Ezekiel 21-29

New American Standard Bible

Parable of the Sword of the Lord

21 ^[a]And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, ^(A)set your face against Jerusalem, and ^[b](B)speak prophetically against the sanctuaries and prophesy against the land of Israel; ³ and say to the land of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Behold, ^(C)I am against you; and I will draw My sword from its sheath and cut off from you the ^(D)righteous and the wicked. ⁴ Because I will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked, therefore My sword will go out from its sheath against ^[c](E)humanity from south to north. ⁵ So ^[d]humanity will know that I, the Lord, have drawn My sword from its sheath. It will ^(F)not return to its sheath again.”’ ⁶ As for you, son of man, groan with ^[e]a breaking heart and bitter grief; you shall groan in their sight. ⁷ And when they say to you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you shall say, ‘Because of the ^(G)news, for it is coming; and ^(H)every heart will melt, all hands will go limp, every spirit will be disheartened, and all ^[f]knees will drip with water. Behold, it is coming and it will happen,’ declares the Lord ^[g]God.”

⁸ And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ⁹ “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord says:’ Say,

Or shall we rejoice, the ^[i]rod of My son ^(K)despising every tree? ¹¹ And it is given to be polished, so that it may be handled; the sword is sharpened and polished, to hand it over to the slaughterer. ^12 (L)Cry out and wail, son of man; for it is against My people, it is against all the ^(M)officials of Israel. They are turned over to the sword with My people, therefore ^[j]slap your thigh. ¹³ For there is a testing; and what if even the ^[k]rod which despises will cease to be?” declares the Lord God.

¹⁴ “You therefore, son of man, prophesy and clap your hands; and let the sword be ^(N)doubled the third time, the sword for the slain. It is the sword for the great one slain, which surrounds them, ¹⁵ so that their ^(O)hearts will waver, and many ^(P)fall at all their ^(Q)gates. I have granted the slaughter of the sword. Oh! It is made for striking like lightning, it is sharpened in readiness for slaughter. ¹⁶ Prove yourself sharp, go to the right; set yourself; go to the left, wherever your ^[l]edge is ordered. ¹⁷ I will also clap My hands, and I will ^(R)satisfy My wrath; I, the Lord, have spoken.”

The Instrument of God’s Judgment

¹⁸ And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁹ “Now as for you, son of man, ^[m](S)make two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to come; both of them will go out of one land. And ^[n]make a signpost; ^[o]make it at the head of the way to the city. ²⁰ You shall ^[p]mark a way for the sword to come to ^(T)Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, and to Judah into ^(U)fortified Jerusalem. ²¹ For the king of Babylon stands at the ^[q]parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use ^(V)divination; he ^(W)shakes the arrows, he consults the ^[r](X)household idols, he looks at the liver. ²² Into his right hand came the divination, ‘Jerusalem,’ to ^(Y)set up battering rams, to open the mouth ^[s]for ^[t]slaughter, to raise the voice with a battle cry, to set up battering rams against the gates, to pile up assault ramps, to build a siege wall. ²³ And it will be to them like a false divination in their eyes; ^(Z)they have sworn solemn oaths. But he ^(AA)makes guilt known, so that they may be seized.

²⁴ “Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: ‘Because you have made your guilt known, in that your offenses are uncovered, so that in all your deeds your sins are seen—because you have come to mind, you will be seized by the hand. ²⁵ And you, slain, wicked one, the prince of Israel, whose ^(AB)day has come, in the time of the ^[u]punishment of the end,’ ²⁶ this is what the Lord God says: ‘Remove the ^[v]turban and take off the ^(AC)crown; this will ^[w]no longer be the same. ^(AD)Exalt that which is low, and humble that which is high. ^27 (AE)Ruins, ruins, ruins, I will make it! This also will be no longer until ^(AF)He comes whose right it is, and I will give it to Him.’

