Old/New Testament
Lament over Egypt
30 The word of the Lord came again to me saying, 2 “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord [a]God,
“(A)Wail, ‘Alas for the day!’
3 “For the day is near,
Even (B)the day of the Lord is near;
It will be a day of (C)clouds,
A time of doom for the nations.
4 “A sword will come upon Egypt,
And anguish will be in [b]Ethiopia;
When the slain fall in Egypt,
They (D)take away her [c]wealth,
And her foundations are torn down.
5 [d]Ethiopia, Put, Lud, all [e](E)Arabia, [f]Libya and the [g]people of the land [h]that is in league will fall with them by the sword.”
6 ‘Thus says the Lord,
“Indeed, those who support (F)Egypt will fall
And the pride of her power will come down;
From Migdol to Syene
They will fall within her by the sword,”
Declares the Lord God.
7 “They will be desolate
In the (G)midst of the desolated lands;
And her cities will be
In the midst of the devastated cities.
8 “And they will (H)know that I am the Lord,
When I set a (I)fire in Egypt
And all her helpers are broken.
9 On that day (J)messengers will go forth from Me in ships to frighten (K)secure [i]Ethiopia; and (L)anguish will be on them as on the day of Egypt; for behold, it comes!”
10 ‘Thus says the Lord God,
“(M)I will also make the [j]hordes of Egypt cease
By the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
11 “He and his people with him,
(N)The most ruthless of the nations,
Will be brought in to destroy the land;
And they will draw their swords against Egypt
And fill the land with the slain.
12 “Moreover, I will make the (O)Nile canals dry
And (P)sell the land into the hands of evil men.
And I will make the land desolate
And [k]all that is in it,
By the hand of strangers; I the Lord have spoken.”
13 ‘Thus says the Lord God,
“I will also (Q)destroy the idols
And make the [l]images cease from [m](R)Memphis.
And there will no longer be a prince in the land of Egypt;
And I will put fear in the land of Egypt.
14 “I will make (S)Pathros desolate,
Set a fire in (T)Zoan
And execute judgments on [n](U)Thebes.
15 “I will pour out My wrath on [o]Sin,
The stronghold of Egypt;
I will also cut off the hordes of [p]Thebes.
16 “I will set a fire in Egypt;
[q]Sin will writhe in anguish,
[r]Thebes will be breached
And [s]Memphis will have [t]distresses daily.
17 “The young men of [u](V)On and of Pi-beseth
Will fall by the sword,
And [v]the women will go into captivity.
18 “In (W)Tehaphnehes the day will [w]be (X)dark
When I (Y)break there the yoke bars of Egypt.
Then the pride of her power will cease in her;
A cloud will cover her,
And her daughters will go into captivity.
19 “Thus I will (Z)execute judgments on Egypt,
And they will know that I am the Lord.”’”
Victory for Babylon
20 In the (AA)eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh of the month, the word of the Lord came to me saying, 21 “Son of man, I have (AB)broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, behold, it has not been (AC)bound up [x]for healing [y]or wrapped with a bandage, that it may be strong to hold the sword. 22 Therefore thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I am (AD)against Pharaoh king of Egypt and will break his arms, both the strong and the (AE)broken; and I will make the sword (AF)fall from his hand. 23 I will (AG)scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands. 24 For I will (AH)strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put (AI)My sword in his hand; and I will break the arms of Pharaoh, so that he will groan before him with the groanings of a wounded man. 25 Thus I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fall. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I put My sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he (AJ)stretches it out against the land of Egypt. 26 When I scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands, then they will know that I am the Lord.’”
Pharaoh Warned of Assyria’s Fate
31 In the (AK)eleventh year, in the third month, on the first of the month, the word of the Lord came to me saying, 2 “Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his (AL)hordes,
‘Whom are you like in your greatness?
3 ‘Behold, Assyria was a (AM)cedar in Lebanon
With beautiful branches and forest shade,
And [z](AN)very high,
And its top was among the [aa]clouds.
4 ‘The (AO)waters made it grow, the [ab]deep made it high.
With its rivers it continually [ac]extended all around its planting place,
And sent out its channels to all the trees of the field.
5 ‘Therefore (AP)its height was loftier than all the trees of the field
And its boughs became many and its branches long
Because of (AQ)many waters [ad]as it spread them out.
6 ‘All the (AR)birds of the heavens nested in its boughs,
And under its branches all the beasts of the field gave birth,
And all great nations lived under its shade.
7 ‘So it was beautiful in its greatness, in the length of its branches;
For its [ae]roots extended to many waters.
