house of Judah is like all of the nations,’ 9 therefore, look! I am opening the side of[bp] Moab from the cities on its frontier, the glory of the land: Beth Jeshimoth, Baal Meon, and Kiriathaim. 10 I will give it to the people[bq] of the East in addition to the Ammonites[br] as a possession, so that the Ammonites[bs] will not be remembered among the nations. 11 And on Moab I will execute punishments, and they will know that I am Yahweh.”
12 Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Because of the doings of Edom in avenging himself with vengeance for[bt] the house of Judah, and so they became very guilty and[bu] they avenged themselves on them,” 13 therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: “so[bv] I will stretch out my hand against Edom and I will cut off from it both human and animal, and I will make it a ruin from Teman and Dedan; they will fall by the sword. 14 And I will exact my vengeance on Edom by the hand of my people Israel, and they will do in Edom according to my anger and according to my rage, and they will know my vengeance,” declares[bw] the Lord Yahweh.
15 Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Because of the acting[bx] of the Philistines in vengeance, so that they avenged themselves relentlessly with malice in themselves for destruction with everlasting hostility,[by] 16 therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘Look! I am stretching out my hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the Kerethites, and I will destroy the remainder of the seacoast.[bz] 17 And I will execute on them great vengeance with punishments of rage, and they will know that I am Yahweh when I exact my vengeance on them!”
Ezekiel Prophesies Against Tyre
26 And it was in the eleventh[ca] year, on the first day of the month, the word of Yahweh came[cb] to me, saying,[cc] 2 “Son of man,[cd] because[ce] Tyre said concerning Jerusalem, ‘Ah! The gates of the peoples are broken; it has swung open to me; I shall be filled, for it lies in ruins!’ 3 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘Look! I am against you, Tyre, and I will bring up against you many nations like the stirring up of the sea stirring up its waves.[cf] 4 And I will destroy the walls of Tyre, and they will demolish its towers, and I will scrape away its earthen dirt from it, and I will make it into a bare rock.[cg] 5 It will become a place for spreading out dragnets in the midst of the sea; for I have spoken,’ declares[ch] the Lord Yahweh. ‘And it will become as plunder for the nations, 6 and its daughters who are in the field with the sword, they will be killed; and they will know that I am Yahweh.’”
7 For thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I am bringing to Tyre Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, from the north, the king of kings, with horse and with chariot and with horsemen and his assembly and many people. 8 Your daughters he will kill in the field with the sword, and he will place[ci] against you siege works, and he will build against you a siege ramp, and he will raise against you a shield, 9 and the thrust of his battering ram he will direct against your walls, and your towers he will break down with his weapons. 10 From the abundance of his horses he will cover you with their fine dust; at the sound of horseman and wheel and chariot your walls will shake, at his coming into your gates like the entrance of a city that is being broken through. 11 With the hooves of his horses he will trample all of your streets. He will kill your people with the sword, and your strong stone pillars[cj] will tumble down to the earth. 12 And they will plunder your wealth, and they will loot your merchandise, and they will break down your walls, and the houses of your delight they will break down, and your stones and your timbers and your earthen dirt they will cast into the midst of the water. 13 And, I will put an end to the noise of your songs, and the sound of your lyres will not be heard any longer. 14 And I will make you into a bare rock,[ck] a place for the spreading out of dragnets. You will not be built again, for I, Yahweh, I have spoken,” declares[cl] the Lord Yahweh.
15 Thus says the Lord Yahweh to Tyre, “Will not the coastlands shake from the sound of your downfall, at the groaning of the wounded, at people being killed[cm] in the midst of you? 16 And all the princes of the sea will go down from their thrones, and they will remove their robes, and their beautiful garments[cn] of finished cloth they will take off. With terror they will be clothed, and on the ground they will sit, and they will tremble continually,[co] and they will be appalled over you. 17 And they will raise a lament over you, and they will say to you,
‘How you have been lost who was inhabited from[cp] the seas;
the city that was praised, that was strong.
It is located on the sea,
and its inhabitants imposed their terror on all of its inhabitants.[cq]
18 Now the coastlands will tremble
at the day of your downfall,
and the islands that are in the sea
will be horrified because of your departure.’”
19 For thus says the Lord Yahweh: “When I make you a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited, when bringing up over you the deep, the great surging waters[cr] will cover you. 20 And I will bring you down with those who are going down to the grave,[cs] an ancient people,[ct] and I will cause you to dwell in the world[cu] of the depths, in the ruins from of old with those who are going down to the grave,[cv] so that you will not be inhabited and have a place[cw] in the land of the living. 21 Sudden terrors I will bring on you, and you shall no longer exist; and you will be sought, and you will not be found again forever,”[cx] declares[cy] the Lord Yahweh.
A Lament for Doomed Tyre
27 And the word of Yahweh came[cz] to me, saying,[da] 2 “And you, son of man,[db] raise a lament against Tyre. 3 And you must say to Tyre, the one who sits at the entrance of the sea as the merchant of the peoples to the many coastlands, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh:
Tyre, you yourself said[dc]
“I am perfect in beauty!”[dd]
4 In the heart of the seas are your boundaries;
your builders perfected your beauty.