²⁸ “And you, son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord God says concerning the sons of Ammon and their ^(AG)taunting,’ and say: ‘A sword, a sword is drawn, sharpened for the slaughter, to make it ^[x](AH)consume, so that it may be like lightning— ²⁹ while they see ^(AI)false visions for you, while they divine lies for you—to place you on the necks of the wicked who are killed, whose day has come, in the ^(AJ)time of the ^[y]punishment of the end. ^30 (AK)Return it to its sheath. In the ^(AL)place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you. ³¹ I will ^(AM)pour out My indignation on you; I will ^(AN)blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and I will hand you over to brutal men, ^(AO)craftsmen of destruction. ³² You will be ^[z](AP)fuel for the fire; your blood will be in the midst of the land. You will ^(AQ)not be remembered, for I, the Lord, have spoken.’”

The Sins of Israel

22 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “And you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then inform her of all her abominations. ³ And you shall say, ‘This is what the Lord ^[aa]God says: “A city ^(AR)shedding blood in her midst, so that her time is coming; and a city that makes idols, contrary to her own good, for defilement! ⁴ You have become ^(AS)guilty by ^[ab]the blood which you have shed, and you have become defiled by your idols which you have made. So you have brought your days closer and have come to your years; therefore I have made you a ^(AT)disgrace to the nations, and an object of mocking to all the lands. ⁵ Those who are near and those who are far from you will make fun of you, you of ill repute, full of ^(AU)turmoil.

⁶ “Behold, the ^(AV)rulers of Israel, each according to his ^[ac]power, have been among you for the purpose of shedding blood. ⁷ They have ^(AW)treated father and mother with contempt among you. They have oppressed the ^(AX)stranger in your midst; they have oppressed the ^(AY)orphan and the widow among you. ⁸ You have ^(AZ)despised My holy things and ^(BA)profaned My Sabbaths. ⁹ Slanderous men have been among you for the purpose of shedding blood, and among you they have eaten at the mountain shrines. In your midst they have ^(BB)committed outrageous sin. ¹⁰ Among you ^[ad]they have ^(BC)uncovered their fathers’ nakedness; among you they have abused her who was ^(BD)unclean in her menstruation. ¹¹ And one has committed abomination with his ^(BE)neighbor’s wife, another has outrageously defiled his ^(BF)daughter-in-law, and another among you has sexually ^(BG)abused his sister, his father’s daughter. ¹² Among you they have ^(BH)taken bribes to shed blood; you have taken ^[ae](BI)interest, you have injured your neighbors by ^(BJ)oppression, and you have ^(BK)forgotten Me,” declares the Lord God.

¹³ “Behold, then, I strike with My hand your ^(BL)profit which you have made and ^[af]the bloodshed which is among you. ¹⁴ Can ^(BM)your heart endure, or can your hands be strong for the days that I will deal with you? ^(BN)I, the Lord, have spoken and will act. ¹⁵ And I will ^(BO)scatter you among the nations and disperse you among the lands, and I will ^(BP)eliminate your uncleanness from you. ¹⁶ Then you will defile yourself in the sight of the nations, and you will ^(BQ)know that I am the Lord.”’”

¹⁷ And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁸ “Son of man, the house of Israel has become ^[ag](BR)waste metal to Me; all of them are ^(BS)bronze, tin, iron, and lead in the ^(BT)smelting furnace; they are the ^[ah]waste metal of silver. ¹⁹ Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: ‘Because all of you have become ^[ai]waste metal, therefore, behold, I am going to gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. ²⁰ As they gather silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into the ^(BU)smelting furnace to blow fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you in My anger and in My wrath, and I will place you there and melt you. ²¹ And I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you will be melted in the midst of it. ²² As silver is melted in the furnace, so you will be melted in the midst of it; and you will know that I, the Lord, have ^(BV)poured out My wrath on you.’”

