Ezekiel 31:1–32:32
Pharaoh Warned of Assyria’s Fate
1 In the aeleventh year, in the third month, on the first of the month, the word of the Lord came to me saying,
2 “Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his ahordes,
‘Whom are you like in your greatness?
3 ‘Behold, Assyria was a acedar in Lebanon
With beautiful branches and forest shade,
And its top was among the 2clouds.
4 ‘The awaters made it grow, the 1deep made it high.
With its rivers it continually 2extended all around its planting place,
And sent out its channels to all the trees of the field.
5 ‘Therefore aits height was loftier than all the trees of the field
And its boughs became many and its branches long
Because of bmany waters 1as it spread them out.
6 ‘All the abirds of the heavens nested in its boughs,
And under its branches all the beasts of the field gave birth,
And all great nations lived under its shade.
7 ‘So it was beautiful in its greatness, in the length of its branches;
For its 1roots extended to many waters.
8 ‘The acedars in bGod’s garden 1could not match it;
The 2cypresses 1could not compare with its boughs,
And the plane trees 3could not match its branches.
No tree in bGod’s garden 1could compare with it in its beauty.
9 ‘I made it beautiful with the multitude of its branches,
And all the trees of aEden, which were in the agarden of God, were jealous of it.
10 ‘Therefore thus says the Lord 1God, “Because 2it is high in stature and has set its top among the 3clouds, and its aheart is haughty in its loftiness,
11 therefore I will give it into the hand of a 1adespot of the nations; he will thoroughly deal with it. According to its wickedness I have bdriven it away.
12 “aAlien btyrants of the nations have cut it down and left it; on the cmountains and in all the valleys its branches have fallen and its boughs have been broken in all the ravines of the land. And all the peoples of the earth have dgone down from its shade and left it.
13 “On its ruin all the abirds of the heavens will dwell, and all the beasts of the field will be on its fallen branches
14 so that all the trees by the waters may not be exalted in their stature, nor set their top among the 1clouds, nor their 2well-watered mighty ones stand erect in their height. For they have all been given over to death, to the aearth beneath, among the sons of men, with those who go down to the pit.”
15 ‘Thus says the Lord God, “On the day when it went down to Sheol I acaused lamentations; I closed the 1deep over it and held back its rivers. And its many waters were stopped up, and I made Lebanon 2mourn for it, and all the trees of the field wilted away on account of it.
16 “I made the nations aquake at the sound of its fall when I made it bgo down to Sheol with those who go down to the pit; and all the 1well-watered trees of Eden, the choicest and best of cLebanon, were dcomforted in the earth beneath.
17 “They also awent down with it to Sheol to those who were bslain by the sword; and those who were its 1strength lived cunder its shade among the nations.
18 “To which among the trees of Eden are you thus 1equal in glory and greatness? Yet you will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the earth beneath; you will lie in the midst of the auncircumcised, with those who were slain by the sword. bSo is Pharaoh and all his hordes!” ’ declares the Lord God.”
1 In the atwelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first of the month, the word of the Lord came to me saying,
2 “Son of man, take up a alamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him,
‘You 1compared yourself to a young blion of the nations,
Yet you are like the cmonster in the seas;
And you dburst forth in your rivers
And muddied the waters with your feet
And 2fouled their rivers.’ ”
3 Thus says the Lord 1God,
“Now I will aspread My net over you
With a company of many peoples,
And they shall lift you up in My net.
4 “I will leave you on the land;
I will cast you on the 1open field.
And I will cause all the abirds of the heavens to dwell on you,
And I will satisfy the beasts of the whole earth 2with you.
5 “I will lay your flesh aon the mountains
And fill the valleys with your refuse.
6 “I will also make the land drink the discharge of your ablood
As far as the mountains,
And the ravines will be full of you.
7 “And when I aextinguish you,
I will bcover the heavens and darken their cstars;
I will cover the dsun with a cloud
And the moon will not give its light.
8 “All the shining alights in the heavens
I will darken over you
And will set darkness on your land,”
Declares the Lord God.
9 “I will also atrouble the hearts of many peoples when I bbring your destruction among the nations, into lands which you have not known.
10 “I will make many peoples aappalled at you, and their kings will be horribly afraid of you when I brandish My sword before them; and bthey will tremble every moment, every man for his own life, on the day of your fall.”
11 For athus says the Lord God, “The sword of the king of Babylon will come upon you.
12 “By the swords of the mighty ones I will cause your hordes to fall; all of them are atyrants of the nations,
And they will bdevastate the pride of Egypt,
And all its hordes will be destroyed.
13 “I will also destroy all its cattle from beside many waters;
And athe foot of man will not muddy them anymore
And the hoofs of beasts will not muddy them.
14 “Then I will make their waters settle
And will cause their rivers to run like oil,”
Declares the Lord God.
15 “When I make the land of Egypt a adesolation,
And the land is destitute of that which filled it,
When I smite all those who live in it,
Then they shall bknow that I am the Lord.
16 “This is a alamentation and they shall 1chant it. The daughters of the nations shall 1chant it. Over Egypt and over all her hordes they shall 1chant it,” declares the Lord God.
17 In the atwelfth year, on the afifteenth of the month, the word of the Lord came to me saying,
18 “Son of man, awail for the hordes of Egypt and bbring it down, her and the daughters of the powerful nations, to the cnether world, with those who go down to the pit;
19 ‘Whom do you surpass in beauty?
Go down and make your bed with the auncircumcised.’
20 “They shall fall in the midst of those who are slain by the sword. 1She is given over to the sword; they have adrawn her and all her hordes away.
21 “The astrong among the mighty ones shall speak of him and his helpers from the midst of Sheol, ‘They have gone down, they lie still, the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.’
22 “aAssyria is there and all her company; 1her graves are round about 2her. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword,
23 whose agraves are set in the remotest parts of the pit and her company is round about her grave. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword, who 1spread terror in the land of the living.
24 “aElam is there and all her hordes around her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who went down uncircumcised to the blower parts of the earth, who instilled their terror in the cland of the living and dbore their disgrace with those who went down to the pit.
25 “They have made a abed for her among the slain with all her hordes. Her graves are around it, they are all uncircumcised, slain by the sword (although their terror was 1instilled in the land of the living), and they bore their disgrace with those who go down to the pit; 2they were put in the midst of the slain.
26 “aMeshech, bTubal and all their hordes are there; their graves 1surround them. All of them were slain by the sword cuncircumcised, though they instilled their terror in the land of the living.
27 “aNor do they lie beside the fallen 1bheroes of the uncircumcised, who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war and whose swords were laid under their heads; but the punishment for their ciniquity rested on their bones, though the terror of these 1heroes was once in the land of the living.
28 “But in the midst of the uncircumcised you will be broken and lie with those slain by the sword.
29 “There also is aEdom, its kings and all its 1princes, who 2for all their might are laid with those slain by the sword; they will lie with the uncircumcised and with those who go down to the pit.
30 “There also are the 1chiefs of the anorth, all of them, and all the bSidonians, who in spite of the terror resulting from their might, in shame went down with the slain. So they lay down uncircumcised with those slain by the sword and bore their disgrace with those who go down to the pit.
31 “These Pharaoh will see, and he will be acomforted for all his hordes slain by the sword, even Pharaoh and all his army,” declares the Lord God.
32 “Though I instilled a terror of him in the land of the living, yet he will be made to lie down among the uncircumcised along with those slain by the sword, even Pharaoh and all his hordes,” declares the Lord God.