5 They built with pine trees from Senir
all of your boards for you;
they took cedars from Lebanon
to make a sailing mast for you.[de]
6 They made your oars
with oaks from Bashan;
your deck they made with inlaid ivory,
with cypress trees from the coastlands of Cyprus.[df]
7 Your sail was fine linen with colorful weaving from Egypt
to serve as a banner for you;[dg]
blue and purple cloth from the coastlands of Cyprus[dh]
was your awning.
8 The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvan
were your rowers;
your skilled men,[di] O Tyre, were from your own people,[dj]
and they were your seamen.
9 The elders of Gebal and its skilled men[dk] were among you[dl]
as the repairers of the seam of your boat;
all of the ships of the sea and their mariners were among you[dm]
to barter your wares.
10 Persia and Lud and Put
were among your soldiers;[dn]
small shield and helmet hung among you[do]
and gave to you your adornment.
11 The people[dp] of Arvan and Helech
were on your walls all around,
and Gammadites
were in your towers.
They hung their quivers[dq] on your walls all around;
they perfected your beauty.
12 “‘Tarshish was your trader; from the abundance of all of their wealth, with silver, iron, tin, and lead they exchanged for your merchandise. 13 Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your traders; in exchange for people[dr] and an object of bronze they gave you your wares. 14 From Beth Togarmah they exchanged horses and war horses and mules for your wares. 15 The people[ds] of Dedan were trading with you, many coastlands composed the region of your influence;[dt] they brought back horns of ivory and ebony as your payment. 16 Edom[du] was trading with you because of the abundance of your products, trading with malachite, purple wool yarn and colorful weaving, and fine white fabric and black corals and rubies; all these they exchange for your merchandise. 17 Judah and the land of Israel were trading with you with wheat from Minnith and millet and honey and olive oil and balm; all these they gave for your wares. 18 Damascus was trading with you because of[dv] the abundance of your products, because of the abundance of all of your wealth, trading with the wine of Helbon and white wool. 19 Vedan and Javan from Uzal, they exchanged wrought iron, cinnamon,[dw] and reed spice for your merchandise; all this was for your wares. 20 Dedan was trading with you, with garments of woven material for riding. 21 Arabia and all of the leaders of Kedar were your customers;[dx] with young rams and adult rams and goats they were trading with them with you. 22 The traders of Sheba and Raamah were trading with you, with the finest of every spice and with every precious stone and gold; they exchanged all these for your merchandise. 23 Haran and Canneh and Eden, the traders of Sheba, Assyria, and Kilmad were trading with you. 24 They were trading with you in finery, in mantles of blue cloth and colorful embroidered work and with rugs of variegated cloth in twisted cords and knotted tightly; these were among your merchandise.[dy] 25 The ships of Tarshish were carrying for you your wares, and you were filled, and you became very heavy in the heart of the seas.
26 “‘Into many waters
the rowers brought you;
but the east wind[dz] wrecked you
in the heart of the seas.
27 Your wealth and your merchandise, your wares,
your mariners, and your seamen,
your shipwrights[ea] and the barterers of your wares
and all of your soldiers[eb] who are in you,
along[ec] with all of your crew who are in the midst of you,
they will fall in the heart of the seas on the day of your downfall.
28 At the sound of the shout[ed] of your seamen,
the pasturelands will shake.
29 And they will go down from their ships,
all of those holding an oar,
mariners, all of the seamen of the sea
will stand on the land,
30 and they will lament[ee] over you with their voice,
and they will cry out[ef] bitterly,
and they will throw[eg] dust on their heads,
and they will roll[eh] in the dust.
31 They will shave themselves bald for your sake,[ei]
and they will dress[ej] themselves in sackcloth,
and they will weep[ek] over you with a bitterness of soul[el]
and with bitter wailing.
32 And they will raise[em] over you with their wailing a lament,
and they will chant[en] a lament over you:
‘Who is like Tyre,
like this destruction in the midst of the sea?’
33 When your merchandise went out from the seas,
you satisfied many peoples with the abundance of your wealth,
and by your wares
you made rich the kings of the world.
34 Now you are broken by seas
in the depths of waters;
your wares and all of your crew
in the midst of you have sunk.
35 All of the inhabitants of the coastlands
are appalled over you,
and their kings shudder[eo] in horror;
they distort their faces![ep]
36 The traders among the peoples hiss over you;
you have become a horror,
and you shall be no more forever!’”[eq]
A Prophecy Aimed at the King of Tyre
28 And the word of Yahweh came[er] to me, saying,[es] 2 “Son of man,[et] say to the leader of Tyre, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh:
“Because your heart was haughty,
and you said, ‘I am a god;
I sit in the seat of the gods,
I sit in the heart of the seas!’
But[eu] you are a human, not a god,
and you gave your heart to be like the heart of a god.
3 Look, are you wiser than Daniel,
so that no secret[ev] is hidden from you?