²³ And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²⁴ “Son of man, say to her, ‘You are a land that is ^(BW)not clean or rained on in the day of indignation.’ ²⁵ There is a ^(BX)conspiracy of her prophets in her midst like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have ^(BY)devoured lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many ^(BZ)widows in the midst of her. ²⁶ Her ^(CA)priests have done violence to My Law and have ^(CB)profaned My holy things; they have made no ^(CC)distinction between the holy and the ^[aj]common, and they have not taught the difference between the ^(CD)unclean and the clean; and they have closed their eyes from My Sabbaths, and I am defiled among them. ²⁷ Her leaders within her are like wolves tearing the prey, by shedding blood and ^(CE)destroying lives in order to make ^(CF)dishonest profit. ²⁸ And her prophets have coated with whitewash for them, seeing ^(CG)false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘This is what the Lord God says,’ when the Lord has not spoken. ²⁹ The people of the land have practiced ^(CH)extortion and committed robbery, and they have oppressed the poor and needy, and have ^(CI)oppressed the stranger without justice. ³⁰ I ^(CJ)searched for a man among them who would ^(CK)build up a wall and ^(CL)stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found ^[ak]no one. ³¹ So I have poured out My ^(CM)indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; I have brought ^(CN)their way upon their heads,” declares the Lord God.

Oholah and Oholibah’s Sin and Its Consequences

23 The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, ² “Son of man, there were ^(CO)two women, the daughters of one mother; ³ and they prostituted themselves in Egypt. They ^(CP)prostituted themselves in their youth; there their breasts were squeezed and there their virgin breasts were handled. ⁴ Their names were Oholah the elder and Oholibah her sister. And they became Mine, and they gave birth to sons and daughters. And as for their names, Samaria is Oholah and Jerusalem is Oholibah.

⁵ “Oholah prostituted herself ^[al]while she was Mine; and she lusted after her lovers, after the ^(CQ)Assyrians, her neighbors, ⁶ who were clothed in purple, ^(CR)governors and officials, all of them handsome young men, horsemen riding on horses. ⁷ She bestowed her ^[am]obscene practices on them, all of whom were the choicest ^[an]men of Assyria; and with all whom she lusted after, with all their idols she ^(CS)defiled herself. ⁸ She did not abandon her obscene practices ^(CT)from the time in Egypt; for in her youth ^[ao]men had slept with her, and they handled her virgin breasts and poured out their obscene practice on her. ⁹ Therefore, I handed her over to her ^(CU)lovers, to the ^[ap]Assyrians, after whom she lusted. ¹⁰ They ^(CV)uncovered her nakedness; they took her sons and her daughters, but they killed her with the sword. So she became a ^[aq]subject of gossip among women, and they executed judgments on her.

¹¹ “Now her sister Oholibah saw this, yet she was ^(CW)more corrupt in her lust than she, and her obscene practices were ^[ar]more than the prostitution of her sister. ¹² She lusted after the ^[as](CX)Assyrians, governors and officials, the ones near, opulently dressed, horsemen riding on horses, all of them handsome young men. ¹³ And I saw that she had defiled herself; they both took ^[at]the same way. ¹⁴ So she increased her obscene practices. And she saw men ^(CY)carved on the wall, images of the ^(CZ)Chaldeans drawn in bright red, ¹⁵ wearing belts around their waists, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like officers, ^[au]like the ^[av]Babylonians in Chaldea, the land of their birth. ¹⁶ And ^[aw]when she saw them she ^(DA)lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. ¹⁷ And the ^[ax](DB)Babylonians came to her to the bed of love and defiled her with their obscene practice. And when she had been defiled by them, ^[ay]she turned away from them in disgust. ¹⁸ She ^(DC)exposed her obscene practices and exposed her nakedness; then ^[az]I turned away from her in ^(DD)disgust, just as ^[ba]I had turned away from her ^(DE)sister in disgust. ¹⁹ Yet she multiplied her obscene practices, remembering the days of her youth, when she prostituted herself in the land of Egypt. ²⁰ She ^(DF)lusted after their lovers, whose flesh is like the flesh of donkeys and whose discharge is like the discharge of horses. ²¹ So you longed for the ^(DG)outrageous sin of your youth, when ^[bb]the Egyptians handled your breasts because of the breasts of your youth.

