Bible in 90 Days
40 They even sent for men to come from far away, to whom a messenger was sent, and they came. For them you bathed yourself, painted your eyes, and decked yourself with ornaments;(A) 41 you sat on a stately couch, with a table spread before it on which you had placed my incense and my oil.(B) 42 The sound of a raucous multitude was around her, with many of the rabble brought in drunken from the wilderness, and they put bracelets on the arms of the women and beautiful crowns upon their heads.(C)
43 Then I said, “Ah, she is worn out with adulteries, but they carry on their sexual acts with her.” 44 They have[a] gone in to her as one goes in to a prostitute. Thus they went in to Oholah and to Oholibah, wanton women. 45 But righteous judges shall declare them guilty of adultery and of bloodshed, because they are adulteresses, and blood is on their hands.(D)
46 For thus says the Lord God: Bring up an assembly against them, and make them an object of terror and of plunder. 47 The assembly shall stone them, and with their swords they shall cut them down; they shall kill their sons and their daughters and burn up their houses.(E) 48 Thus will I put an end to lewdness in the land, so that all women may take warning and not commit lewdness as you have done.(F) 49 They shall repay you for your lewdness, and you shall bear the penalty for your sinful idolatry, and you shall know that I am the Lord God.
The Boiling Pot
24 In the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me:(G) 2 Mortal, write down the name of this day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day.(H) 3 And utter an allegory to the rebellious house and say to them: Thus says the Lord God:
Set on the pot; set it on;
pour in water also;(I)
4 put in it the pieces,
all the good pieces, the thigh and the shoulder;
fill it with choice cuts.
5 Take the choicest one of the flock;
pile the logs[b] under it;
boil its pieces;[c]
seethe[d] also its bones in it.
6 Therefore thus says the Lord God:
Woe to the bloody city,
the pot whose crud is in it,
whose crud has not gone out of it!
Empty it piece by piece,
making no choice at all.[e](J)
7 For the blood she shed is inside it;
she placed it on a bare rock;
she did not pour it out on the ground,
to cover it with earth.(K)
8 To rouse my wrath, to take vengeance,
I have placed the blood she shed
on a bare rock,
so that it may not be covered.
9 Therefore thus says the Lord God:
Woe to the bloody city!
I will even make the pile great.(L)
10 Heap up the logs; kindle the fire;
boil the meat well; boil down the broth;[f]
let the bones be burned.
11 Stand it empty upon the coals,
so that it may become hot, its copper glow,
its filth melt in it, its crud be consumed.
12 In vain I have wearied myself;[g]
its thick crud does not depart.
To the fire with its crud!
13 Yet when I cleansed you in your filthy lewdness,
you did not become clean from your filth;
you shall not again be cleansed
until I have satisfied my fury upon you.(M)
14 I the Lord have spoken; the time is coming; I will act. I will not refrain; I will not spare; I will not relent. According to your ways and your doings I will judge you, says the Lord God.(N)
Ezekiel’s Bereavement
15 The word of the Lord came to me: 16 Mortal, with one blow I am about to take away from you the delight of your eyes, yet you shall not mourn or weep, nor shall your tears run down.(O) 17 Groan quietly; make no mourning for the dead. Bind on your turban, and put your sandals on your feet; do not cover your upper lip or eat the bread of mourners.[h](P) 18 So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died. And on the next morning I did as I was commanded.
19 Then the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things mean for us, that you are acting this way?” 20 Then I said to them, “The word of the Lord came to me: 21 Say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and your heart’s desire, and your sons and your daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword.(Q) 22 And you shall do as I have done; you shall not cover your upper lip or eat the bread of mourners.[i] 23 Your turbans shall be on your heads and your sandals on your feet; you shall not mourn or weep, but you shall pine away in your iniquities and groan to one another.(R) 24 Thus Ezekiel shall be a sign to you; you shall do just as he has done. When this comes, then you shall know that I am the Lord God.”(S)
25 And you, mortal, on the day when I take from them their stronghold, their joy and glory, the delight of their eyes and their heart’s affection, and also[j] their sons and their daughters,(T) 26 on that day, one who has escaped will come to you to report to you the news. 27 On that day your mouth shall be opened to the one who has escaped, and you shall speak and no longer be silent. So you shall be a sign to them, and they shall know that I am the Lord.(U)
Proclamation against Ammon
25 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 Mortal, set your face toward the Ammonites and prophesy against them.(V) 3 Say to the Ammonites: Hear the word of the Lord God: Thus says the Lord God: Because you said, “Aha!” over my sanctuary when it was profaned and over the land of Israel when it was made desolate and over the house of Judah when it went into exile,(W) 4 therefore I am handing you over to the people of the East for a possession. They shall set their encampments among you and pitch their tents in your midst; they shall eat your fruit, and they shall drink your milk. 5 I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels and Ammon a fold for flocks. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.(X) 6 For thus says the Lord God: Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet and rejoiced with all the malice within you against the land of Israel,(Y) 7 therefore I have stretched out my hand against you and will hand you over as plunder to the nations. I will cut you off from the peoples and will make you perish out of the countries; I will destroy you. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.(Z)
Proclamation against Moab
8 Thus says the Lord God: Because Moab[k] said, “The house of Judah is like all the other nations,” 9 therefore I will lay open the flank of Moab from the towns[l] on its frontier, the glory of the country, Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim. 10 I will give it along with Ammon to the people of the East as a possession. Thus Ammon shall be remembered no more among the nations, 11 and I will execute judgments upon Moab. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.
