Chronological
Prince of Tyre
28 The Lord’s word came to me: 2 Human one, say to the prince of Tyre, The Lord God proclaims: In your arrogance, you say, “I am God, and as God I rule the seas!” Though you claim to have the mind of a god, you are mortal, not divine. 3 You are certainly wiser than Daniel; no secrets are hidden from you. 4 By your wisdom and discernment, you made yourself rich, and you filled your storehouses with silver and gold. 5 Through your shrewd trading you multiplied your riches. But then you became proud of your riches.
6 So now the Lord God proclaims: Because you claim to have the mind of a god, 7 I’ll bring foreigners, the most ruthless nations, against you. They will let loose their swords against your fine wisdom, and they will degrade your splendor. 8 They will hurl you to destruction, and you will die, murdered, on the high seas. 9 When you face your murderers, will you still say, “I’m God”? In your killers’ hands, you are mortal, not divine. 10 You will die as the uncircumcised do, at the hands of foreigners. I have spoken. This is what the Lord God has said.
11 The Lord’s word came to me: 12 Human one, sing a lament for the king of Tyre. Say to him, The Lord God proclaims: You were full of wisdom and beauty, the image of perfection. 13 You were in Eden, God’s garden. You were covered with gold and every precious stone: carnelian, topaz, and moonstone; beryl, onyx, and jasper; lapis lazuli, turquoise, and emerald. On the day that you were created, finely crafted pendants and engravings were prepared. 14 You, a winged creature, were installed as a guardian. I placed you in God’s holy mountain where you walked among the stones of fire. 15 From the day you were created until injustice was found in you, your ways were assured. 16 But because of your trade, your oppressive business practices piled up, and you became impure. So I expelled you from God’s mountain. I removed you, winged creature, guardian, from among the stones of fire. 17 You exalted yourself because of your beauty and corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I will cast you down to the earth in the sight of kings, and I will make a spectacle of you. 18 Because of your corrupt trade, which surpassed your many other sins, you made your sanctuaries impure. Therefore, I will bring fire from your midst. When it has consumed you, I will turn you into dust on the earth in the sight of all who see you. 19 Everyone among the peoples who knows you will be appalled because of you. You will become a terror. From that time on, you will be nothing.
Against Sidon
20 The Lord’s word came to me: 21 Human one, face Sidon, prophesy against it, 22 and say, The Lord God proclaims: I’m against you, Sidon, and I will manifest my glory in you. When I’ve executed judgment against it and through it have manifested my holiness, they will know that I am the Lord. 23 I will hurl plague against it, and blood will run in its streets. When the sword comes against it from all sides, the slain will fall within it. Then they will know that I am the Lord. 24 The house of Israel will no longer suffer from the pricking thorn or painful briar of any of its neighbors who hold it in contempt. And they will know that I am the Lord God.
25 The Lord God proclaims: When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they’ve scattered, and I demonstrate my holiness through them in the sight of the nations, they will live on their fertile land, which I gave to my servant Jacob. 26 They will live on it in safety. They will build houses, plant vineyards, and live in safety. When I execute judgments against all who hold them in contempt on every side, they will know that I, the Lord, am their God.
Against Egypt
29 In the tenth year, on the twelfth day of the tenth month, the Lord’s word came to me: 2 Human one, face Pharaoh, Egypt’s king, and prophesy against him and against all of Egypt. 3 Speak and say, The Lord God proclaims:
I’m against you, Pharaoh, Egypt’s king,
great crocodile lurking
in the Nile’s canals,
who says, “The Nile is all mine;
I made it for myself!”
4 I will set hooks in your jaws;
I will make the fish from the Nile’s canals cling to your scales.
I will drag you out of the Nile’s canals,
and also all the fish from the Nile’s canals
clinging to your scales.
5 I will fling you out into the desert,
and also all the fish from the Nile’s canals.
You will fall on the open ground,
and won’t be gathered or retrieved.