²² “Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Lord ^[bc]God says: ‘Behold I am going to incite your lovers against you, from whom ^[bd]you turned away in disgust, and I will bring them against you from every side: ²³ the ^[be](DH)Babylonians and all the ^(DI)Chaldeans, ^(DJ)Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the ^[bf](DK)Assyrians with them; handsome young men, governors and officials all of them, officers and ^[bg]men of renown, all of them riding on horses. ²⁴ And they will come against you with weapons, ^(DL)chariots, and ^[bh]wagons, and with a contingent of peoples. They will attack you on every side with shield, ^[bi]buckler, and helmet; and I will commit the ^(DM)judgment to them, and they will judge you according to their customs. ²⁵ I will set My ^(DN)jealousy against you, so that they may deal with you in wrath. They will remove your nose and your ears; and your ^[bj]survivors will fall by the sword. They will take your ^(DO)sons and your daughters; and your ^[bk]survivors will be consumed by the fire. ²⁶ They will also ^(DP)strip you of your clothes and take away your ^(DQ)beautiful jewelry. ²⁷ So ^(DR)I will remove from you your outrageous sin and your prostitution that you brought from the land of Egypt, so that you will not raise your eyes to them or remember Egypt anymore.’ ²⁸ For this is what the Lord God says: ‘Behold, I am going to hand you over to those whom you ^(DS)hate, to those from whom ^[bl]you turned away in disgust. ²⁹ They will ^(DT)deal with you in hatred, take all your property, and leave you naked and bare. And the nakedness of your prostitution will be exposed, both your outrageous sin and your obscene practices. ³⁰ These things will be done to you because you have ^(DU)adulterously pursued the nations, because you have defiled yourself with their idols. ³¹ You have walked in the way of your sister; therefore I will put ^(DV)her cup in your hand.’ ³² This is what the Lord God says:

for I have spoken,’ declares the Lord God. ³⁵ Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: ‘Because you have ^(EA)forgotten Me and ^(EB)discarded Me behind your back, suffer on your own part the punishment for your outrageous sin and your obscene practices.’”

³⁶ Moreover, the Lord said to me, “Son of man, will you ^(EC)judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then ^(ED)declare to them their abominations. ³⁷ For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. So they have committed adultery with their idols, and even made their sons, ^(EE)whom they bore to Me, pass through the fire to ^[bn]them as food. ³⁸ Again, they have done this to Me: they have ^(EF)defiled My sanctuary on the same day, and have ^(EG)profaned My Sabbaths. ³⁹ For when they slaughtered their children for their idols, they entered My ^(EH)sanctuary on the same day to profane it; and behold, this is what they did within My house.

⁴⁰ “Furthermore, ^[bo]they have even sent for men who come from a great distance, to whom a messenger was sent; and behold, they came—for whom you bathed, ^(EI)put makeup on your eyes, and ^(EJ)adorned yourselves with jewelry; ⁴¹ and you sat on a splendid ^(EK)couch with a ^(EL)table arranged in front of it on which you had set My ^(EM)incense and My ^(EN)oil. ⁴² And the sound of a ^[bp](EO)carefree multitude was with her; and ^(EP)heavy drinkers were brought from the wilderness with people from the multitude of humanity. And they put ^(EQ)bracelets on ^[bq]the wrists of the women and beautiful crowns on their heads.

⁴³ “Then I said concerning her who was ^(ER)worn out by adulteries, ‘^[br]Will they now commit adultery with her when she is like this?’ ^44 [bs]But they went in to her as they would go in to a prostitute. This is how they went in to Oholah and to Oholibah, the lewd women. ⁴⁵ But they, righteous people, will ^(ES)judge them with the judgment of adulteresses and with the judgment of women who shed blood, because they are adulteresses and blood is on their hands.