Proclamation against Edom
12 Thus says the Lord God: Because Edom acted revengefully against the house of Judah and has grievously offended in taking vengeance upon them,(AA) 13 therefore thus says the Lord God: I will stretch out my hand against Edom and cut off from it humans and animals, and I will make it desolate; from Teman even to Dedan they shall fall by the sword.(AB) 14 I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel, and they shall act in Edom according to my anger and according to my wrath, and they shall know my vengeance, says the Lord God.(AC)
Proclamation against Philistia
15 Thus says the Lord God: Because with unending hostilities the Philistines acted in vengeance and with malice of heart took revenge in destruction,(AD) 16 therefore thus says the Lord God: I will stretch out my hand against the Philistines, cut off the Cherethites, and destroy the rest of the seacoast.(AE) 17 I will execute great vengeance on them with wrathful punishments. Then they shall know that I am the Lord, when I lay my vengeance on them.(AF)
Proclamation against Tyre
26 In the twelfth year,[m] in the eleventh[n] month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 2 Mortal, because Tyre said concerning Jerusalem,
“Aha, broken is the gateway of the peoples;
it has swung open to me;
I shall be replenished,
now that it is wasted,”(AG)
3 therefore, thus says the Lord God:
See, I am against you, O Tyre!
I will hurl many nations against you,
as the sea hurls its waves.(AH)
4 They shall destroy the walls of Tyre
and break down its towers.
I will scrape its soil from it
and make it a bare rock.(AI)
5 It shall become, in the midst of the sea,
a place for spreading nets.
I have spoken, says the Lord God.
It shall become plunder for the nations,(AJ)
6 and its daughter towns inland
shall be killed by the sword.
Then they shall know that I am the Lord.(AK)
7 For thus says the Lord God: I will bring against Tyre from the north King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, king of kings, together with horses, chariots, cavalry, and a great and powerful army.(AL)
8 Your daughter towns inland
he shall put to the sword.
He shall set up a siege wall against you,
cast up a ramp against you,
and raise a roof of shields against you.(AM)
9 He shall direct the shock of his battering rams against your walls
and break down your towers with his axes.(AN)
10 His horses shall be so many
that their dust shall cover you.
At the noise of cavalry, wheels, and chariots
your very walls shall shake
when he enters your gates
like those entering a breached city.(AO)
11 With the hoofs of his horses
he shall trample all your streets.
He shall put your people to the sword,
and your strong pillars shall fall to the ground.(AP)
12 They will take your riches
and plunder your merchandise;
they shall break down your walls
and destroy your fine houses.
Your stones and timber and soil
they shall cast into the water.
13 I will silence the music of your songs;
the sound of your lyres shall be heard no more.(AQ)
14 I will make you a bare rock;
you shall be a place for spreading nets.
You shall never again be rebuilt,
for I the Lord have spoken,
says the Lord God.
15 Thus says the Lord God to Tyre: Shall not the coastlands shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan, when slaughter goes on within you?(AR) 16 Then all the princes of the sea shall step down from their thrones; they shall remove their robes and strip off their embroidered garments. They shall clothe themselves with trembling and shall sit on the ground; they shall tremble every moment and be appalled at you.(AS) 17 And they shall raise a lamentation over you and say to you:
“How you have vanished[o] from the seas,
O city renowned,
once mighty on the sea,
you and your inhabitants,[p]
who imposed your[q] terror
on all the mainland
18 Now the coastlands tremble
on the day of your fall;
the coastlands by the sea
are dismayed at your passing.”(AU)
19 For thus says the Lord God: When I make you a city laid waste, like cities that are not inhabited, when I bring up the deep over you and the great waters cover you, 20 then I will thrust you down with those who descend into the Pit, to the people of long ago, and I will make you live in the world below, among primeval ruins, with those who go down to the Pit, so that you will not be inhabited or have a place[s] in the land of the living.(AV) 21 I will bring you to a dreadful end, and you shall be no more; though sought for, you will never be found again, says the Lord God.(AW)
Lamentation over Tyre
27 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 Now you, mortal, raise a lamentation over Tyre,(AX) 3 and say to Tyre, which sits at the entrance to the sea, merchant of the peoples on many coastlands: Thus says the Lord God:
O Tyre, you have said,
“I am perfect in beauty.”(AY)
4 Your borders are in the heart of the seas;
your builders made perfect your beauty.(AZ)
5 They made all your planks
of fir trees from Senir;
they took a cedar from Lebanon
to make a mast for you.(BA)
6 From oaks of Bashan
they made your oars;
they made your deck of pines[t]
from the coasts of Cyprus,
inlaid with ivory.(BB)
7 Of fine embroidered linen from Egypt
was your sail,
serving as your ensign;
blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah
was your awning.