4 By your wisdom and by your understanding
you have gained for yourself wealth,
and you have amassed gold and silver
in your treasuries.
5 By the abundance of your wisdom in your trading
you have increased your wealth
and your heart was proud in[ew] your wealth.”’”
6 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh:
“Because of your regarding your mind[ex]
like the mind[ey] of a god,
7 therefore look! I am bringing strangers over you,
the most ruthless of the peoples,
and they will draw their swords against the beauty[ez] of your wisdom,
and they will defile your splendor.
8 They will thrust you down to the pit,
and you will die a violent death[fa]
in the heart of the seas.
9 Will you indeed still say[fb] “I am a god!”
before the face of your killers?[fc]
And in fact you are a human[fd] and not a god
in the hand of those who pierce you.[fe]
10 You will die the death of the uncircumcised
by the hand of strangers,
for I myself[ff] have spoken!” declares[fg] the Lord Yahweh.
11 And the word of Yahweh came[fh] to me, saying,[fi] 12 “Son of man,[fj] raise a lament over the king of Tyre, and you must say to him, ‘thus says the Lord Yahweh:
“You were a perfect model of[fk] an example,
full of wisdom and perfect of beauty.
13 You were in Eden, the garden of God,
and every precious stone was your adornment:
carnelian, topaz and moonstone,[fl]
turquoise, onyx and jasper,
sapphire,[fm] malachite and emerald.
And gold was the craftsmanship of your settings
and your mountings in you;
on the day when you were created they were prepared.
14 You were an anointed guardian cherub,
and I placed you on God’s holy mountain;[fn]
you walked in the midst of stones of fire.
15 You were blameless in your ways
from the day when you were created,[fo]
until wickedness was found in you.
16 In the abundance of your trading,
they filled the midst of you with violence, and you sinned;
and I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God,
and I expelled you, the guardian[fp] cherub,
from the midst of the stones of fire.
17 Your heart was proud because of your beauty;
you ruined your wisdom because of your splendor.
I threw you on the ground before[fq] kings;
I have exposed you for viewing.[fr]
18 From the abundance of your iniquities
in the dishonesty of your trading,
I profaned your sanctuaries
and I brought fire from your midst;
it consumed you, and I have turned you to ashes on the earth
before the eyes of everyone who sees you.[fs]
19 All who know you[ft] among the peoples
are appalled over you;
you have become as horrors,
and you shall cease to exist forever.”’”[fu]
20 And the word of Yahweh came[fv] to me, saying,[fw] 21 “Son of man,[fx] set your face toward Sidon and prophesy against it, 22 and you must say, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh:
“Look! I am against you, Sidon,
and I display my glory in the midst of you,
and they will know that I am Yahweh
when I execute my judgments,[fy]
and I will show myself holy within it.
23 And I will send into it a plague,
and blood will be in its streets.
And the dead will fall in the midst of her
by the sword that is against it from all around;
and they will know that I am Yahweh.
24 And there will not be any longer[fz] a painful thorn and a sharp thornbush for[ga] the house of Israel from anywhere around them[gb] from those who are despising them,[gc] and they will know that I am the Lord Yahweh.”’”
25 Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples to which they were scattered about in them, and I show myself holy in[gd] them before the eyes of the nations, then they will live on their soil, which I gave to my servant Jacob. 26 And they will live on it in safety, and they will build houses, and they will plant vineyards, and they will live in safety when I execute my judgments on all those who despise them from all around them,[ge] and then they will know that I am Yahweh their God.”
Yahweh’s Judgment upon Egypt
29 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth[gf] day of the month, the word of Yahweh came[gg] to me, saying,[gh] 2 “Son of man,[gi] set your face against Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against Egypt, all of it. 3 Speak, and you must say, ‘thus says the Lord Yahweh:
“Look! I am against you,
Pharaoh, king of Egypt,
the great sea monster,
the one lying down
in the midst of his Nile streams,
who says to me, “It is my Nile, and I made it for myself.”[gj]
4 And so I will put hooks in your jawbones,
and I will make the fish of your Nile streams stick to your scales,
and I will bring you up from the midst of your Nile streams,
and all of the fish of your Nile streams which cling to your scales.
5 And I will fling you to the desert,
you and all the fish of your Nile streams.
On the surface of the field you will fall;
you will not be gathered,
and you will not be assembled.
To the animals[gk] of the field
and to the birds[gl] of the heavens
I will give you as food.
6 And all of the inhabitants of Egypt will know that I am Yahweh,
because of their[gm] being a staff of reed for the house of Israel.
7 When they took hold of you with the hand, you snapped,
and you split their every shoulder.
And when they leaned on you, you broke,
and you caused all of their loins to wobble.”