⁴⁶ “For this is what the Lord God says: ‘Bring up a contingent against them and turn them over to ^(ET)terror and plunder. ⁴⁷ The contingent will ^(EU)stone them with stones and cut them down with their swords; they will kill their sons and their daughters and ^(EV)burn their houses with fire. ⁴⁸ So I will eliminate outrageous conduct from the land, so that all women will take warning and not commit ^[bt]outrageous sin as you have done. ⁴⁹ Your outrageous conduct ^[bu]will be ^(EW)repaid to you, and you will bear the guilt for your idols; so you will know that I am the Lord God.’”

Parable of the Boiling Pot

24 Now the word of the Lord came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth of the month, saying, ² “Son of man, write the name of the day, this very day. The king of Babylon ^[bv]has ^(EX)laid siege to Jerusalem this very day. ³ Present a ^(EY)parable to the ^(EZ)rebellious house and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord ^[bw]God says:

⁶ ‘Therefore, this is what the Lord God says:

⁹ Therefore, this is what the Lord God says:

¹⁴ I, the Lord, have spoken; it is ^(FM)coming and I will act. I will not overlook, I will not ^(FN)pity, and I will not be sorry; ^(FO)according to your ways and according to your deeds ^[ce]I will judge you,” declares the Lord God.’”

Death of Ezekiel’s Wife Is a Sign

¹⁵ And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁶ “Son of man, behold, I am about to take from you ^(FP)what is precious to your eyes with a ^(FQ)fatal blow; but you shall not ^(FR)mourn and you shall not weep, and your ^(FS)tears shall not come. ¹⁷ Groan silently; do ^(FT)no mourning for the dead. Bind on your turban and put your sandals on your feet, and do not ^[cf]cover your mustache, and ^(FU)do not eat the ^[cg]bread of other people.” ¹⁸ So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. And in the morning I did as I was commanded. ¹⁹ And the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things mean for us, that you are doing?” ²⁰ Then I said to them, “The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²¹ ‘Speak to the house of Israel, “This is what the Lord God says: ‘Behold, I am about to profane My sanctuary, the pride of your power, ^(FV)that which is precious in your eyes and the longing of your soul; and your ^(FW)sons and your daughters whom you have left behind will fall by the sword. ²² And you will do just as I have done; you will not ^[ch]cover your mustache, and you will not eat the ^[ci]bread of other people. ²³ Your turbans will be on your heads, and your sandals on your feet. You ^(FX)will not mourn and you will not weep; but ^(FY)you will rot away in your guilty deeds, and you will groan ^[cj]to one another. ²⁴ So Ezekiel will be a ^(FZ)sign to you; according to all that he has done, you will do. When it comes, then you will know that I am the Lord God.’”

²⁵ ‘As for you, son of man, will it not be on the day when I take from them their ^(GA)stronghold, the joy of their splendor, that which is precious in their eyes and their ^[ck]heart’s longing, their sons and their daughters, ²⁶ that on that day the one who ^(GB)escapes will come to you with information for your ears? ²⁷ On that day your ^(GC)mouth will be opened to him who escaped, and you will speak and no longer be silenced. So you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the Lord.’”

Judgment on Gentile Nations—Ammon

25 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, set your face against the ^(GD)sons of Ammon and prophesy against them, ³ and say to the sons of Ammon, ‘Hear the word of the Lord ^[cl]God! This is what the Lord God says: “Because you said, ‘^(GE)Aha!’ against My sanctuary when it was profaned, and against the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and against the house of Judah when they went into exile, ⁴ therefore, behold, I am going to give you to the ^[cm](GF)people of the east as a possession, and they will set up their encampments among you and make their dwellings among you; they will ^(GG)eat your fruit and drink your milk. ⁵ I will make ^(GH)Rabbah a pasture for camels, and the sons of Ammon a resting place for flocks. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” ⁶ For this is what the Lord God says: “Because you have ^(GI)clapped your hands and stamped your feet, and have ^(GJ)rejoiced with all the malice in your soul against the land of Israel, ⁷ therefore, behold, I have ^(GK)reached out with My hand against you and I will give you as ^(GL)plunder to the nations. And I will ^(GM)cut you off from the peoples and ^(GN)eliminate you from the lands. I will exterminate you. So you will ^(GO)know that I am the Lord.”

