Ezekiel 30-31

New International Version

A Lament Over Egypt

30 The word of the Lord came to me: ²“Son of man, prophesy and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘Wail^(A) and say,
    “Alas for that day!”
³For the day is near,^(B)
    the day of the Lord^(C) is near—
a day of clouds,
    a time of doom for the nations.
⁴A sword will come against Egypt,^(D)
    and anguish will come upon Cush.^[a]^(E)
When the slain fall in Egypt,
    her wealth will be carried away
    and her foundations torn down.^(F)

⁵Cush and Libya,^(G) Lydia and all Arabia,^(H) Kub and the people^(I) of the covenant land will fall by the sword along with Egypt.^(J)

⁶“‘This is what the Lord says:

“‘The allies of Egypt will fall
    and her proud strength will fail.
From Migdol to Aswan^(K)
    they will fall by the sword within her,
declares the Sovereign Lord.
⁷“‘They will be desolate
    among desolate lands,
and their cities will lie
    among ruined cities.^(L)
⁸Then they will know that I am the Lord,
    when I set fire^(M) to Egypt
    and all her helpers are crushed.^(N)

⁹“‘On that day messengers will go out from me in ships to frighten Cush^(O) out of her complacency. Anguish^(P) will take hold of them on the day of Egypt’s doom, for it is sure to come.^(Q)

¹⁰“‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘I will put an end to the hordes of Egypt
    by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar^(R) king of Babylon.^(S)
¹¹He and his army—the most ruthless of nations^(T)—
    will be brought in to destroy the land.
They will draw their swords against Egypt
    and fill the land with the slain.^(U)
¹²I will dry up^(V) the waters of the Nile^(W)
    and sell the land to an evil nation;
by the hand of foreigners
    I will lay waste^(X) the land and everything in it.

I the Lord have spoken.

¹³“‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘I will destroy the idols^(Y)
    and put an end to the images in Memphis.^(Z)
No longer will there be a prince in Egypt,^(AA)
    and I will spread fear throughout the land.
¹⁴I will lay^(AB) waste Upper Egypt,
    set fire to Zoan^(AC)
    and inflict punishment on Thebes.^(AD)
¹⁵I will pour out my wrath on Pelusium,
    the stronghold of Egypt,
    and wipe out the hordes of Thebes.
¹⁶I will set fire^(AE) to Egypt;
    Pelusium will writhe in agony.
Thebes will be taken by storm;
    Memphis^(AF) will be in constant distress.
¹⁷The young men of Heliopolis^(AG) and Bubastis
    will fall by the sword,
    and the cities themselves will go into captivity.
¹⁸Dark will be the day at Tahpanhes^(AH)
    when I break the yoke of Egypt;^(AI)
    there her proud strength will come to an end.
She will be covered with clouds,
    and her villages will go into captivity.^(AJ)
¹⁹So I will inflict punishment^(AK) on Egypt,
    and they will know that I am the Lord.’”

Pharaoh’s Arms Are Broken

²⁰In the eleventh year, in the first month on the seventh day, the word of the Lord came to me:^(AL) ²¹“Son of man, I have broken the arm^(AM) of Pharaoh^(AN) king of Egypt. It has not been bound up to be healed^(AO) or put in a splint so that it may become strong enough to hold a sword. ²²Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt.^(AP) I will break both his arms, the good arm as well as the broken one, and make the sword fall from his hand.^(AQ) ²³I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them through the countries.^(AR) ²⁴I will strengthen^(AS) the arms of the king of Babylon and put my sword^(AT) in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan^(AU) before him like a mortally wounded man. ²⁵I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fall limp. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I put my sword^(AV) into the hand of the king of Babylon and he brandishes it against Egypt.^(AW) ²⁶I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them through the countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord.^(AX)”

Pharaoh as a Felled Cedar of Lebanon

31 In the eleventh year,^(AY) in the third month on the first day, the word of the Lord came to me:^(AZ) ²“Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his hordes:

“‘Who can be compared with you in majesty?
³Consider Assyria,^(BA) once a cedar in Lebanon,^(BB)
    with beautiful branches overshadowing the forest;
it towered on high,
    its top above the thick foliage.^(BC)
⁴The waters^(BD) nourished it,
    deep springs made it grow tall;
their streams flowed
    all around its base
and sent their channels
    to all the trees of the field.^(BE)
⁵So it towered higher^(BF)
    than all the trees of the field;
its boughs increased
    and its branches grew long,
    spreading because of abundant waters.^(BG)
⁶All the birds of the sky
    nested in its boughs,
all the animals of the wild
    gave birth^(BH) under its branches;
all the great nations
    lived in its shade.^(BI)
⁷It was majestic in beauty,
    with its spreading boughs,
for its roots went down
    to abundant waters.^(BJ)
⁸The cedars^(BK) in the garden of God
    could not rival it,
nor could the junipers
    equal its boughs,
nor could the plane trees^(BL)
    compare with its branches—
no tree in the garden of God
    could match its beauty.^(BM)
⁹I made it beautiful
    with abundant branches,
the envy of all the trees of Eden^(BN)
    in the garden of God.^(BO)

¹⁰“‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because the great cedar towered over the thick foliage, and because it was proud^(BP) of its height, ¹¹I gave it into the hands of the ruler of the nations, for him to deal with according to its wickedness. I cast it aside,^(BQ) ¹²and the most ruthless of foreign nations^(BR) cut it down and left it. Its boughs fell on the mountains and in all the valleys;^(BS) its branches lay broken in all the ravines of the land. All the nations of the earth came out from under its shade and left it.^(BT) ¹³All the birds settled on the fallen tree, and all the wild animals lived among its branches.^(BU) ¹⁴Therefore no other trees by the waters are ever to tower proudly on high, lifting their tops above the thick foliage. No other trees so well-watered are ever to reach such a height; they are all destined^(BV) for death,^(BW) for the earth below, among mortals who go down to the realm of the dead.^(BX)

¹⁵“‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On the day it was brought down to the realm of the dead I covered the deep springs with mourning for it; I held back its streams, and its abundant waters were restrained. Because of it I clothed Lebanon with gloom, and all the trees of the field withered away.^(BY) ¹⁶I made the nations tremble^(BZ) at the sound of its fall when I brought it down to the realm of the dead to be with those who go down to the pit. Then all the trees^(CA) of Eden,^(CB) the choicest and best of Lebanon, the well-watered trees, were consoled^(CC) in the earth below.^(CD) ¹⁷They too, like the great cedar, had gone down to the realm of the dead, to those killed by the sword,^(CE) along with the armed men who lived in its shade among the nations.

¹⁸“‘Which of the trees of Eden can be compared with you in splendor and majesty? Yet you, too, will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the earth below; you will lie among the uncircumcised,^(CF) with those killed by the sword.

“‘This is Pharaoh and all his hordes, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”