8 The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad
were your rowers;
skilled men of Zemer[u] were within you;
they were your pilots.(BC)
9 The elders of Gebal and its artisans were within you,
caulking your seams;
all the ships of the sea with their sailors were within you,
to barter for your wares.(BD)
10 Paras[v] and Lud and Put
were in your army,
your mighty warriors;
they hung shield and helmet in you;
they gave you splendor.(BE)
11 Men of Arvad and Helech[w]
were on your walls all around;
men of Gamad were at your towers.
They hung their quivers all around your walls;
they made perfect your beauty.(BF)
12 Tarshish did business with you out of the abundance of your great wealth; silver, iron, tin, and lead they exchanged for your wares.(BG) 13 Javan, Tubal, and Meshech traded with you; they exchanged human beings and vessels of bronze for your merchandise.(BH) 14 Beth-togarmah exchanged for your wares horses, war horses, and mules.(BI) 15 The Rhodians[x] traded with you; many coastlands were your own special markets; they brought you in payment ivory tusks and ebony.(BJ) 16 Edom[y] did business with you because of your abundant goods; they exchanged for your wares turquoise, purple, embroidered work, fine linen, coral, and rubies.(BK) 17 Judah and the land of Israel traded with you; they exchanged for your merchandise wheat from Minnith, millet,[z] honey, oil, and balm.(BL) 18 Damascus traded with you for your abundant goods—because of your great wealth of every kind—wine of Helbon and wool of Zahar.(BM) 19 Vedan and Javan from Uzal[aa] entered into trade for your wares; wrought iron, cassia, and sweet cane were bartered for your merchandise. 20 Dedan traded with you in saddlecloths for riding. 21 Arabia and all the princes of Kedar were your favored dealers in lambs, rams, and goats; in these they did business with you.(BN) 22 The merchants of Sheba and Raamah traded with you; they exchanged for your wares the best of all kinds of spices and all precious stones and gold.(BO) 23 Haran, Canneh, Eden, the merchants of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad traded with you.(BP) 24 These traded with you in choice garments, in clothes of blue and embroidered work, and in carpets of colored material, bound with cords and made secure; in these they traded with you.[ab] 25 The ships of Tarshish traveled for you in your trade.
So you were filled and heavily laden
in the heart of the seas.(BQ)
26 Your rowers have brought you
into the high seas.
The east wind has wrecked you
in the heart of the seas.(BR)
27 Your riches, your wares, your merchandise,
your sailors and your pilots,
your caulkers, your dealers in merchandise,
and all your warriors within you,
with all the company
that is with you,
sink into the heart of the seas
on the day of your ruin.(BS)
28 At the sound of the cry of your pilots
the pasturelands shake,(BT)
29 and down from their ships
come all who handle the oar.
The sailors and all the pilots of the sea
stand on the shore(BU)
30 and wail aloud over you
and cry bitterly.
They throw dust on their heads
and wallow in ashes;(BV)
31 they make themselves bald for you
and put on sackcloth,
and they weep over you in bitterness of soul,
with bitter mourning.(BW)
32 In their wailing they raise a lamentation for you
and lament over you:
“Who was ever destroyed[ac] like Tyre
in the midst of the sea?(BX)
33 When your wares came from the seas,
you satisfied many peoples;
with your abundant wealth and merchandise
you enriched the kings of the earth.(BY)
34 Now you are wrecked by the seas,
in the depths of the waters;
your merchandise and all your crew
have sunk with you.(BZ)
35 All the inhabitants of the coastlands
are appalled at you,
and their kings are horribly afraid;
their faces are convulsed.(CA)
36 The merchants among the peoples hiss at you;
you have come to a dreadful end
and shall be no more forever.”(CB)
Proclamation against the King of Tyre
28 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 Mortal, say to the prince of Tyre: Thus says the Lord God:
Because your heart is proud
and you have said, “I am a god;
I sit in the seat of the gods,
in the heart of the seas,”
yet you are but a mortal and no god,
though you compare your mind
with the mind of a god.(CC)
3 You are indeed wiser than Daniel;[ad]
no secret is hidden from you;(CD)
4 by your wisdom and your understanding
you have amassed wealth for yourself
and have gathered gold and silver
into your treasuries.(CE)
5 By your great wisdom in trade
you have increased your wealth,
and your heart has become proud in your wealth.(CF)
6 Therefore thus says the Lord God:
Because you compare your mind
with the mind of a god,(CG)
7 therefore, I will bring strangers against you,
the most terrible of the nations;
they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom
and defile your splendor.(CH)
8 They shall thrust you down to the Pit,
and you shall die a violent death
in the heart of the seas.(CI)
9 Will you still say, “I am a god,”
in the presence of those who kill you,
though you are but a mortal and no god,
in the hands of those who pierce you?