8 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I am bringing on you a sword, and I will cut off from you human and animal. 9 And the land of Egypt will become[gn] a desolation and ruins, and they will know that I am Yahweh because he[go] said, ‘The Nile is mine![gp] And I, I made it!’ 10 Therefore look! I am against you and against your Nile streams, and I will make the land of Egypt into ruins, a pile of rubble, a desolation from Migdol to Syene and up to the boundary of Cush. 11 A foot of a human will not pass over it, and a foot of an animal will not pass over it, and so it will not be inhabited for forty years.[gq] 12 And I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the midst of desolated countries, and its cities to be in the midst of ruined cities. They will be a desolation for forty years, and I will scatter Egypt among the nations, and I will disperse them among the countries.”
13 For thus says the Lord Yahweh: “At the end of forty years I will gather Egypt from the peoples among whom they were scattered. 14 And I will restore the fortunes of Egypt, and I will bring them back to the land of Pathros, to the land of their origin, and they will be a lowly kingdom there. 15 Of all the kingdoms it will be the most lowly, and it will not exalt itself again over the nations, and I will make them small so as not to rule over the nations. 16 And it will not be again for the house of Israel an object of trust, bringing to remembrance their guilt when they turned back to them,[gr] and they will know that I am the Lord Yahweh.”
17 And then[gs] in the twenty-seventh year,[gt] in the first month, on the first day of the month, the word of Yahweh came[gu] to me, saying,[gv] 18 “Son of man,[gw] Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, he made his army labor hard against Tyre. Every head was rubbed bare, and every shoulder was rubbed raw, but[gx] a wage was not paid for him and for his army from Tyre for the labor that he did against it.” 19 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I am giving to Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon the land of Egypt, and he will carry its wealth away, and he will plunder its plunder, and he will loot its loot, and it will be a wage for his army. 20 As his wages that he worked for, I will give to him the land of Egypt, because they worked for me,” declares[gy] the Lord Yahweh.
21 “On that day I will cause power[gz] to grow up for the house of Israel, and for you I will give an opening of your mouth in the midst of them, and they will know that I am Yahweh.”
A Lament over the Nation and Land of Egypt
30 And the word of Yahweh came[ha] to me, saying,[hb] 2 “Son of man,[hc] prophesy, and you must say, ‘thus says the Lord Yahweh:
“Wail, alas! For the day!
3 For a day is near;
indeed, a day is near for Yahweh.
A day of cloud,
a time of the nations it will be.
4 And a sword will come in Egypt,
and anguish will be in Cush,
at the falling of the slain in Egypt.
And they will take its wealth,
and its foundation will be demolished.
5 Cush and Put and Lud and all of Arabia and Kub and the people[hd] of the land of the treaty[he] with them—by the sword they will fall.”
6 Thus says Yahweh:
“And the supporters of Egypt will fall,
and the majesty of its strength will go down
from Migdol to Syene;
by the sword they will fall in it,”
declares[hf] the Lord Yahweh.
7 “And they will be desolate in the midst of desolate countries,
and its cities will be in the midst of ruined cities.
8 And they will know that I am Yahweh
when I put my fire in Egypt,
and all of its helpers are broken.
9 On that day messengers will go down from before me[hg] in the ships to terrify unsuspecting Cush, and anguish will be in them on the day of Egypt; for look, it is coming!”
10 Thus says the Lord Yahweh:
“And I will put an end to the crowds[hh] of Egypt
by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon.
11 He and his people with him, the most ruthless of nations,
will be brought to destroy the land.
And they will draw their swords against Egypt,
and they will fill the land with the slain,
12 and I will make the Nile streams dry land,
and I will sell the land into the hand of bad people,
and I will lay waste the land and its fullness
by the hand of strangers.
I, Yahweh, I have spoken.”
13 Thus says the Lord Yahweh:
“And I will destroy the idols,
and I will put an end to the worthless idols from Memphis.
And there will no longer be[hi] a prince from the land of Egypt,
and I will put fear in the land of Egypt.
14 And I will lay waste Pathros,
and I will set fire in Zoan,
and I will execute judgments in No.[hj]
15 I will pour out my rage over Sin,
the stronghold of Egypt,
and I will cut off the crowd[hk] of No.[hl]
16 And I will set fire in Egypt,
certainly Sin will writhe,
and No[hm] will be breached,
and Memphis will face enemies daily.[hn]
17 The young men of On and Pi Beseth will fall by the sword,
and they will go into captivity.
18 And at Tahpanhes the day will become dark
when I break the yoke of Egypt,
and in it the majesty of its strength
will come to an end.
A cloud will cover it,
and its daughters will go into captivity.
19 And I will execute judgments in Egypt,
and they will know that I am Yahweh.”
20 And then[ho] in the eleventh[hp] year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, the word of Yahweh came[hq] to me, saying,[hr] 21 “Son of man,[hs] the arm of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, I have broken. And look, it has not been bound up for giving of a remedy, or for the placing of a splint to bind it up to make it strong to take hold of the sword.” 22 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I am against Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and I will break his strong arm and the broken arm, and I will let the sword fall from his hand. 23 And I will scatter Egypt among the nations, and I will disperse them among the countries. 24 And I will strengthen the arm of the king of Babylon, and I will give my sword into his hand, and I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan with the groaning of the mortally wounded before him.[ht] 25 And I will strengthen the arm of the king of Babylon, and the arms of Pharaoh will fall. And they will know that I am Yahweh when I give my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will stretch it out to the land of Egypt. 26 And I will scatter Egypt among the nations, and I will disperse them into the countries, and they will know that I am Yahweh.”
