Ezekiel 31:1–33:33

Egypt Is Compared to a Cedar Tree

31 * On the first day of the third month of the eleventh year of our exile, the Lord spoke to me. 2*“Mortal man,” he said, “say to the king of Egypt and all his people:

How powerful you are!

What can I compare you to?

3* You are likew a cedar in Lebanon,

With beautiful, shady branches,

A tree so tall it reaches the clouds.x

4* There was water to make it grow,

And underground rivers to feed it.

They watered the place where the tree was growing

And sent streams to all the trees of the forest.

5* Because it was well watered,

It grew taller than other trees.

Its branches grew thick and long.

6* Every kind of bird built nests in its branches;

The wild animals bore their young in its shelter;

The nations of the world rested in its shade.

7* How beautiful the tree was—

So tall, with such long branches.

Its roots reached down to the deep-flowing streams.

8* No cedar in God’s garden could compare with it.

No fir tree ever had such branches,

And no plane tree such boughs.

No tree in God’s own garden was so beautiful.

9* I made it beautiful, with spreading branches.

It was the envy of every tree in Eden, the garden of God.

10 *“Now then, I, the Sovereign Lord, will tell you what is going to happen to that tree that grew until it reached the clouds.y As it grew taller it grew proud; 11*so I have rejected it and will let a foreign ruler have it. He will give that tree what it deserves for its wickedness. 12*Ruthless foreigners will cut it down and leave it. Its branches and broken boughs will fall on every mountain and valley in the country. All the nations that have been living in its shade will go away. 13*The birds will come and perch on the fallen tree, and the wild animals will walk over its branches. 14*And so from now on, no tree, no matter how well watered it is, will grow as tall as that again or push its top through the cloudsz and reach such a height. All of them are doomed to die like mortals, doomed to join those who go down to the world of the dead.”

15 *This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “On the day when the tree goes to the world of the dead, I will make the underground waters cover it as a sign of mourning. I will hold back the rivers and not let the many streams flow out. Because the tree has died, I will bring darkness over the Lebanon Mountains and make all the trees of the forest wither. 16*When I send it down to the world of the dead, the noise of its downfall will shake the nations. All the trees of Eden and all the choice, well-watered trees of Lebanon who have gone to the world below will be pleased at its downfall. 17*They will go with it to the world of the dead to join those that have already fallen. And all who live under its shadow will be scattered among the nations.a

18 *“The tree is the king of Egypt and all his people. Not even the trees in Eden were so tall and impressive. But now, like the trees of Eden, it will go down to the world of the dead and join the ungodly and those killed in battle. I have spoken,” says the Sovereign Lord.

The King of Egypt Is Compared to a Crocodile

32 * On the first day of the twelfth month of the twelfth year of our exile, the Lord spoke to me. 2*“Mortal man,” he said, “give a solemn warning to the king of Egypt. Give him this message from me: you act like a lion among the nations, but you are more like a crocodile splashing through a river. You muddy the water with your feet and pollute the rivers. 3*When many nations gather, I will catch you in my net and let them drag the net ashore. 4*I will throw you out on the ground and bring all the birds and animals of the world to feed on you. 5*I will cover mountains and valleys with your rotting corpse. 6*I will pour out your blood until it spreads over the mountains and fills the streams. 7*When I destroy you, I will cover the sky and blot out the stars. The sun will hide behind the clouds, and the moon will give no light. 8*I will put out all the lights of heaven and plunge your world into darkness. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken.

9 *“Many nations will be troubled when I spread the news of your destruction through countries you never heard of. 10*What I do to you will shock many nations. When I swing my sword, kings will shudder with fright. On the day you fall, all of them will tremble in fear for their own lives.”

11 *The Sovereign Lord says to the king of Egypt, “You will face the sword of the king of Babylonia. 12*I will let soldiers from cruel nations draw their swords and kill all your people. All your people and everything else that you are proud of will be destroyed. 13*I will slaughter your cattle at every water hole. There will be no people or cattle to muddy the water any more. 14*I will let your waters settle and become clear and let your rivers run calm. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken. 15*When I make Egypt a desolate waste and destroy all who live there, they will know that I am the Lord. 16*This solemn warning will become a funeral song. The women of the nations will sing it to mourn for Egypt and all its people. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken.”