10 You shall die the death of the uncircumcised
by the hand of foreigners,
for I have spoken, says the Lord God.(CJ)
Lamentation over the King of Tyre
11 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me: 12 Mortal, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him: Thus says the Lord God:
You were the signet of perfection,[ae]
full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.(CK)
13 You were in Eden, the garden of God;
every precious stone was your covering,
carnelian, chrysolite, and moonstone,
beryl, onyx, and jasper,
sapphire,[af] turquoise, and emerald;
and worked in gold were your settings
and your engravings.[ag]
On the day that you were created
they were prepared.(CL)
14 You were a cherub;[ah]
I placed you on the holy mountain of God;
you walked among the stones of fire.(CM)
15 You were blameless in your ways
from the day that you were created,
until iniquity was found in you.(CN)
16 In the abundance of your trade
you were filled with violence, and you sinned,
so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God,
and I drove you out, O guardian cherub,
from among the stones of fire.(CO)
17 Your heart was proud because of your beauty;
you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.
I cast you to the ground;
I exposed you before kings,
to feast their eyes on you.(CP)
18 By the multitude of your iniquities,
in the unrighteousness of your trade,
you profaned your sanctuaries.
So I brought out fire from within you;
it consumed you,
and I turned you to ashes on the earth
in the sight of all who saw you.(CQ)
19 All who know you among the peoples
are appalled at you;
you have come to a dreadful end
and shall be no more forever.(CR)
Proclamation against Sidon
20 The word of the Lord came to me: 21 Mortal, set your face toward Sidon, and prophesy against it,(CS) 22 and say: Thus says the Lord God:
I am against you, O Sidon,
and I will gain glory in your midst.
They shall know that I am the Lord
when I execute judgments in it
and manifest my holiness in it;(CT)
23 for I will send pestilence into it,
and bloodshed into its streets;
and the dead shall fall in its midst,
by the sword that is against it on every side.
And they shall know that I am the Lord.(CU)
24 The house of Israel shall no longer find a pricking brier or a piercing thorn among all their neighbors who have treated them with contempt. And they shall know that I am the Lord God.(CV)
Future Blessing for Israel
25 Thus says the Lord God: When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered and manifest my holiness in them in the sight of the nations, then they shall settle on their own soil that I gave to my servant Jacob.(CW) 26 They shall live in safety in it and shall build houses and plant vineyards. They shall live in safety when I execute judgments upon all their neighbors who have treated them with contempt. And they shall know that I am the Lord their God.(CX)
Proclamation against Egypt
29 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 2 Mortal, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt;(CY) 3 speak and say: Thus says the Lord God:
I am against you,
Pharaoh king of Egypt,
the great dragon sprawling
in the midst of its channels,
saying, “My Nile is my own;
I made it for myself.”(CZ)
4 I will put hooks in your jaws
and make the fish of your channels stick to your scales.
I will draw you up from your channels,
with all the fish of your channels
sticking to your scales.(DA)
5 I will fling you into the wilderness,
you and all the fish of your channels;
you shall fall in the open field
and not be gathered or picked up.
To the animals of the earth and to the birds of the air
I have given you as food.(DB)
6 Then all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know
that I am the Lord,
because you[ai] were a staff of reed
to the house of Israel;(DC)
7 when they grasped you with the hand, you broke
and tore all their shoulders,
and when they leaned on you, you broke
and made all their legs give way.[aj](DD)
8 Therefore, thus says the Lord God: I will bring a sword upon you and will cut off from you human and animal,(DE) 9 and the land of Egypt shall be a desolation and a waste. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.