Pharaoh Is Warned Through Assyria’s Destruction
31 And then[hu] in the eleventh[hv] year, in the third month, on the first day of the month, the word of Yahweh came[hw] to me, saying,[hx] 2 “Son of man,[hy] say to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and to his crowd,[hz]
‘To whom are you like in your greatness?
3 Look! Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon,
with beautiful branches[ia] and a forest giving shade,
and very high,[ib]
and its treetop was between the clouds.
4 Waters made it great,
the deep made it grow high;
its rivers were going all around its planting area,[ic]
and its channels it sent out
to all of the trees of the field.
5 Therefore it became tall,
with its height more than all of the trees of the field,
and its branches became numerous,
and its branches became long
from its sending its shoots from abundant water.[id]
6 In its branches all the birds[ie] of the heaven[if] made their nest,
and under its branches all the animals[ig] of the field gave birth,
and in its shadow all the many nations lived.
7 And it was beautiful in its greatness,
in the length of its branches,
for its root was toward much water.
8 Cedars in the garden of God
could not be equal to it;
fir trees[ih] could not resemble its branches,
and plane trees were not even like its branches;
any tree even in the garden of God
could not resemble it in its beauty.
9 I made it beautiful with the abundance of its branches,
and all of the trees of Eden that were in the garden of God envied it.’”
10 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Because[ii] it was tall in height and it set its treetop between[ij] thick clouds, and he took pride in his tallness,[ik] 11 then[il] I gave it into the hand of the leader of nations; he dealt thoroughly[im] with it according to its wickedness. I drove it out. 12 And strangers cut it off, the most ruthless of nations, and they abandoned it. On the mountains and in all of the valleys its branches fell, and its branches were broken in all the river channels of the land, and all the peoples of the world went out from its shadow, and they abandoned it. 13 On its fallen trunk all the birds[in] of the heaven[io] now dwell, and all the animals of the field were on its branches. 14 This occurred so that all of the trees with abundant water will not become tall, and they will not set their treetop between[ip] their thick foliage,[iq] and so thatall of the trees that are abundantly watered[ir] will not stand up to them[is] in their tallness, for all of them, they have been given over to death, to the world below in the midst of mortals,[it] to the people going down to the grave.”[iu]
15 Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “On the day of its going down to Sheol, I caused mourning; I covered over it with the deep, and I withheld its rivers, and many waters were restrained, and I brought gloom over it; Lebanon and all of the trees of the field, they had fainted because of it. 16 From the sound of its downfall I caused nations to shake when I made it go down to Sheol, with the people going down to the grave,[iv] and so in the world below all of the trees of Eden, the choice and the best of Lebanon, all the well-watered trees[iw] were comforted! 17 They also went down with it to Sheol to those who died by the sword,[ix] and its army who had lived in its shadow in the midst of nations.
18 To whom could you be compared, whether in glory or in majesty[iy] among the trees of Eden? And yet you will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the world below; in the midst of the uncircumcised you will lie with those who died by the sword.[iz] That is Pharaoh and his entire[ja] crowd!”[jb] declares[jc] the Lord Yahweh.
A Lament for Pharaoh, King of Egypt
32 And then[jd] in the twelfth[je] year, in the twelfth[jf] month, on the first day of the month, the word of Yahweh came[jg] to me, saying,[jh] 2 “Son of man,[ji] raise a lament over Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and you must say to him,
‘With a fierce, strong lion among nations you compared yourself,
and you are like the sea monster in the seas,
and you thrash about in your rivers,
and you make water turbid with your feet,
and you make your rivers muddy.
3 Thus says the Lord Yahweh:
Now I will spread my net over you
in the assembly of many peoples,
and I will bring you up in my dragnet.
4 And I will throw you on the ground;
on the surface of the open field I will hurl you,
and I will cause every bird of the heaven to dwell on you,
and I will satisfy the animals[jj] of all of the world from you.
5 And I will put your flesh on the mountains,
and I will fill the valleys with your carcass.
6 And I will water the land with your discharge from your blood
on the mountains,
and valleys will be filled from[jk] you.
7 And I will cover you at[jl] extinguishing your heavens,
and I will make dark their stars,
and I will cover the sun with the cloud,
and the moon will not give its light.
8 All[jm] sources of light in the heavens,
I will make them dark over you,
and I will put[jn] darkness on your land,’”
declares[jo] the Lord Yahweh.
9 “And I will disturb the hearts[jp] of many peoples
at my bringing about your captivity among the nations,
to countries that you do not know.
10 And I will cause many peoples to be awestruck over you,
and their kings will shudder over you in horror,
at[jq] my brandishing my sword before their faces,
and they will tremble continually,[jr]
each person for his life,
on the day of your downfall.”
11 For thus says the Lord Yahweh:
“The sword of the king of Babylon,
it will come to you.