Moab

⁸ ‘The Lord God says this: “Because ^(GP)Moab and Seir say, ‘Behold, the house of Judah is like all the nations,’ ⁹ therefore, behold, I am going to ^[cn]deprive the flank of Moab of its cities, of its cities ^[co]which are on its frontiers, the glory of the land, ^(GQ)Beth-jeshimoth, ^(GR)Baal-meon, and ^(GS)Kiriathaim; ¹⁰ and I will give it as a possession along with the sons of Ammon to the ^[cp](GT)people of the east, so that the sons of Ammon will not be remembered among the nations. ¹¹ So I will execute judgments on Moab, and they will know that I am the Lord.”

Edom

¹² ‘The Lord God says this: “Because ^(GU)Edom has acted against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and has incurred great guilt, and avenged themselves upon them,” ¹³ therefore this is what the Lord God says: “I will also ^(GV)reach out with My hand against Edom and ^(GW)eliminate human and animal life from it. And I will turn it into ruins; from ^(GX)Teman even to ^(GY)Dedan they will fall by the sword. ¹⁴ And ^(GZ)I will inflict My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel. Therefore, they will act in Edom ^(HA)in accordance with My anger and My wrath; so they will know My vengeance,” declares the Lord God.

Philistia

¹⁵ ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Because the Philistines have acted in ^(HB)revenge, and have taken vengeance with malice in their souls to destroy with everlasting hostility,” ¹⁶ therefore this is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I am going to ^(HC)reach out with My hand against the Philistines and eliminate the ^(HD)Cherethites; and I will destroy the remnant of the seacoast. ¹⁷ I will execute great vengeance on them with wrathful rebukes; and they will ^(HE)know that I am the Lord, when I inflict My vengeance on them.”’”

Judgment on Tyre

26 Now in the eleventh year, on the first of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, because ^(HF)Tyre has said in regard to Jerusalem, ‘Aha! The ^(HG)gateway of the peoples is broken; it has ^[cq](HH)opened to me. I shall be filled, now that she is laid waste,’ ³ therefore this is what the Lord ^[cr]God says: ‘Behold, I am against you, Tyre, and I will bring up ^(HI)many nations against you, as the ^(HJ)sea brings up its waves. ⁴ They will ^(HK)destroy the walls of Tyre and tear down her towers; and I will sweep her debris away from her and make her a bare rock. ⁵ She will become a dry place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea, for I have spoken,’ declares the Lord God; ‘and she will become ^(HL)plunder for the nations. ⁶ Also her ^(HM)daughters who are ^[cs]on the mainland will be killed by the sword, and they will know that I am the Lord.’”

⁷ For the Lord God says this: “Behold, I am going to bring upon Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, ^(HN)king of kings, with horses, ^(HO)chariots, cavalry, and ^[ct]a great army. ⁸ He will kill your daughters ^[cu]on the mainland with the sword; and he will make ^(HP)siege walls against you, pile up an ^(HQ)assault ramp against you, and raise up a large shield against you. ⁹ And he will direct the blow of his battering rams against your walls, and he will tear down your towers with his ^[cv]axes. ¹⁰ Because of the multitude of his ^(HR)horses, the dust raised by them will cover you; your walls will ^(HS)shake from the noise of cavalry, ^[cw]wagons, and chariots when he ^(HT)enters your gates as warriors enter a city that is breached. ¹¹ With the hoofs of his ^(HU)horses he will trample all your streets. He will kill your people with the sword, and your strong ^[cx]pillars will ^(HV)go down to the ground. ¹² Also they will take your riches as spoils and plunder your ^(HW)merchandise, ^(HX)tear down your walls and destroy your ^(HY)delightful houses, and ^[cy]throw your stones, your timbers, and your debris ^(HZ)into the water. ¹³ So I will put an end to the sound of your ^(IA)songs, and the sound of your ^(IB)harps will no longer be heard. ¹⁴ I will turn you into a bare rock; you will become a dry place for the spreading of nets. You will not be ^(IC)rebuilt, for I the ^(ID)Lord have spoken,” declares the Lord God.