Because you[ak] said, “The Nile is mine, and I made it,” 10 therefore, I am against you and against your channels, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of Cush.(DF) 11 No human foot shall pass through it, and no animal foot shall pass through it; it shall be uninhabited forty years.(DG) 12 I will make the land of Egypt a desolation among desolated countries, and her cities shall be a desolation forty years among cities that are laid waste. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the countries.(DH)
13 Further, thus says the Lord God: At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered,(DI) 14 and I will restore the fortunes of Egypt and bring them back to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin, and there they shall be a lowly kingdom. 15 It shall be the most lowly of the kingdoms and never again exalt itself above the nations, and I will make them so small that they will never again rule over the nations. 16 The Egyptians[al] shall never again be the reliance of the house of Israel; they will recall their iniquity when they turned to them for aid. Then they shall know that I am the Lord God.(DJ)
Babylonia Will Plunder Egypt
17 In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 18 Mortal, King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre; every head was made bald and every shoulder was rubbed bare, yet neither he nor his army got anything from Tyre to pay for the labor that he had expended against it.(DK) 19 Therefore thus says the Lord God: I will give the land of Egypt to King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, and he shall carry off its wealth and despoil it and plunder it, and it shall be the wages for his army.(DL) 20 I have given him the land of Egypt as his payment for which he labored, because they worked for me, says the Lord God.(DM)
21 On that day I will cause a horn to sprout up for the house of Israel, and I will open your lips among them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.(DN)
Lamentation for Egypt
30 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 Mortal, prophesy, and say: Thus says the Lord God:
Wail, “Alas for the day!”(DO)
3 For a day is near,
the day of the Lord is near;
it will be a day of clouds,
a time of doom[am] for the nations.(DP)
4 A sword shall come upon Egypt,
and anguish shall be in Cush,
when the slain fall in Egypt,
and its wealth is carried away,
and its foundations are torn down.(DQ)
5 Cush and Put and Lud and all the mixed populations and Libya[an] and the people of the allied land[ao] shall fall with them by the sword.(DR)
6 Thus says the Lord:
Those who support Egypt shall fall,
and its proud might shall come down;
from Migdol to Syene
they shall fall within it by the sword,
says the Lord God.(DS)
7 They shall be desolated among other desolated countries,
and their cities shall lie among cities laid waste.(DT)
8 Then they shall know that I am the Lord,
when I have set fire to Egypt,
and all who help it are broken.(DU)
9 On that day, messengers shall go out from me in ships to terrify the secure Cushites, and anguish shall come upon them on the day of Egypt’s doom,[ap] for it is coming!(DV)
10 Thus says the Lord God:
I will put an end to the hordes of Egypt,
by the hand of King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon.(DW)
11 He and his people with him, the most terrible of the nations,
shall be brought in to destroy the land,
and they shall draw their swords against Egypt
and fill the land with the slain.(DX)
12 I will dry up the channels of the Nile
and will sell the land into the hand of evildoers;
I will bring desolation upon the land and everything in it
by the hand of foreigners;
I the Lord have spoken.(DY)
13 Thus says the Lord God:
I will destroy the idols
and put an end to the images in Memphis;
there shall no longer be a prince in the land of Egypt,
so I will put fear in the land of Egypt.(DZ)
14 I will make Pathros a desolation
and will set fire to Zoan
and will execute acts of judgment on Thebes.(EA)
15 I will pour my wrath upon Pelusium,
the stronghold of Egypt,
and will cut off the hordes of Thebes.(EB)
16 I will set fire to Egypt;
Pelusium shall be in great agony;
Thebes shall be breached
and Memphis face adversaries by day.
17 The young men of On and of Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword,
and the cities themselves[aq] shall go into captivity.
18 At Tehaphnehes the day shall be dark,
when I break there the dominion of Egypt,
and its proud might shall come to an end;
the city[ar] shall be covered by a cloud,
and its daughter towns shall go into captivity.(EC)
19 Thus I will execute acts of judgment on Egypt.
Then they shall know that I am the Lord.(ED)
Proclamation against Pharaoh
20 In the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 21 Mortal, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; it has not been bound up for healing or wrapped with a bandage, so that it may become strong to wield the sword.(EE) 22 Therefore thus says the Lord God: I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt and will break his arms, both the strong arm and the one that was broken, and I will make the sword fall from his hand.(EF) 23 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the lands.(EG) 24 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put my sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before him with the groans of one mortally wounded.(EH) 25 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall. And they shall know that I am the Lord when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon. He shall stretch it out against the land of Egypt,(EI) 26 and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.(EJ)
The Lofty Cedar
31 In the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 2 Mortal, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his hordes:
Whom are you like in your greatness?(EK)
3 Consider Assyria, a cedar of Lebanon,
with fair branches and forest shade,
and of great height,
its top among the clouds.(EL)
4 The waters nourished it;
the deep made it grow tall,
flowing with its rivers
around the place it was planted,
sending forth its streams
to all the trees of the field.(EM)
5 So it towered high
above all the trees of the field;
its boughs grew large
and its branches long,
from abundant water in its shoots.(EN)
6 All the birds of the air
made their nests in its boughs;
under its branches all the animals of the field
gave birth to their young,
and in its shade
all great nations lived.(EO)
7 It was beautiful in its greatness,
in the length of its branches,
for its roots went down
to abundant water.
8 The cedars in the garden of God could not rival it
nor the fir trees equal its boughs;
the plane trees were as nothing
compared with its branches;
no tree in the garden of God
was like it in beauty.(EP)
9 I made it beautiful
with its mass of branches,
the envy of all the trees of Eden
that were in the garden of God.