12 By the swords of warriors I will cause to fall your hordes
by the most ruthless of the nations, all of them,
and they will devastate the majesty of Egypt,
and all of its hordes will be destroyed.
13 And I will destroy all her domestic livestock
beside[js] many waters.
The feet of humans[jt] will not make them turbid again,
and the hooves of domestic livestock will not make them turbid.
14 Then I will make their waters settle,
and their rivers as the olive oil I will let flow,”
declares[ju] the Lord Yahweh.
15 “Then I make the land of Egypt a desolation,
so that the land will be stripped from its fullness
when I strike all of those dwelling in it,
and they will know that I am Yahweh.
16 This is[jv] a lament, and they will chant it as a lament; the daughters of the nations will chant it as a lament over Egypt, and over all of its hordes they will chant it as a lament,” declares[jw] the Lord Yahweh.
17 And then[jx] in the twelfth[jy] year, on the fifteenth[jz] day of the month, the word of Yahweh came[ka] to me, saying,[kb] 18 “Son of man,[kc] mourn over the hordes of Egypt, and make her go down, and with her the daughters of mighty nations, down to the deep underworld[kd] with the people going down to the grave.[ke] 19 You are more lovely than whom?[kf] Go down and be laid in rest with the uncircumcised. 20 In the midst of the people slain by the sword it[kg] is given they will fall to a sword; they carried her[kh] off and all of her[ki] hordes. 21 The chiefs of the warriors will speak to him from the middle of Sheol; with his helpers they have gone down; the uncircumcised lie still, those slain by the sword.[kj]
22 Assyria is there and all of its assembly; all around it are its graves, all of them killed, those fallen by the sword, 23 who[kk] will be given its graves in the remote areas of the pit, and its assembly will be all around its grave, all of them killed, fallen by the sword, those who spread terror in the land of the living.
24 Elam is there and all of its hordes, all around its grave, all of them dead who fell by the sword, those who went down uncircumcised to the depths of the underworld,[kl] those who spread their terror to the land of the living, and now they bear their disgrace with the people going down to the grave.[km] 25 In the midst of the slain they made a bed for her with all of her hordes all around its graves, all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword, for their terror was spread in the land of the living, and they now bear their disgrace with the people going down to the grave;[kn] in the midst of the slain it was placed.
26 Meshech and Tubal are there and all of its hordes, all around him its graves, all of them uncircumcised and killed by the sword, for they gave their terror in the land of the living. 27 And they do not lie with warriors fallen from long ago, who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war,[ko] and they placed their sword under their heads, and their shields[kp] were on their bones, for the terror of the warriors was in the land of the living. 28 And you[kq] too in the midst of uncircumcised people will be broken, and you will lie with those slain by the sword.
29 There is Edom, its kings and all of its leaders who are laid along with their might with those killed by the sword; they will lie with the uncircumcised and with the people going down to the grave.[kr]
30 There are also the princes of the north, all of them, all of the Sidonians who have gone down, being ashamed to lie with the slain because[ks] of their terror that they caused from their might, and they lie uncircumcised with those killed by the sword, and they bear their disgrace along with the people going down to the grave.[kt]
31 Pharaoh will see them, and he will be comforted over all of his hordes killed by the sword, Pharaoh and all of his army,” declares[ku] the Lord Yahweh. 32 “For[kv] he spread[kw] my terror in the land of the living, and so he will be laid down in the midst of the uncircumcised with those killed by the sword: Pharaoh and all of his hordes,”declares[kx] the Lord Yahweh.
Ezekiel Appointed as a Watchman and His Responsibility
33 And the word of Yahweh came[ky] to me, saying,[kz] 2 “Son of man,[la] speak to your people,[lb] and you must say to them, ‘A land, if I bring over it a sword and the people of the land take a man, one from their number, and they appoint him for them as a watchman, 3 and he sees the sword coming against the land, and he blows on the horn and he warns the people, 4 and anyone who listens[lc] hears the sound of the horn and he does not take warning[ld] and the sword comes and it takes him, his blood will be on his own head. 5 For he heard the sound of the horn and he did not take warning; his blood will be on him. But if he took warning, he saved his life. 6 And as for the watchman, if he sees the sword coming and he does not blow[le] the horn, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and it takes their lives,[lf] he will be taken through his guilt, but his blood from the hand of the watchman I will seek.’
7 “And you, son of man,[lg] I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; if you hear a word from my mouth, then you must warn them from me. 8 When I say[lh] to the wicked, ‘Wicked one, you will certainly die,’ and you did not speak[li] to warn the wicked from his way, he, the wicked, will die by his guilt, but his blood I will seek from your hand. 9 But, you, if you warn the wicked from his way, to turn from it, and he does not turn[lj] from his way, he will die by his guilt, and you will have saved your life.
10 “And you, son of man,[lk] say to the house of Israel, saying,[ll] ‘So you said, saying,[lm] “Indeed, our transgressions and our sins are on us, and because of them we are rotting, and how can we live?”’ 11 Say to them, ‘As I live,’[ln] declares[lo] the Lord Yahweh, ‘Surely I have no delight[lp] in the death of the wicked, except[lq] in the wicked returning from his way, and he lives. Turn back! Turn back from your ways, O evil ones, for why should you die, house of Israel?’