8 ‘The (AS)cedars in (AT)God’s garden [af]could not match it;
The [ag]cypresses [ah]could not compare with its boughs,
And the plane trees [ai]could not match its branches.
No tree in (AU)God’s garden [aj]could compare with it in its beauty.
9 ‘I made it beautiful with the multitude of its branches,
And all the trees of (AV)Eden, which were in the (AW)garden of God, were jealous of it.
10 ‘Therefore thus says the Lord [ak]God, “Because [al]it is high in stature and has set its top among the [am]clouds, and its (AX)heart is haughty in its loftiness, 11 therefore I will give it into the hand of a [an](AY)despot of the nations; he will thoroughly deal with it. According to its wickedness I have (AZ)driven it away. 12 (BA)Alien (BB)tyrants of the nations have cut it down and left it; on the (BC)mountains and in all the valleys its branches have fallen and its boughs have been broken in all the ravines of the land. And all the peoples of the earth have (BD)gone down from its shade and left it. 13 On its ruin all the (BE)birds of the heavens will dwell, and all the beasts of the field will be on its fallen branches 14 so that all the trees by the waters may not be exalted in their stature, nor set their top among the [ao]clouds, nor their [ap]well-watered mighty ones stand erect in their height. For they have all been given over to death, to the (BF)earth beneath, among the sons of men, with those who go down to the pit.”
15 ‘Thus says the Lord God, “On the day when it went down to Sheol I (BG)caused lamentations; I closed the [aq]deep over it and held back its rivers. And its many waters were stopped up, and I made Lebanon [ar]mourn for it, and all the trees of the field wilted away on account of it. 16 I made the nations (BH)quake at the sound of its fall when I made it (BI)go down to Sheol with those who go down to the pit; and all the [as]well-watered trees of Eden, the choicest and best of (BJ)Lebanon, were (BK)comforted in the earth beneath. 17 They also (BL)went down with it to Sheol to those who were (BM)slain by the sword; and those who were its [at]strength lived (BN)under its shade among the nations.
18 “To which among the trees of Eden are you thus [au]equal in glory and greatness? Yet you will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the earth beneath; you will lie in the midst of the (BO)uncircumcised, with those who were slain by the sword. (BP)So is Pharaoh and all his hordes!”’ declares the Lord God.”
Lament over Pharaoh and Egypt
32 In the (BQ)twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first of the month, the word of the Lord came to me saying, 2 “Son of man, take up a (BR)lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him,
‘You [av]compared yourself to a young (BS)lion of the nations,
Yet you are like the (BT)monster in the seas;
And you (BU)burst forth in your rivers
And muddied the waters with your feet
And [aw]fouled their rivers.’”
3 Thus says the Lord [ax]God,
“Now I will (BV)spread My net over you
With a company of many peoples,
And they shall lift you up in My net.
4 “I will leave you on the land;
I will cast you on the [ay]open field.
And I will cause all the (BW)birds of the heavens to dwell on you,
And I will satisfy the beasts of the whole earth [az]with you.
5 “I will lay your flesh (BX)on the mountains
And fill the valleys with your refuse.
6 “I will also make the land drink the discharge of your (BY)blood
As far as the mountains,
And the ravines will be full of you.
7 “And when I (BZ)extinguish you,
I will (CA)cover the heavens and darken their (CB)stars;
I will cover the (CC)sun with a cloud
And the moon will not give its light.
8 “All the shining (CD)lights in the heavens
I will darken over you
And will set darkness on your land,”
Declares the Lord God.
9 “I will also (CE)trouble the hearts of many peoples when I (CF)bring your destruction among the nations, into lands which you have not known. 10 I will make many peoples (CG)appalled at you, and their kings will be horribly afraid of you when I brandish My sword before them; and (CH)they will tremble every moment, every man for his own life, on the day of your fall.”
11 For (CI)thus says the Lord God, “The sword of the king of Babylon will come upon you. 12 By the swords of the mighty ones I will cause your hordes to fall; all of them are (CJ)tyrants of the nations,
And they will (CK)devastate the pride of Egypt,
And all its hordes will be destroyed.
13 “I will also destroy all its cattle from beside many waters;
And (CL)the foot of man will not muddy them anymore
And the hoofs of beasts will not muddy them.
14 “Then I will make their waters settle
And will cause their rivers to run like oil,”
Declares the Lord God.
15 “When I make the land of Egypt a (CM)desolation,
And the land is destitute of that which filled it,
When I smite all those who live in it,
Then they shall (CN)know that I am the Lord.