10 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because it[as] towered high and set its top among the clouds and its heart was proud of its height,(EQ) 11 I gave it into the hand of the prince of the nations; he has dealt with it as its wickedness deserves. I have cast it out.(ER) 12 Foreigners from the most terrible of the nations have cut it down and left it. On the mountains and in all the valleys its branches have fallen, and its boughs lie broken in all the watercourses of the land, and all the peoples of the earth went away from its shade and left it.(ES)
13 On its fallen trunk settle
all the birds of the air,
and among its boughs lodge
all the wild animals.(ET)
14 All this is in order that no trees by the waters may grow to lofty height or set their tops among the clouds and that no trees that drink water may reach up to them in height.
For all of them are handed over to death,
to the world below;
along with mortals,
with those who go down to the Pit.(EU)
15 Thus says the Lord God: On the day it went down to Sheol I closed the deep over it and covered it; I restrained its rivers, and its mighty waters were checked. I clothed Lebanon in gloom for it, and all the trees of the field fainted because of it.(EV) 16 I made the nations quake at the sound of its fall, when I cast it down to Sheol with those who go down to the Pit, and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that were well watered, were consoled in the world below.(EW) 17 They also went down to Sheol with it, to those killed by the sword, along with its allies,[at] those who lived in its shade among the nations.(EX)
18 Which among the trees of Eden was like you in glory and in greatness? Now you shall be brought down with the trees of Eden to the world below; you shall lie among the uncircumcised, with those who are killed by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his horde, says the Lord God.(EY)
Lamentation over Pharaoh and Egypt
32 In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 2 Mortal, raise a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him:
You consider yourself a lion among the nations,
but you are like a dragon in the seas;
you thrash about in your streams,
trouble the water with your feet,
and foul your[au] streams.(EZ)
3 Thus says the Lord God:
In an assembly of many peoples
I will throw my net over you,
and I[av] will haul you up in my dragnet.(FA)
4 I will throw you on the ground;
on the open field I will fling you
and will cause all the birds of the air to settle on you,
and I will let the wild animals of the whole earth gorge themselves on you.(FB)
5 I will strew your flesh on the mountains
and fill the valleys with your carcass.[aw]
6 I will drench the land with your flowing blood
up to the mountains,
and the watercourses will be filled with you.(FC)
7 When I blot you out, I will cover the heavens
and make their stars dark;
I will cover the sun with a cloud,
and the moon shall not give its light.(FD)
8 All the shining lights of the heavens
I will darken above you
and put darkness on your land,
says the Lord God.
9 I will trouble the hearts of many peoples
as I carry you captive[ax] among the nations,
into countries you have not known.(FE)
10 I will make many peoples appalled at you;
their kings shall shudder because of you.
When I brandish my sword before them,
they shall tremble every moment
for their lives, each one of them,
on the day of your downfall.(FF)
11 For thus says the Lord God:
The sword of the king of Babylon shall come against you.(FG)
12 I will cause your hordes to fall
by the swords of mighty ones,
all of them most terrible among the nations.
They shall bring to ruin the pride of Egypt,
and all its hordes shall perish.(FH)
13 I will destroy all its livestock
from beside abundant waters,
and no human foot shall trouble them any more,
nor shall the hoofs of cattle trouble them.(FI)
14 Then I will make their waters clear
and cause their streams to run like oil, says the Lord God.
15 When I make the land of Egypt desolate
and when the land is stripped of all that fills it,
when I strike down all who live in it,
then they shall know that I am the Lord.(FJ)
16 This is a lamentation; it shall be chanted.
The women of the nations shall chant it.
Over Egypt and all its hordes they shall chant it,
says the Lord God.(FK)
Dirge over Egypt
17 In the twelfth year, in the first month,[ay] on the fifteenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me:
18 Mortal, wail over the hordes of Egypt
and send them down,
with Egypt[az] and the daughters of majestic nations,
to the world below,
with those who go down to the Pit.(FL)
19 “Whom do you surpass in beauty?
Go down! Be laid to rest with the uncircumcised!”(FM)
20 They shall fall among those who are killed by the sword. Egypt[ba] has been handed over to the sword; both it and its hordes will be carried away.[bb] 21 The mighty chiefs shall speak of them, with their helpers, out of the midst of Sheol: “They have come down; they lie still, the uncircumcised, killed by the sword.”(FN)
22 Assyria is there and all its company, their graves all around it, all of them killed, fallen by the sword.(FO) 23 Their graves are set in the uttermost parts of the Pit. Its company is all around its grave, all of them killed, fallen by the sword, who spread terror in the land of the living.(FP)
24 Elam is there and all its hordes around its grave, all of them killed, fallen by the sword, who went down uncircumcised into the world below, who spread terror in the land of the living. They bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit.(FQ) 25 They have made Elam[bc] a bed among the slain with all its hordes, their graves all around it, all of them uncircumcised, killed by the sword, for terror of them was spread in the land of the living, and they bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit; they are placed among the slain.(FR)
26 Meshech and Tubal are there, and all their multitude, their graves all around them, all of them uncircumcised, pierced by the sword, for they spread terror in the land of the living.(FS) 27 And they do not lie with the fallen warriors of long ago[bd] who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war, whose swords were laid under their heads and whose shields[be] are upon their bones; for the terror of the warriors was in the land of the living.(FT) 28 So you shall be broken and lie among the uncircumcised, with those who are killed by the sword.
29 Edom is there, its kings and all its princes, who for all their might are laid with those who are killed by the sword; they lie with the uncircumcised, with those who go down to the Pit.(FU)
30 The princes of the north are there, all of them, and all the Sidonians, who have gone down in shame with the slain, for all the terror that they caused by their might; they lie uncircumcised with those who are killed by the sword and bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit.(FV)
31 When Pharaoh sees them, he will be consoled for all his hordes—Pharaoh and all his army, killed by the sword, says the Lord God. 32 For he[bf] spread terror in the land of the living; therefore he shall be laid to rest among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword—Pharaoh and all his multitude, says the Lord God.
Ezekiel, Israel’s Sentry
33 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 O Mortal, speak to your people and say to them: If I bring the sword upon a land and the people of the land take one of their number as their sentinel,(FW) 3 and if the sentinel sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the trumpet and warns the people,(FX) 4 then if any who hear the sound of the trumpet do not take warning and the sword comes and takes them away, their blood shall be upon their own heads.(FY) 5 They heard the sound of the trumpet and did not take warning; their blood shall be upon themselves. But if they had taken warning, they would have saved their lives.(FZ) 6 But if the sentinel sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any of them, they are taken away in their iniquity, but their blood I will require at the sentinel’s hand.(GA)
7 So you, mortal, I have made a sentinel for the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me.(GB) 8 If I say to the wicked, “O wicked ones, you shall surely die,” and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from their ways, the wicked shall die in their iniquity, but their blood I will require at your hand. 9 But if you warn the wicked to turn from their ways and they do not turn from their ways, the wicked shall die in their iniquity, but you will have saved your life.(GC)
God’s Justice and Mercy
10 Now you, mortal, say to the house of Israel: Thus you have said: “Our transgressions and our sins weigh upon us, and we waste away because of them; how then can we live?”(GD) 11 Say to them: As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked but that the wicked turn from their ways and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?(GE) 12 And you, mortal, say to your people: The righteousness of the righteous shall not save them when they transgress, and as for the wickedness of the wicked, it shall not make them stumble when they turn from their wickedness, and the righteous shall not be able to live by their righteousness[bg] when they sin.(GF) 13 Though I say to the righteous that they shall surely live, yet if they trust in their righteousness and commit iniquity, none of their righteous deeds shall be remembered, but in the iniquity that they have committed they shall die.(GG) 14 Again, though I say to the wicked, “You shall surely die,” yet if they turn from their sin and do what is lawful and right(GH)— 15 if the wicked restore the pledge, give back what they have taken by robbery, and walk in the statutes of life, committing no iniquity—they shall surely live; they shall not die.(GI) 16 None of the sins that they have committed shall be remembered against them; they have done what is lawful and right; they shall surely live.(GJ)
17 Yet your people say, “The way of the Lord is not just,” when it is their own way that is not just. 18 When the righteous turn from their righteousness and commit iniquity, they shall die for it.[bh](GK) 19 And when the wicked turn from their wickedness and do what is lawful and right, they shall live by it.[bi] 20 Yet you say, “The way of the Lord is not just.” O house of Israel, I will judge all of you according to your ways!(GL)
The Fall of Jerusalem
21 In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, someone who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me and said, “The city has fallen.”(GM) 22 Now the hand of the Lord had been upon me the evening before the fugitive came, and he opened my mouth when the fugitive came in the morning, so my mouth was opened, and I was no longer unable to speak.(GN)
The Survivors in Judah
23 The word of the Lord came to me: 24 Mortal, the inhabitants of these waste places in the land of Israel keep saying, “Abraham was only one man, yet he got possession of the land, but we are many; the land is surely given us to possess.”(GO) 25 Therefore say to them: Thus says the Lord God: You eat flesh with the blood and lift up your eyes to your idols and shed blood; shall you then possess the land?(GP) 26 You depend on your swords, you commit abominations, and each of you defiles his neighbor’s wife; shall you then possess the land?(GQ) 27 Say this to them: Thus says the Lord God: As I live, surely those who are in the waste places shall fall by the sword, and those who are in the open field I will give to the wild animals to be devoured, and those who are in strongholds and in caves shall die by pestilence.(GR) 28 I will make the land a desolation and a waste, and its proud might shall come to an end, and the mountains of Israel shall be so desolate that no one will pass through.(GS) 29 Then they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have made the land a desolation and a waste because of all their abominations that they have committed.(GT)
30 As for you, mortal, your people who talk together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses say to one another, each to a neighbor, “Come and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord.” 31 They come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear your words, but they will not obey them. For flattery is on their lips, but their heart is set on their gain.[bj](GU) 32 To them you are like a singer of love songs,[bk] one who has a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument; they hear what you say, but they will not do it. 33 When this comes—and come it will!—then they shall know that a prophet has been among them.(GV)
Israel’s False Shepherds
34 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 Mortal, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: To the shepherds—thus says the Lord God: Woe, you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep?(GW) 3 You eat the fat; you clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatted calves, but you do not feed the sheep.(GX) 4 You have not strengthened the weak; you have not healed the sick; you have not bound up the injured; you have not brought back the strays; you have not sought the lost, but with force and harshness you have ruled them.(GY) 5 So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and scattered they became food for all the wild animals.(GZ) 6 My sheep were scattered; they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill; my sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with no one to search or seek for them.