12 “So[lr] you, son of man,[ls] say to your people[lt] that the righteousness of the righteous shall not save him in the day of his transgression, and the wickedness of the wicked will not cause him to stumble[lu] on the day of his returning from his wickedness; and the righteous will not be able to live by it on the day when he returns to his sin. 13 When I say to the righteous, ‘Certainly he will live,’ and he trusted in[lv] his righteousness, and he turns and he does injustice, all of his righteousness[lw] will not be remembered, and because of his injustice that he did, because of it he will die. 14 And when I say to the wicked, ‘Certainly you will die,’ but[lx] he returns from his sin and he does justice and righteousness— 15 for example, the wicked returns a pledge for a loan, he restores stolen property,[ly] he goes in the statutes of life so as not to do injustice—certainly he will live; he will not die. 16 All of his sins that he committed,[lz] they will not be remembered against[ma] him, and he did justice and righteousness; certainly he will live.
17 “Yet[mb] your people[mc] say, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair!’ yet their way is not fair. 18 When the righteous turns from his righteousness and does injustice, then he will die because of it.[md] 19 And when the wicked turns from his wickedness, and he does justice and righteousness, because of it[me] he will certainly live![mf] 20 Yet you said, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair!’ I will judge you, house of Israel, each person according to his ways.”
21 And then[mg] it was in the twelfth[mh] year, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month of our exile, a survivor from Jerusalem came to me, saying,[mi] “The city was destroyed!” 22 And the hand of Yahweh was on me on the evening before[mj] the coming of the survivor, and he opened my mouth before the survivor came to me in the morning,[mk] and my mouth was opened, and I was no longer[ml] dumb.[mm] 23 And the word of Yahweh came[mn] to me, saying,[mo] 24 “Son of man,[mp] the inhabitants of these ruins on the soil of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was one man, and he took possession of the land, and we are many; the land has been given for[mq] us as a possession.’ 25 Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “You eat blood in your meat, and you raise your eyes to your idols and you pour out blood, and yet you want to take possession of the land?[mr] 26 You rely on your sword, you do a detestable thing, and each man defiles[ms] the wife of his neighbor, and yet you want to take possession of the land?”’[mt]
27 “Thus you must say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “As I live,[mu] surely[mv] whoever is in the ruins, by the sword they will fall, and whoever is on the surface of the open field, I will give him to the animals[mw] to eat him, and whoever is in the stronghold and in the cave, they will die by the plague. 28 And I will make the land a desolation and a wasteland, and the pride of its strength will come to an end, and the mountains of Israel will be desolate with no one traveling through them.”’[mx] 29 And they will know that I am Yahweh when I make my land a desolation and a wasteland, because of all of their detestable things that they have done.
30 “And you, son of man,[my] your people,[mz] the ones talking together concerning you beside the walls and in the doorways of the houses, each one with his brother saying,[na] ‘Please come and hear what is the word that is going out from Yahweh.’[nb] 31 And they come to you as people do,[nc] and they sit before you,[nd] and my people hear your words, and they do not do them, for they are showing[ne] passion in their mouth, but their heart is going after ill-gotten gain. 32 Now, look! You are to them like a sensual song,[nf] beautiful of voice and played well on an instrument,[ng] and they hear your words, but they are not doing them.[nh] 33 So[ni] when it comes,[nj] look! It is coming! And then they will know that a prophet was in the midst of them.”
Prophecy Concerning Israel’s Shepherds and Sheep
34 And the word of Yahweh came[nk] to me, saying, 2 “Son of man,[nl] prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and you must say to them, to the shepherds, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who were feeding themselves! Must not the shepherds feed the flock? 3 The fat you eat, and you clothe yourself with the wool; the well-nourished animals you slaughter, but you do not feed the flock. 4 The weak you have not strengthened, and the sick you have not healed, and with respect to[nm] the hurt[nn] you have not bound them up, and you have not brought back the scattered, and you have not sought the lost, but rather you ruled over them with force[no] and with ruthlessness. 5 And they were scattered without[np] a shepherd, and they were[nq] as food for all the animals[nr] of the field when they were scattered. 6 My flock went astray upon all of the mountains and on every high hill, and so upon all the surface of the world[ns] my flock were scattered, and there was no one seeking them,[nt] and there was no one searching for them.”[nu] 7 Therefore, hear, O shepherds, the word of Yahweh: 8 “As I live,”[nv] declares[nw] the Lord Yahweh, “Surely[nx] because my flock have become as plunder, and my flock became as food to[ny] all the animals[nz] of the field, since there was not a shepherd, since my shepherds have not sought my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and they fed not my flock,’” 9 therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of Yahweh, 10 ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I am against the shepherds, and I will seek my flock from their hand, and I will put an end to them from shepherding flocks, and the shepherds will no longer[oa] feed themselves, and I will deliver my flocks from their mouth, so that they will not be as food for them.”
