Ezekiel 31-33

New International Version - UK

Pharaoh as a felled cedar of Lebanon

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

¹⁰ ‘“Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: because the great cedar towered over the thick foliage, and because it was proud of its height, ¹¹ I gave it into the hands of the ruler of the nations, for him to deal with according to its wickedness. I cast it aside, ¹² and the most ruthless of foreign nations cut it down and left it. Its boughs fell on the mountains and in all the valleys; 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. ¹³ All the birds settled on the fallen tree, and all the wild animals lived among its branches. ¹⁴ Therefore 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 for death, for the earth below, among mortals who go down to the realm of the dead.

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. ¹⁶ I made the nations tremble 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 of Eden, the choicest and best of Lebanon, the well-watered trees, were consoled in the earth below. ¹⁷ They too, like the great cedar, had gone down to the realm of the dead, to those killed by the sword, 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 splendour and majesty? Yet you, too, will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the earth below; you will lie among the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword.

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

A lament over Pharaoh

32 In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month on the first day, the word of the Lord came to me: ² ‘Son of man, take up a lament concerning Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him:

³ ‘“This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

¹¹ ‘“For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

¹⁶ ‘This is the lament they will chant for her. The daughters of the nations will chant it; for Egypt and all her hordes they will chant it, declares the Sovereign Lord.’

Egypt’s descent into the realm of the dead

¹⁷ In the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁸ ‘Son of man, wail for the hordes of Egypt and consign to the earth below both her and the daughters of mighty nations, along with those who go down to the pit. ¹⁹ Say to them, “Are you more favoured than others? Go down and be laid among the uncircumcised.” ²⁰ They will fall among those killed by the sword. The sword is drawn; let her be dragged off with all her hordes. ²¹ From within the realm of the dead the mighty leaders will say of Egypt and her allies, “They have come down and they lie with the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword.”

²² ‘Assyria is there with her whole army; she is surrounded by the graves of all her slain, all who have fallen by the sword. ²³ Their graves are in the depths of the pit and her army lies around her grave. All who had spread terror in the land of the living are slain, fallen by the sword.

²⁴ ‘Elam is there, with all her hordes around her grave. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword. All who had spread terror in the land of the living went down uncircumcised to the earth below. They bear their shame with those who go down to the pit. ²⁵ A bed is made for her among the slain, with all her hordes around her grave. All of them are uncircumcised, killed by the sword. Because their terror had spread in the land of the living, they bear their shame with those who go down to the pit; they are laid among the slain.

²⁶ ‘Meshek and Tubal are there, with all their hordes around their graves. All of them are uncircumcised, killed by the sword because they spread their terror in the land of the living. ²⁷ But they do not lie with the fallen warriors of old,^[b] who went down to the realm of the dead with their weapons of war – their swords placed under their heads and their shields^[c] resting on their bones – though these warriors also had terrorised the land of the living.

²⁸ ‘You too, Pharaoh, will be broken and will lie among the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword.

²⁹ ‘Edom is there, her kings and all her princes; despite their power, they are laid with those killed by the sword. They lie with the uncircumcised, with those who go down to the pit.

³⁰ ‘All the princes of the north and all the Sidonians are there; they went down with the slain in disgrace despite the terror caused by their power. They lie uncircumcised with those killed by the sword and bear their shame with those who go down to the pit.

³¹ ‘Pharaoh – he and all his army – will see them and he will be consoled for all his hordes that were killed by the sword, declares the Sovereign Lord. ³² Although I allowed him to spread terror in the land of the living, Pharaoh and all his hordes will be laid among the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword, declares the Sovereign Lord.’

Renewal of Ezekiel’s call as watchman

33 The word of the Lord came to me: ² ‘Son of man, speak to your people and say to them: “When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman, ³ and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, ⁴ then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not heed the warning and the sword comes and takes their life, their blood will be on their own head. ⁵ Since they heard the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning, their blood will be on their own head. If they had heeded the warning, they would have saved themselves. ⁶ But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone’s life, that person’s life will be taken because of their sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.”

⁷ ‘Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. ⁸ When I say to the wicked, “You wicked person, you will surely die,” and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways, that wicked person will die for^[d] their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. ⁹ But if you do warn the wicked person to turn from their ways and they do not do so, they will die for their sin, though you yourself will be saved.

¹⁰ ‘Son of man, say to the Israelites, “This is what you are saying: ‘Our offences and sins weigh us down, and we are wasting away because of^[e] them. How then can we live?’” ¹¹ Say to them, “As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?”

¹² ‘Therefore, son of man, say to your people, “If someone who is righteous disobeys, that person’s former righteousness will count for nothing. And if someone who is wicked repents, that person’s former wickedness will not bring condemnation. The righteous person who sins will not be allowed to live even though they were formerly righteous.” ¹³ If I tell a righteous person that they will surely live, but then they trust in their righteousness and do evil, none of the righteous things that person has done will be remembered; they will die for the evil they have done. ¹⁴ And if I say to a wicked person, “You will surely die,” but they then turn away from their sin and do what is just and right – ¹⁵ if they give back what they took in pledge for a loan, return what they have stolen, follow the decrees that give life, and do no evil – that person will surely live; they will not die. ¹⁶ None of the sins that person has committed will be remembered against them. They have done what is just and right; they will surely live.

¹⁷ ‘Yet your people say, “The way of the Lord is not just.” But it is their way that is not just. ¹⁸ If a righteous person turns from their righteousness and does evil, they will die for it. ¹⁹ And if a wicked person turns away from their wickedness and does what is just and right, they will live by doing so. ²⁰ Yet you Israelites say, “The way of the Lord is not just.” But I will judge each of you according to your own ways.’

Jerusalem’s fall explained

²¹ In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month on the fifth day, a man who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me and said, ‘The city has fallen!’ ²² Now the evening before the man arrived, the hand of the Lord was on me, and he opened my mouth before the man came to me in the morning. So my mouth was opened and I was no longer silent.

²³ Then the word of the Lord came to me: ²⁴ ‘Son of man, the people living in those ruins in the land of Israel are saying, “Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land. But we are many; surely the land has been given to us as our possession.” ²⁵ Therefore say to them, “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: since you eat meat with the blood still in it and look to your idols and shed blood, should you then possess the land? ²⁶ You rely on your sword, you do detestable things, and each of you defiles his neighbour’s wife. Should you then possess the land?”

²⁷ ‘Say this to them: “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: as surely as I live, those who are left in the ruins will fall by the sword, those out in the country I will give to the wild animals to be devoured, and those in strongholds and caves will die of a plague. ²⁸ I will make the land a desolate waste, and her proud strength will come to an end, and the mountains of Israel will become desolate so that no one will cross them. ²⁹ Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I have made the land a desolate waste because of all the detestable things they have done.”

³⁰ ‘As for you, son of man, your people are talking together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, saying to each other, “Come and hear the message that has come from the Lord.” ³¹ My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to hear your words, but they do not put them into practice. Their mouths speak of love, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. ³² Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice.

³³ ‘When all this comes true – and it surely will – then they will know that a prophet has been among them.’