7 Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 8 As I live, says the Lord God, because my sheep have become a prey and my sheep have become food for all the wild animals, since there was no shepherd, and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves and have not fed my sheep,(HA) 9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 10 Thus says the Lord God: I am against the shepherds, and I will hold them accountable for my sheep and put a stop to their feeding the sheep; no longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, so that they may not be food for them.(HB)
God, the True Shepherd
11 For thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep and will sort them out.(HC) 12 As shepherds sort out their flocks when they are among scattered sheep,[bl] so I will sort out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.(HD) 13 I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them into their own land, and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited parts of the land.(HE) 14 I will feed them with good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.(HF) 15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord God. 16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strays, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice.(HG)
17 As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord God: I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats:(HH) 18 Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, but you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture? When you drink of clear water, must you foul the rest with your feet? 19 And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet and drink what you have fouled with your feet?
20 Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21 Because you pushed with flank and shoulder and butted at all the weak animals with your horns until you scattered them far and wide, 22 I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged, and I will judge between sheep and sheep.
23 I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them; he shall feed them and be their shepherd.(HI) 24 And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them; I the Lord have spoken.(HJ)
25 I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild animals from the land, so that they may live in the wild and sleep in the woods securely.(HK) 26 I will make them and the region around my hill a blessing, and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing.(HL) 27 The trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase. They shall be secure on their soil, and they shall know that I am the Lord when I break the bars of their yoke and save them from the hands of those who enslaved them.(HM) 28 They shall no more be plunder for the nations, nor shall the animals of the land devour them; they shall live in safety, and no one shall make them afraid.(HN) 29 I will provide for them a splendid vegetation so that they shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land and no longer suffer the insults of the nations.(HO) 30 They shall know that I, the Lord their God, am with them and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, says the Lord God. 31 You are my sheep, the sheep of my pasture,[bm] and I am your God, says the Lord God.(HP)
Judgment on Mount Seir
35 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 Mortal, set your face against Mount Seir and prophesy against it,(HQ) 3 and say to it: Thus says the Lord God:
I am against you, Mount Seir;
I stretch out my hand against you
to make you a desolation and a waste.
4 I lay your towns in ruins;
you shall become a desolation,
and you shall know that I am the Lord.
5 Because you cherished an ancient enmity and gave over the people of Israel to the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, at the time of their final punishment,(HR) 6 therefore, as I live, says the Lord God, I will make you bloody, and blood shall pursue you; since you did not hate bloodshed, bloodshed will pursue you. 7 I will make Mount Seir a waste and a desolation, and I will cut off from it all who come and go.(HS) 8 I will fill its mountains with the slain; on your hills and in your valleys and in all your watercourses those killed with the sword shall fall.(HT) 9 I will make you a perpetual desolation, and your cities shall never be inhabited. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.(HU)
10 Because you said, “These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will take possession of them”—although the Lord was there(HV)— 11 therefore, as I live, says the Lord God, I will deal with you according to the anger and envy that you showed because of your hatred against them, and I will make myself known among you[bn] when I judge you.(HW) 12 You shall know that I, the Lord, have heard all the abusive speech that you uttered against the mountains of Israel, saying, “They are laid desolate; they are given us to devour.” 13 And you magnified yourselves against me with your mouth and multiplied your words against me; I heard it.(HX) 14 Thus says the Lord God: As the whole earth rejoices, I will make you desolate.(HY) 15 As you rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel because it was desolate, so I will deal with you; you shall be desolate, Mount Seir and all Edom, all of it. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.(HZ)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.