11 “‘For thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I, even I, will seek my flock, and I will look after them, 12 just like the caring of a shepherd for his herd on[ob] the day when he is in the midst of his scattered flock. Thus I will look after my flock, and I will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered[oc] on the day of storm and stress.[od] 13 And I will bring them out from the peoples, and I will gather them from the countries, and I will bring them to their soil, and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys, and in all of the settlements of the land. 14 I will feed them in good pasture, and their pasture will be on the mountains of the heights of Israel; there they will lie down in good pasture, and on lush pasture they will feed on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself[oe] will feed my flock and I myself[of] will allow them to lie down,” declares[og] the Lord Yahweh. 16 “I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the scattered, and I will bind up the one hurt, and I will strengthen the sick; and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed her with justice.”
17 “‘And you, my flock, thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I am judging between one sheep and another,[oh] between the rams and between the he-goats. 18 Is it not enough for you[oi] that you feed on the good pasture? And still you must trample the remainder of your pasture with your feet, and clear water[oj] you drink, and the leftover water[ok] you must make muddy with your feet. 19 And my flock must graze the pasture treaded upon by[ol] your feet, and must drink the mud puddle stirred up by[om] your feet.”
20 “‘Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh to them: “Look! I, even I will judge between fat sheep and between lean sheep, 21 because with your flank and with your shoulder you shoved, and with your horns you pushed all of the sick animals until[on] you scattered it[oo] to the outside. 22 And so I will save my flock, and they will no longer be[op] for plunder, and I will judge between one sheep and another.[oq] 23 And I will set up over them one shepherd, and he will feed them; that is, my servant David. He will feed them, and he will be for them as[or] a shepherd. 24 And I, Yahweh, I will be for them as God,[os] and my servant David will be a leader in the midst of them. I, Yahweh, I have spoken. 25 And I will make them a covenant of peace, and I will put an end to wild animals[ot] from the land, and they will dwell in the desert safely,[ou] and they will sleep in the forest. 26 And I will make them and the area all around my hill a blessing, and I will let the rain go down at its appointed time;[ov] they will be rains of blessing. 27 And the tree[ow] of the field will give its fruit, and the land will give its produce, and they will be on their land safely,[ox] and they will know that I am Yahweh when I break their yoke, and I will deliver them from the hand of the ones enslaving them. 28 And they will not be any longer plunder to the nations, and the animals of the land will not eat them, and they will dwell in safety,[oy] and there will not be anyone frightening them. 29 And I will raise for them a garden plot[oz] of renown, and they will no longer[pa] be victims of famine in the land, and they will not bear any more the insult of the nations. 30 And they will know that I, Yahweh their God, am with them and they are my people, the house of Israel,” declares[pb] the Lord Yahweh, 31 “and you are my flock, the flock of my pasture. You are my people;[pc] I am your God,” declares[pd] the Lord Yahweh.’”
Prophecy Directed at Edom
35 And the word of Yahweh came[pe] to me, saying,[pf] 2 “Son of man,[pg] set your face against the mountain of Seir and prophesy against it, 3 and you must say to it, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I am against you, mountain of Seir, and I will stretch out my hand against you, and I will make you a desolation and a wasteland. 4 Your cities I will make ruins, and you will be a desolation, and then you will know that I am Yahweh, 5 because there has been to you an ancient hostility,[ph] and you handed over the Israelites[pi] to the power of the sword at the time of their disaster, at the time of their final punishment.[pj] 6 Therefore as I live,”[pk] declares[pl] the Lord Yahweh, “Certainly to blood guilt I will prepare you and blood[pm] will pursue; since[pn] you did not hate blood,[po] it will pursue you. 7 And I will make the mountain of Seir into a desolation and ruin, and I will cut off from it both he who is crossing over and he who is returning. 8 And I will fill its mountains with its slain; your hills and your valleys and all of your watercourses, the slain by the sword will fall in them. 9 An everlasting desolation[pp] I will make you, and your cities will not return, and you will know that I am Yahweh. 10 I do this because of your saying,[pq] ‘The two nations and the two lands, they will be mine,[pr] and we will take possession of it,’ and yet Yahweh was there. 11 Therefore, as I live,”[ps] declares[pt] the Lord Yahweh, “so I will deal with you according to your anger and according to your jealousy that you did,[pu] because of your hatred against them, and I will make myself known among them when I judge you. 12 And you will know that I, Yahweh, I have heard all of your contemptible words that you said[pv] against the mountains of Israel, saying,[pw] ‘They will be desolate; they are given to us as food.’ 13 And you magnified yourself against me with your insolent speech,[px] and you spoke voluminously against me with your words—I heard! 14 Thus the Lord Yahweh says, ‘As the whole world rejoices,[py] I will make you a desolation. 15 Like your rejoicing over the inheritance of the house of Israel[pz] because[qa] it was desolate, I will do to you; you will be a desolation, mountain of Seir and all of Edom, indeed all of it; and they will know that I am Yahweh.’”’
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