The World of the Dead

17 *On the fifteenth day of the first monthb of the twelfth year of our exile, the Lord spoke to me. 18*“Mortal man,” he said, “mourn for all the many people of Egypt. Send them down with the other powerful nations to the world of the dead. 19*Say to them:

“Do you think you are more beautiful than anyone else?

You will go down to the world of the dead

and lie there among the ungodly.

20 *“The people of Egypt will fall with those who are killed in battle. A sword is ready to kill them all.c 21*The greatest heroes and those who fought on the Egyptian side welcome the Egyptians to the world of the dead. They shout: ‘The ungodly who were killed in battle have come down here, and here they lie!’ 22*“Assyria is there, with the graves of her soldiers all around. They were all killed in battle, 23*and their graves are in the deepest parts of the world of the dead. All her soldiers fell in battle, and their graves surround her tomb. Yet once they terrified the land of the living.

24 *“Elam is there, with the graves of her soldiers all around. They were all killed in battle, and they went down, uncircumcised, to the world of the dead. In life they spread terror, but now they lie dead and disgraced. 25*Elam lies down among those killed in battle, and the graves of her soldiers are all around her. They are all uncircumcised, all killed in battle. In life they spread terror, but now they lie dead and disgraced, sharing the fate of those killed in battle. 26*“Meshech and Tubal are there, with the graves of their soldiers all around. They are all uncircumcised, all killed in battle. Yet once they terrified the living. 27*They were not given honourable burial like the heroes of ancient times,d who went fully armed to the world of the dead, their swords placed under their heads and their shieldse over their bodies. These heroes were once powerful enough to terrify the living.

28 *“That is how the Egyptians will lie crushed among the uncircumcised who were killed in battle.

29 *“Edom is there with her kings and rulers. They were powerful soldiers, but now they lie in the world of the dead with the uncircumcised who were killed in battle.

30 *“All the princes of the north are there, and so are the Sidonians. Their power once spread terror, but now they go down in disgrace with those killed in battle and are laid to rest, uncircumcised. They share the disgrace of those who go down to the world of the dead.

31 *“The sight of all these who were killed in battle will be a comfort to the king of Egypt and his army,” says the Sovereign Lord.

32 *“I made the king of Egypt terrorize the living, but he and all his army will be killed and laid to rest with all the uncircumcised who die in battle.” The Sovereign Lord has spoken.

God Appoints Ezekiel as a Watchman

(Eze 3:16–21)

33 The Lord spoke to me. 2“Mortal man,” he said, “tell your people what happens when I bring war to a land. The people of that country choose one of their number to be a watchman. 3When he sees the enemy approaching, he sounds the alarm to warn everyone. 4If someone hears it but pays no attention and the enemy comes and kills him, then he is to blame for his own death. 5His death is his own fault, because he paid no attention to the warning. If he had paid attention, he could have escaped. 6If, however, the watchman sees the enemy coming and does not sound the alarm, the enemy will come and kill those sinners, but I will hold the watchman responsible for their death.

7 “Now, mortal man, I am making you a watchman for the nation of Israel. You must pass on to them the warnings I give you. 8If I announce that an evil person is going to die but you do not warn him to change his ways so that he can save his life, then he will die, still a sinner, and I will hold you responsible for his death. 9If you do warn an evil person and he doesn’t stop sinning, he will die, still a sinner, but your life will be spared.”

Individual Responsibility

10 The Lord spoke to me. “Mortal man,” he said, “repeat to the Israelites what they are saying: ‘We are burdened with our sins and the wrongs we have done. We are wasting away. How can we live?’ 11Tell them that as surely as I, the Sovereign Lord, am the living God, I do not enjoy seeing sinners die. I would rather see them stop sinning and live. Israel, stop the evil you are doing. Why do you want to die?

12 “Now, mortal man, tell the Israelites that when someone good sins, the good he has done will not save him. If an evil person stops doing evil, he won’t be punished, and if a good person starts sinning, his life will not be spared. 13I may promise life to someone good, but if he starts thinking that his past goodness is enough and begins to sin, I will not remember any of the good he did. He will die because of his sins. 14I may warn someone evil that he is going to die, but if he stops sinning and does what is right and…