¹⁵ The Lord God says this to Tyre: “Will the ^(IE)coastlands not ^(IF)shake from the sound of your downfall when the wounded groan, when the slaughter takes place in your midst? ¹⁶ Then all the princes of the sea will ^(IG)descend from their thrones, remove their robes, and strip off their colorfully woven garments. They will ^(IH)clothe themselves with ^[cz]trembling; they will sit on the ground, ^(II)tremble again and again, and be appalled at you. ¹⁷ And they will take up a ^(IJ)song of mourning over you and say to you,

¹⁹ For this is what the Lord God says: “When I make you a desolate city, like the cities which are not inhabited, when I ^(IO)bring up the deep over you and the great waters cover you, ²⁰ then I will bring you down with those who ^(IP)go down to the pit, to the people of old, and I will make you remain in the ^(IQ)lower parts of the earth, like the ancient ruins, with those who go down to the pit, so that you will not ^[db]be inhabited; but I will put ^(IR)glory in the land of the living. ²¹ I will ^[dc]cause you ^(IS)sudden terrors and you will no longer exist; though you will be sought, ^(IT)you will never be found again,” declares the Lord God.

Grief over Tyre

27 Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “And you, son of man, ^(IU)take up a song of mourning over Tyre; ³ and say to Tyre, ^(IV)who sits at the ^[dd]entrance to the sea, ^(IW)merchant of the peoples to many coastlands, ‘This is what the Lord ^[de]God says:

¹⁰ “^(JG)Persia, ^(JH)Lud, and ^(JI)Put were in your army, your men of war. They hung up shield and helmet on you; they presented your splendor. ¹¹ The sons of Arvad and your army were on your walls, all around, and the ^[dj]Gammadim were in your towers. They hung their shields on your walls all around; they perfected your beauty.

¹² “Tarshish was your customer because of the abundance of all kinds of wealth; with silver, iron, tin, and lead they paid for your merchandise. ^13 (JJ)Javan, ^(JK)Tubal, and ^(JL)Meshech, they were your traders; with human ^(JM)lives and vessels of bronze they paid for your merchandise. ¹⁴ Those from ^(JN)Beth-togarmah gave horses, war horses, and mules for your merchandise. ¹⁵ The sons of ^(JO)Dedan were your traders. Many coastlands were ^[dk]your market; they brought ^(JP)ivory tusks and ebony as your payment. ^16 (JQ)Aram was your customer because of the abundance of your ^[dl]goods; they paid for your merchandise with ^[dm](JR)emeralds, purple, ^(JS)colorfully woven cloth, fine linen, coral, and rubies. ¹⁷ Judah and the land of Israel, they were your traders; with the wheat of ^(JT)Minnith, ^[dn]cakes, honey, oil, and balsam they paid for your merchandise. ^18 (JU)Damascus was your customer because of the abundance of your ^[do]goods, because of the abundance of all kinds of wealth, because of the wine of Helbon and white wool. ¹⁹ Vedan and Javan paid for your merchandise from Uzal; wrought iron, cassia, and spice reed were among your merchandise. ^20 (JV)Dedan traded with you in saddlecloths for riding. ^21 (JW)Arabia and all the princes of Kedar, they were ^[dp]your customers for ^(JX)lambs, rams, and goats; for these they were your customers. ²² The traders of ^(JY)Sheba and Raamah, they traded with you; they paid for your merchandise with the best of all ^(JZ)balsam oil, and with all kinds of precious stones, and gold. ²³ Haran, Canneh, ^(KA)Eden, the traders of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad traded with you. ²⁴ They traded with you in choice garments, in clothes of violet and colorfully woven cloth, and in blankets of two colors, and tightly wound cords, which were among your merchandise. ²⁵ The ^(KB)ships of Tarshish were ^[dq]the carriers for your merchandise.

Tyre’s King Overthrown

28 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, ² “Son of man, say to the ^[dv]leader of Tyre, ‘The Lord ^[dw]God says this:

⁶ Therefore this is what the Lord God says:

¹¹ Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹² “Son of man, ^(LE)take up a song of mourning over the king of Tyre and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord God says:

Judgment of Sidon

²⁰ And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²¹ “Son of man, ^(LX)set your face toward ^(LY)Sidon, prophesy against her ²² and say, ‘This is what the Lord God says:

²⁴ And there will no longer be for the house of Israel a ^(MC)painful thorn or a hurtful thorn bush from any surrounding them who despised them; then they will know that I am the Lord God.”

Israel Regathered

²⁵ ‘This is what the Lord God says: “When I ^(MD)gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and show Myself holy among them in the sight of the nations, then they will ^(ME)live on their land which I gave to My servant Jacob. ²⁶ They will ^(MF)live on it securely; and they will ^(MG)build houses, plant vineyards, and live securely when I ^(MH)execute judgments upon all around them who despise them. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God.”’”

Judgment of Egypt

29 In the ^(MI)tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, set your face against ^(MJ)Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all ^(MK)Egypt. ³ Speak and say, ‘This is what the Lord ^[eh]God says:

⁸ ‘Therefore the Lord God says this: “Behold, I am going to ^(MT)bring upon you a sword, and I will cut off from you human and animal life. ⁹ The ^(MU)land of Egypt will become a desolation and place of ruins. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

“Because ^[es]you ^(MV)said, ‘The Nile is mine, and I have made it,’ ¹⁰ therefore, behold, I am ^(MW)against you and against your ^[et]canals, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from Migdol to Syene and as far as the border of ^[eu]Cush. ¹¹ A human foot will ^(MX)not pass through it, nor will the foot of an animal pass through it, and it will not be inhabited for forty years. ¹² So I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the ^(MY)midst of deserted lands. And her cities, in the midst of cities that are laid waste, will be desolate for forty years; and I will ^(MZ)scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands.”

¹³ ‘For this is what the Lord God says: “At the end of forty years I will ^(NA)gather the Egyptians from the peoples ^[ev]among whom they were scattered. ¹⁴ And I will restore the fortunes of Egypt and bring them back to the land of ^(NB)Pathros, to the land of their origin, and there they will be a lowly kingdom. ¹⁵ It will be the ^(NC)lowest of the kingdoms, and it will not raise itself above the nations again. And I will make them small so that they will not ^(ND)rule over the nations. ¹⁶ And it will no longer be a kingdom on which ^(NE)the house of Israel relies, ^[ew](NF)bringing to mind the guilt of their having turned ^[ex]to Egypt. Then they will know that I am the Lord God.”’”

¹⁷ Now in the ^(NG)twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁸ “Son of man, ^(NH)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army labor ^[ey]hard against Tyre; every head ^[ez]had a ^(NI)bald spot and every shoulder was rubbed raw. But he and his army acquired no wages from Tyre for the labor that he had ^[fa]performed against it.” ¹⁹ Therefore this is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I am going to ^(NJ)give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. And he will carry off her ^(NK)wealth and capture her spoils and seize her plunder; and it will be wages for his army. ²⁰ I have given him the land of Egypt for his labor which he ^[fb](NL)performed, because they acted for Me,” declares the Lord God.

²¹ “On that day I will make a ^(NM)horn sprout for the house of Israel, and I will ^[fc](NN)open your mouth among them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”