Ezekiel 31-32
Christian Standard Bible
Downfall of Egypt and Assyria
31 In the eleventh year,(A) in the third month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his hordes,
‘Who are you like in your greatness?
3 Think of Assyria, a cedar in Lebanon,(B)
with beautiful branches and shady foliage
and of lofty height.
Its top was among the clouds.[a]
4 The waters caused it to grow;
the underground springs made it tall,
directing their rivers all around
the place where the tree was planted
and sending their channels
to all the trees of the field.
5 Therefore the cedar became greater in height
than all the trees of the field.(C)
Its branches multiplied,
and its boughs grew long
as it spread them out
because of the abundant water.(D)
6 All the birds of the sky
nested in its branches,(E)
and all the animals of the field
gave birth beneath its boughs;
all the great nations lived in its shade.
7 It was beautiful in its size,
in the length of its limbs,
for its roots extended to abundant water.
8 The cedars in God’s garden could not eclipse it;(F)
the pine trees couldn’t compare with its branches,
nor could the plane trees match its boughs.
No tree in the garden of God
could compare with it in beauty.
9 I made it beautiful with its many limbs,
and all the trees of Eden,
which were in God’s garden, envied it.
10 “‘Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: Since it[b] towered high in stature and set its top among the clouds, and it[c] grew proud(G) on account of its height, 11 I determined to hand it over to a ruler of nations;(H) he would surely deal with it. I banished it because of its wickedness. 12 Foreigners, ruthless men from the nations,(I) cut it down and left it lying. Its limbs fell on the mountains and in every valley; its boughs lay broken in all the earth’s ravines. All the peoples of the earth left its shade and abandoned it. 13 All the birds of the sky nested on its fallen trunk, and all the animals of the field were among its boughs. 14 This happened so that no trees planted beside water would become great in height and set their tops among the clouds, and so that no other well-watered trees would reach them in height. For they have all been consigned to death, to the underworld, among the people[d] who descend to the Pit.(J)
15 “‘This is what the Lord God says: I caused grieving on the day the cedar went down to Sheol.(K) I closed off the underground deep because of it:[e] I held back the rivers of the deep, and its abundant water was restrained. I made Lebanon mourn on account of it, and all the trees of the field fainted because of it. 16 I made the nations quake at the sound of its downfall, when I threw it down to Sheol to be with those who descend to the Pit. Then all the trees of Eden,(L) the choice and best of Lebanon, all the well-watered trees, were comforted(M) in the underworld. 17 They too descended with it to Sheol, to those slain by the sword. As its allies[f][g] they had lived in its shade among the nations.
18 “‘Who then are you like in glory and greatness among Eden’s trees? You also will be brought down to the underworld to be with the trees of Eden. You will lie among the uncircumcised with those slain by the sword.(N) This is Pharaoh and all his hordes. This is the declaration of the Lord God.’”
A Lament for Pharaoh
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 “Son of man, lament(O) for Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him,
‘You compare yourself to a lion of the nations,
but[h] you are like a monster[i](P) in the seas.
You thrash about in your rivers,
churn up the waters with your feet,
and muddy the[j] rivers.
3 “‘This is what the Lord God says:
I will spread my net over you(Q)
with an assembly of many peoples,
and they[k] will haul you up in my net.
4 I will abandon you on the land
and throw you onto the open field.
I will cause all the birds of the sky
to settle on you
and let the wild creatures of the entire earth
eat their fill of you.(R)
5 I will put your flesh on the mountains(S)
and fill the valleys with your carcass.
6 I will drench the land
with the flow of your blood,
even to the mountains;
the ravines will be filled with your gore.
7 “‘When I snuff you out,
I will cover the heavens
and darken their stars.
I will cover the sun with a cloud,(T)
and the moon will not give its light.
8 I will darken all the shining lights
in the heavens over you,
and will bring darkness on your land.
This is the declaration of the Lord God.
9 “‘I will trouble the hearts of many peoples,
when I bring about your destruction
among the nations,
in countries you have not known.
10 I will cause many peoples to be appalled at you,
and their kings will shudder with fear because of you(U)
when I brandish my sword in front of them.
On the day of your downfall
each of them will tremble
every moment(V) for his life.
11 “‘For this is what the Lord God says:
The sword of Babylon’s king
will come against you!
12 I will make your hordes fall
by the swords of warriors,
all of them ruthless men from the nations.(W)
They will ravage Egypt’s pride,
and all its hordes will be destroyed.
13 I will slaughter all its cattle
that are beside many waters.
No human foot will churn them again,
and no cattle hooves will disturb them.(X)
14 Then I will let their waters settle
and will make their rivers flow like oil.
This is the declaration of the Lord God.
15 When I make the land of Egypt a desolation,
so that it is emptied of everything in it,
when I strike down all who live there,
then they will know that I am the Lord.(Y)
16 “‘The daughters of the nations will chant that lament.(Z) They will chant it over Egypt and all its hordes. This is the declaration of the Lord God.’”
Egypt in Sheol
17 In the twelfth year,[l] on the fifteenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 18 “Son of man, wail over the hordes of Egypt and bring Egypt and the daughters of mighty nations down to the underworld,[m] to be with those who descend to the Pit:(AA)
19 Who do you surpass in loveliness?
Go down and be laid to rest with the uncircumcised!
20 They will fall among those slain by the sword.
A sword is appointed!(AB)
They drag her and all her hordes away.
21 Warrior leaders will speak
from the middle of Sheol
about him[n] and his allies:
‘They have come down;
the uncircumcised lie
slain by the sword.’(AC)
22 “Assyria is there with her whole assembly;
her graves are all around her.
All of them are slain, fallen by the sword.
23 Her graves are set in the deepest regions of the Pit,
and her assembly is all around her burial place.
All of them are slain, fallen by the sword—
those who once spread terror
in the land of the living.
24 “Elam(AD) is there
with all her hordes around her grave.
All of them are slain, fallen by the sword—
those who went down to the underworld uncircumcised,
who once spread their terror
in the land of the living.
They bear their disgrace
with those who descend to the Pit.
25 Among the slain
they prepare a bed for Elam
with all her hordes.
Her graves are all around her.
All of them are uncircumcised,
slain by the sword,
although their terror was once spread
in the land of the living.
They bear their disgrace
with those who descend to the Pit.
They are placed among the slain.
26 “Meshech and Tubal[o](AE) are there,
with all their hordes.
Their graves are all around them.
All of them are uncircumcised, slain by the sword,
although their terror was once spread
in the land of the living.
27 They do not lie down
with the fallen warriors of the uncircumcised,[p]
who went down to Sheol
with their weapons of war,
whose swords were placed under their heads[q]
and their shields[r]
rested on their bones,
although the terror of these warriors
was once in the land of the living.
28 But you will be shattered
and will lie down among the uncircumcised,
with those slain by the sword.(AF)
29 “Edom(AG) is there, her kings and all her princes,
who, despite their strength, have been placed
among those slain by the sword.
They lie down with the uncircumcised,
with those who descend to the Pit.
30 All the leaders of the north(AH)
and all the Sidonians(AI) are there.
They went down in shame with the slain,
despite the terror their strength inspired.
They lie down uncircumcised
with those slain by the sword.
They bear their disgrace
with those who descend to the Pit.
31 “Pharaoh will see them
and be comforted(AJ) over all his hordes—
Pharaoh and his whole army,
slain by the sword.”
This is the declaration of the Lord God.
32 “For I will spread my[s] terror
in the land of the living,
so Pharaoh and all his hordes
will be laid to rest among the uncircumcised,
with those slain by the sword.”
This is the declaration of the Lord God.
Footnotes
- 31:3 Or thick foliage, also in vv. 10,14
- 31:10 Syr, Vg; MT, LXX read you
- 31:10 Lit its heart
- 31:14 Or the descendants of Adam
- 31:15 Or I covered it with the underground deep
- 31:17 LXX, Syr read offspring
- 31:17 Lit arm
- 32:2 Or ‘Lion of the nations, you are destroyed;
- 32:2 Or crocodile
- 32:2 Lit their
- 32:3 LXX, Vg read I
- 32:17 LXX reads year, in the first month,
- 32:18 Lit the lower parts of the earth, also in v. 24
- 32:21 Either Pharaoh or Egypt
- 32:26 Lit Meshech-tubal
- 32:27 LXX reads of antiquity
- 32:27 Or Do they not... heads?
- 32:27 Emended; MT reads iniquities
- 32:32 Alt Hb tradition, LXX, Syr read his
Hebrews 4:1-5:10
Christian Standard Bible
The Promised Rest
4 Therefore, since the promise to enter his rest remains, let us beware[a] that none of you be found to have fallen short.[b] 2 For we also have received the good news just as they did. But the message they heard did not benefit them, since they were not united with those who heard it in faith.[c](A) 3 For we who have believed enter the rest, in keeping with what[d] he has said,
even though his works have been finished since the foundation of the world. 4 For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in this way: And on the seventh day God rested from all his works.[f](C) 5 Again, in that passage he says, They will never enter my rest.[g] 6 Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news did not enter because of disobedience,(D) 7 he again specifies a certain day—today. He specified this speaking through David after such a long time:
8 For if Joshua(F) had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. 9 Therefore, a Sabbath rest remains for God’s people. 10 For the person who has entered his rest has rested from his own works, just as God did from his.(G) 11 Let us, then, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall into the same pattern of disobedience.
12 For the word of God is living and effective(H) and sharper than any double-edged sword,(I) penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.(J) 13 No creature is hidden from him, but all things are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom(K) we must give an account.
Our Great High Priest
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens—Jesus the Son of God—let us hold fast to our confession.(L) 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are,(M) yet without sin.(N) 16 Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.
Christ, a High Priest
5 For every high priest taken from among men is appointed in matters pertaining to God for the people, to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he is also clothed with weakness.(O) 3 Because of this, he must make an offering for his own sins as well as for the people.(P) 4 No one takes this honor on himself; instead, a person is called by God, just as Aaron was.(Q) 5 In the same way, Christ did not exalt himself to become a high priest, but God who said to him,
6 also says in another place,
7 During his earthly life,[l] he offered prayers and appeals(T) with loud cries and tears(U) to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. 8 Although he was the Son, he learned obedience from what he suffered.(V) 9 After he was perfected, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, 10 and he was declared by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.
Footnotes
- 4:1 Lit fear
- 4:1 Or that any of you might seem to have missed it
- 4:2 Other mss read since it was not united by faith in those who heard
- 4:3 Or rest, just as
- 4:3 Ps 95:11
- 4:4 Gn 2:2
- 4:5 Ps 95:11
- 4:7 Ps 95:7–8
- 5:5 Lit I have begotten you
- 5:5 Ps 2:7
- 5:6 Gn 14:18–20; Ps 110:4
- 5:7 Lit In the days of his flesh
Psalm 119:173-176
Christian Standard Bible
173 May your hand be ready to help me,(A)
for I have chosen your precepts.(B)
174 I long for your salvation, Lord,
and your instruction is my delight.(C)
175 Let me live, and I will praise you;(D)
may your judgments help me.
176 I wander like a lost sheep;(E)
seek your servant,(F)
for I do not forget your commands.(G)
Proverbs 27:22-23
Christian Standard Bible
22 Though you grind a fool
in a mortar with a pestle along with grain,
you will not separate his foolishness from him.(A)
23 Know well the condition of your flock,(B)
and pay attention to your herds,
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