16 This is a (CO)lamentation and they shall [ba]chant it. The daughters of the nations shall [bb]chant it. Over Egypt and over all her hordes they shall [bc]chant it,” declares the Lord God.
17 In the (CP)twelfth year, on the (CQ)fifteenth of the month, the word of the Lord came to me saying, 18 “Son of man, (CR)wail for the hordes of Egypt and (CS)bring it down, her and the daughters of the powerful nations, to the (CT)nether world, with those who go down to the pit;
19 ‘Whom do you surpass in beauty?
Go down and make your bed with the (CU)uncircumcised.’
20 They shall fall in the midst of those who are slain by the sword. [bd]She is given over to the sword; they have (CV)drawn her and all her hordes away. 21 The (CW)strong among the mighty ones shall speak of him and his helpers from the midst of Sheol, ‘They have gone down, they lie still, the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.’
22 “(CX)Assyria is there and all her company; [be]her graves are round about [bf]her. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword, 23 whose (CY)graves are set in the remotest parts of the pit and her company is round about her grave. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword, who [bg]spread terror in the land of the living.
24 “(CZ)Elam is there and all her hordes around her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who went down uncircumcised to the (DA)lower parts of the earth, who instilled their terror in the (DB)land of the living and (DC)bore their disgrace with those who went down to the pit. 25 They have made a (DD)bed for her among the slain with all her hordes. Her graves are around it, they are all uncircumcised, slain by the sword (although their terror was [bh]instilled in the land of the living), and they bore their disgrace with those who go down to the pit; [bi]they were put in the midst of the slain.
26 “(DE)Meshech, (DF)Tubal and all their hordes are there; their graves [bj]surround them. All of them were slain by the sword (DG)uncircumcised, though they instilled their terror in the land of the living. 27 (DH)Nor do they lie beside the fallen [bk](DI)heroes of the uncircumcised, who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war and whose swords were laid under their heads; but the punishment for their (DJ)iniquity rested on their bones, though the terror of these [bl]heroes was once in the land of the living. 28 But in the midst of the uncircumcised you will be broken and lie with those slain by the sword.
29 “There also is (DK)Edom, its kings and all its [bm]princes, who [bn]for all their might are laid with those slain by the sword; they will lie with the uncircumcised and with those who go down to the pit.
30 “There also are the [bo]chiefs of the (DL)north, all of them, and all the (DM)Sidonians, who in spite of the terror resulting from their might, in shame went down with the slain. So they lay down uncircumcised with those slain by the sword and bore their disgrace with those who go down to the pit.
31 “These Pharaoh will see, and he will be (DN)comforted for all his hordes slain by the sword, even Pharaoh and all his army,” declares the Lord God. 32 “Though I instilled a terror of him in the land of the living, yet he will be made to lie down among the uncircumcised along with those slain by the sword, even Pharaoh and all his hordes,” declares the Lord God.
Keep Fervent in Your Love
4 Therefore, since (A)Christ has [a]suffered in the flesh, (B)arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because (C)he who has [b]suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 (D)so as to live (E)the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the (F)will of God. 3 For (G)the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, [c](H)having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and [d]abominable idolatries. 4 In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of (I)dissipation, and they (J)malign you; 5 but they will give account to Him who is ready to judge (K)the living and the dead. 6 For (L)the gospel has for this purpose been [e]preached even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God.
7 (M)The end of all things [f]is near; therefore, (N)be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of [g]prayer. 8 Above all, (O)keep fervent in your love for one another, because (P)love covers a multitude of sins. 9 (Q)Be hospitable to one another without (R)complaint. 10 (S)As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good (T)stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11 (U)Whoever speaks, is to do so [h]as one who is speaking the (V)utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving [i](W)by the strength which God supplies; so that (X)in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, (Y)to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Share the Sufferings of Christ
12 (Z)Beloved, do not be surprised at the (AA)fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; 13 but to the degree that you (AB)share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the (AC)revelation of His glory (AD)you may rejoice with exultation. 14 If you are reviled [j](AE)for the name of Christ, (AF)you are blessed, (AG)because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15 Make sure that (AH)none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a [k](AI)troublesome meddler; 16 but if anyone suffers as a (AJ)Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to (AK)glorify God in this name. 17 For it is time for judgment (AL)to begin [l]with (AM)the household of God; and if it (AN)begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those (AO)who do not obey the (AP)gospel of God? 18 (AQ)And if it is with difficulty that the righteous is saved, [m]what will become of the (AR)godless man and the sinner? 19 Therefore, those also who suffer according to (AS)the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.
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