I’ve given you to the beasts of the earth
and the birds in the sky for food.
6 Everyone living in Egypt will know that I am the Lord.
Because they were a flimsy crutch for the house of Israel— 7 when they took you in hand, you would splinter and make their shoulders sore; when they leaned on you, you would break, bringing them to their knees— 8 now the Lord God proclaims: I’m bringing a sword against you, and I will cut off from you human and beast. 9 The land of Egypt will be turned into a wasteland and ruins. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
Because you[a] said, “The Nile is mine; I made it,” 10 I’m against you and against the Nile’s canals. I will make the land of Egypt into an utter ruin, a wasteland, from Migdol to Syene and as far as its boundary with Cush. 11 No foot, animal or human, will walk across it, and it won’t be inhabited for forty years. 12 I will make the land of Egypt the most desolate of wastelands and its cities the most devastated of ruined cities. It will be a wasteland for forty years, and the Egyptians will be scattered among the nations and dispersed throughout the lands.
13 The Lord God proclaims: At the end of forty years, I will gather the Egyptians from among the nations where they are scattered. 14 I will improve their circumstances and bring them back to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin. Egypt will be a lowly kingdom there. 15 Out of all the kingdoms, it will be the lowliest. It will never again exalt itself over the nations, and I will make it small to keep it from ruling the nations. 16 The house of Israel will never again bring guilt on itself by faithlessly turning to Egypt for help, for they will know that I am the Lord God.
17 In the twenty-seventh year, on the first day of the first month, the Lord’s word came to me: 18 Human one, Babylon’s King Nebuchadrezzar made his army labor very hard against Tyre. Every head was scraped bald, and every shoulder was rubbed raw, yet he got nothing from Tyre for himself or for his army for any of his efforts against it. 19 So now the Lord God proclaims: I’m going to give the land of Egypt to Babylon’s King Nebuchadrezzar. He will carry off its wealth, he will plunder and loot it, and it will be the wages for his army. 20 I will give him the land of Egypt as payment for his laboring for me. This is what the Lord God says.
21 On that day I will give new strength[b] to the house of Israel, and I will open your mouth among them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
30 The Lord’s word came to me: 2 Human one, prophesy and say, The Lord God proclaims:
Howl! Horror for the day!
3 The day is coming,
the day of the Lord comes,
a day of clouds: the nations’ time has come.
4 A sword will come into Egypt,
and trembling will overcome Cush,
when the slain fall in Egypt,
its wealth carried away,
and its foundations razed.
5 Cush, Put, and Lud,
all Arabia and Cub,
and the people from the allied country[c] with them
will fall by the sword.
6 The Lord proclaims:
When Egypt’s helpers fall,
its proud strength will decline.
From Migdol to Syene
they will fall by the sword.
This is what the Lord God says.
7 Of all the lands laid waste, it will be the most desolate; of all cities, the most ruined. 8 They will know that I am the Lord. On the day that I set fire to Egypt and all its helpers are broken, 9 messengers in ships will go out from me to startle the complacent Cushites. Anguish will overcome them on Egypt’s day. It’s certainly coming.
10 The Lord God proclaims:
I will bring an end to the hordes of Egypt
through the power of Babylon’s King Nebuchadrezzar.
11 He and his people with him,
the most terrible of the nations,
will be brought in to destroy the land.
They will draw their swords against Egypt
and fill the land with the slain.
12 I will dry up the Nile canals;
I will sell the land to evildoers.
With the help of foreigners
I will lay waste to the land and everything in it.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
13 The Lord God proclaims:
I will destroy the idols
and bring an end to the images in Memphis.
Never again will there be a prince from the land of Egypt;
so I will kindle fear in the land of Egypt.
14 I will turn Pathros into a desolation,
set fire to Zoan,
and execute judgments in Thebes.
15 I will pour out my anger on Pelusium,
the stronghold of Egypt,
and I will cut down pompous Thebes.
16 I will set Egypt on fire;
Pelusium will writhe in travail,
Thebes will be split open,
Memphis assaulted in broad daylight.
17 The elite troops of On and Pi-beseth
will fall by the sword,
and the cities themselves will go into captivity.
18 At Tehaphnehes the day will go dark when I break Egypt’s yoke and bring an end to its proud strength. A cloud will cover it, and the towns around it will go into captivity. 19 I will execute judgments in Egypt, and they will know that I am the Lord.
20 In the eleventh year, on the seventh day of the first month, the Lord’s word came to me: 21 Human one, I’ve broken the arm of Pharaoh, Egypt’s king, and it hasn’t been set so that it might heal, nor has it been braced or wrapped up so that it might be strong enough to grasp a sword.
22 So now the Lord God proclaims: I’m against Pharaoh, and I will break his arms, both the sound one and the broken one, and I’ll make the sword fall out of his hand. 23 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the earth. 24 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and I will put my sword into his hand. When I break the arms of Pharaoh, he will groan like a dying man in his presence. 25 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fall. They will know that I am the Lord, when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he uses it against the land of Egypt. 26 When I scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the earth, they will know that I am the Lord.
Egypt is not Assyria
31 In the eleventh year, on the first day of the third month, the Lord’s word came to me: 2 Human one, say to Pharaoh, Egypt’s king, and his troops:
With whom do you compare in your greatness?
3 Consider Assyria, a cedar of Lebanon:
beautiful branches, dense shade, towering height;
indeed, its top went up between the clouds.
4 Waters nourished it; the deep raised it up,
because its streams flowed around the place where it was planted.
From there, water trickled down to all the other trees of the field.
5 And so it became higher than all the trees of the field.
Its branches became abundant; its boughs grew long.
Because of the plentiful water, it grew freely.
6 All the birds in the sky made nests in its branches;
all the beasts of the field gave birth under its boughs,
and in its shade, every great nation lived.
7 It became beautiful in its greatness and in its lush foliage,
because it took root in plentiful water.
8 No cedar was its equal in God’s garden.
The fir trees didn’t have anything like its branches,
and the plane trees had nothing like its boughs.
None of the trees in God’s garden could compare to it in its beauty.
9 As for its beauty—I made it so, with its abundant foliage.
All the trees of Eden envied it,
all that were in God’s garden.
10 So now the Lord God proclaims:
Consider the fate of those who tower high!
When it allowed its branches to reach up among the clouds,
it became arrogant.
11 So I handed it over
to the most powerful nation,
who continually acted treacherously against it.
I banished it!
12 Foreigners, the worst of the nations, cut it down
and left it to lie among the hills.
All its branches fell among the valleys,
and its boughs were broken off in the earth’s deep ravines.
All the earth’s peoples departed from its shade and abandoned it.
13 On its trunk roost all the birds in the sky,
and on its boughs lie all the beasts of the field.
14 All this has happened so that no other well-watered tree would tower high or allow its branches to reach among the clouds. Nor would their leaders achieve the towering stature of such well-watered trees. Certainly, all of them are consigned to death, to the world below,[d] among human beings who go down to the pit.
15 The Lord God proclaims: On the day that it went down to the underworld,[e] I caused mourning. I blocked off the deep sea against it. I dried up its rivers and restrained the mighty waters. I made Lebanon go into mourning for it, and all the trees of the field languished on its account. 16 When it was felled, the nations quaked at the sound. When I cast it down into the underworld, with those who go down to the pit, all the trees of Eden were comforted in the world below, the choicest and the best of Lebanon, all the trees that depended on water. 17 His allies,[f] those among the nations who lived under his shade, these also went down with him to the underworld, to those who are slain by the sword.
18 Are you like any of these in glory or greatness among Eden’s trees? Then you too will go down with Eden’s trees to the world below. You will lie among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and his entire horde. This is what the Lord God says.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible