^31:1In the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first day of the month,¹ the word of the Lord came to me: ^31:2“Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and his hordes:

“ ‘Who are you like in your greatness?

^31:3Consider Assyria,² a cedar in Lebanon,³

with beautiful branches, like a forest giving shade,

and extremely tall;

its top reached into the clouds.

^31:4The water made it grow;

underground springs made it grow tall.

Rivers flowed all around the place it was planted,

while smaller channels watered all the trees of the field.⁴

^31:5Therefore it grew taller than all the trees of the field;

its boughs grew large and its branches grew long,

because of the plentiful water in its shoots.⁵

^31:6All the birds of the sky nested in its boughs;

under its branches all the beasts of the field gave birth,

in its shade all the great⁶ nations lived.

^31:7It was beautiful in its loftiness, in the length of its branches;

for its roots went down deep to plentiful waters.

^31:8The cedars in the garden of God could not eclipse it,

nor could the fir trees⁷ match its boughs;

the plane trees were as nothing compared to its branches;

no tree in the garden of God could rival its beauty.

^31:9I made it beautiful with its many branches;

all the trees of Eden, in the garden of God, envied it.

^31:10“ ‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Because it was tall in stature, and its top reached into the clouds, and it was proud of its height, ^31:11I gave it over to the leader of the nations. He has judged it thoroughly,⁸ as its sinfulness deserves. I have thrown it out. ^31:12Foreigners from the most terrifying nations have cut it down and left it to lie there on the mountains. In all the valleys its branches have fallen, and its boughs lie broken in the ravines of the land. All the peoples of the land⁹ have departed¹⁰ from its shade and left it. ^31:13On its ruins all the birds of the sky will live, and all the wild animals¹¹ will walk¹² on its branches. ^31:14For this reason no watered trees will grow so tall; their tops will not reach into the clouds, nor will the well-watered ones grow that high.¹³ For all of them have been appointed to die in the lower parts of the earth;¹⁴ they will be among mere mortals,¹⁵ with those who descend to the pit.

^31:15“ ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: On the day it¹⁶ went down to Sheol I caused observers to lament.¹⁷ I covered it with the deep and held back its rivers; its plentiful water was restrained. I clothed Lebanon in black for it, and all the trees of the field wilted because of it. ^31:16I made the nations shake at the sound of its fall, when I threw it down to Sheol, along with those who descend to the pit.¹⁸ Then all the trees of Eden, the choicest and the best of Lebanon, all that were well-watered, were comforted in the earth below. ^31:17Those who lived in its shade, its allies¹⁹ among the nations, also went down with it to Sheol, to those killed by the sword. ^31:18Which of the trees of Eden was like you in majesty and loftiness? You will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the lower parts of the earth; you will lie among the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword! This is what will happen to Pharaoh and all his hordes, declares the sovereign Lord.’ ”

Lamentation over Pharaoh and Egypt

^32:1In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first of the month,¹ the word of the Lord came to me: ^32:2“Son of man, sing a lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him:

“ ‘You were like a lion² among the nations,

but you are a monster in the seas;

you thrash about in your streams,

stir up the water with your feet,

and muddy your³ streams.

^32:3“ ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:

“ ‘I will throw my net over you⁴ in the assembly of many peoples;

and they will haul you up in my dragnet.

^32:4I will leave you on the ground,

I will fling you on the open field,

I will allow⁵ all the birds of the sky to settle⁶ on you,

and I will permit⁷ all the wild animals⁸ to gorge themselves on you.

^32:5I will put your flesh on the mountains,

and fill the valleys with your maggot-infested carcass.⁹

^32:6I will drench the land with the flow

of your blood up to the mountains,

and the ravines will be full of your blood.¹⁰

^32:7When I extinguish you, I will cover the sky;

I will darken its stars.

I will cover the sun with a cloud,

and the moon will not shine.¹¹

^32:8I will darken all the lights in the sky over you,

and I will darken your land,

declares the sovereign Lord.

^32:9I will disturb¹² many peoples,

when I bring about your destruction among the nations,

among countries you do not know.

^32:10I will shock many peoples with you,

and their kings will shiver with horror because of you.

When I brandish my sword before them,

every moment each one will tremble for his life, on the day of your fall.

^32:11“ ‘For this is what the sovereign Lord says:

“ ‘The sword of the king of Babylon¹³ will attack¹⁴ you.

^32:12By the swords of the mighty warriors I will cause your hordes to fall—

all of them are the most terrifying among the nations.

They will devastate the pride of Egypt,

and all its hordes will be destroyed.

^32:13I will destroy all its cattle beside the plentiful waters;

and no human foot will disturb¹⁵ the waters¹⁶ again,

nor will the hooves of cattle disturb them.

^32:14Then I will make their waters calm,¹⁷

and will make their streams flow like olive oil, declares the sovereign Lord.

^32:15When I turn the land of Egypt into desolation

and the land is destitute of everything that fills it,

when I strike all those who live in it,

then they will know that I am the Lord.’

^32:16This is a lament; they will chant it.

The daughters of the nations will chant it.

They will chant it over Egypt and over all her hordes,

declares the sovereign Lord.”

^32:17In the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the month,¹⁸ the word of the Lord came to me: ^32:18“Son of man, wail¹⁹ over the horde of Egypt. Bring it down;²⁰ bring²¹ her²² and the daughters of powerful nations down to the lower parts of the earth, along with those who descend to the pit. ^32:19Say to them,²³ ‘Whom do you surpass in beauty?²⁴ Go down and be laid to rest with the uncircumcised!’ ^32:20They will fall among those killed by the sword. The sword is drawn; they carry her and all her hordes away. ^32:21The bravest of the warriors will speak to him from the midst of Sheol along with his allies, saying: ‘The uncircumcised have come down; they lie still, killed by the sword.’

^32:22“Assyria is there with all her assembly around her grave,²⁵ all of them struck down by the sword.²⁶^32:23Their²⁷ graves are located in the remote slopes of the pit.²⁸ Her assembly is around her grave, all of them struck down by the sword, those who spread terror in the land of the living.

^32:24“Elam is there with all her hordes around her grave; all of them struck down by the sword. They went down uncircumcised to the lower parts of the earth, those who spread terror in the land of the living. Now they will bear their shame with those who descend to the pit. ^32:25Among the dead they have made a bed for her, along with all her hordes around her grave.²⁹ All of them are uncircumcised, killed by the sword, for their terror had spread in the land of the living. They bear their shame along with those who descend to the pit; they are placed among the dead.

^32:26“Meshech-Tubal is there, along with all her hordes around her grave.³⁰ All of them are uncircumcised, killed by the sword, for they spread their terror in the land of the living. ^32:27They do not lie with the fallen warriors of ancient times,³¹ who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war, having their swords placed under their heads and their shields on their bones,³² when the terror of these warriors was in the land of the living.

^32:28“But as for you, in the midst of the uncircumcised you will be broken, and you will lie with those killed by the sword.

^32:29“Edom is there with her kings and all her princes. Despite their might they are laid with those killed by the sword; they lie with the uncircumcised and those who descend to the pit.

^32:30“All the leaders of the north are there, along with all the Sidonians; despite their might they have gone down in shameful terror with the dead. They lie uncircumcised with those killed by the sword, and bear their shame with those who descend to the pit.

^32:31“Pharaoh will see them and be consoled over all his hordes who were killed by the sword, Pharaoh and all his army, declares the sovereign Lord. ^32:32Indeed, I terrified him in the land of the living, yet he will lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with those killed by the sword, Pharaoh and all his hordes, declares the sovereign Lord.”

Read in Logos

Footnotes

1 June 21, 587 b.c.
2 Either Egypt, or the Lord compares Egypt to Assyria, which is described in vv. 3–17 through the metaphor of a majestic tree. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (), 2:. Like Egypt, Assyria had been a great world power, but in time God brought the Assyrians down. Egypt should learn from history the lesson that no nation, no matter how powerful, can withstand the judgment of God. Rather than following the text here, some prefer to emend the proper name Assyria to a similar sounding common noun meaning “boxwood” (see Ezek 27:6), which would make a fitting parallel to “cedar of Lebanon” in the following line. In this case vv. 3–18 in their entirety refer to Egypt, not Assyria. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (), 2:.
3 Lebanon was know for its cedar trees (Judg 9:15; 1 Kgs 4:33; 5:6; 2 Kgs 14:9; Ezra 3:7; Pss 29:5; 92:12; 104:16).
4 Heb “Waters made it grow; the deep made it grow tall. It (the deep) was flowing with its rivers around the place it (the tree) was planted, it (the deep) sent out its channels to all the trees of the field.”
5 Heb “when it sends forth.” Repointing the consonants of the Masoretic text would render the proposed reading “shoots” (cf. ).
6 Or “many.”
7 Or “cypress trees” (cf. , ); “pine trees.”
8 Heb “acting he has acted with regard to it.” The infinitive absolute precedes the main verb to emphasize the certainty and decisiveness of the action depicted.
9 Or “earth” (, , , , ).
10 Heb “gone down.”
11 Heb “the beasts of the field,” referring to wild as opposed to domesticated animals.
12 Heb “be.”
13 Heb “and they will not stand to them in their height, all the drinkers of water.”
14 Heb “for death, to the lower earth.”
15 Heb “the sons of men.”
16 Or “he.”
17 Heb “I caused lamentation.” D. I. Block (Ezekiel [], 2:) proposes an alternative root which would give the meaning “I gated back the waters,” i.e., shut off the water supply.
18 For the expression “going down to the pit,” see Ezek 26:20; 32:18, 24, 29.
19 Heb “its arm.”
1 This would be March 3, 585 b.c.
2 The lion was a figure of royalty (Ezek 19:1–9).
3 The Hebrew reads “their streams”; the reads “your streams.”
4 The expression “throw my net” is common in Ezekiel (12:13; 17:20; 19:8).
5 Or “cause.”
6 Heb “live.”
7 Or “cause.”
8 Heb “the beasts of the field,” referring to wild as opposed to domesticated animals.
9 The Hebrew text is difficult here, apparently meaning “your height.” Following Symmachus and the , it is preferable to emend the text to read “your maggots.” See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (), 2:.
10 Heb “from you.”
11 Heb “will not shine its light.” For similar features of cosmic eschatology, see Joel 2:10; 4:15; Amos 5:18–20; Zeph 1:5.
12 Heb “I will provoke the heart of.”
13 The king of Babylon referred to here was Nebuchadnezzar (Ezek 21:19).
14 Heb “approach.”
15 Heb “muddy.”
16 Heb “them,” that is, the waters mentioned in the previous line. The translation clarifies the referent.
17 Heb “sink,” that is, to settle and become clear, not muddied.
18 March 17, 585 b.c. The adds “first month.”
19 The Hebrew verb is used as a response to death (Jer 9:17–19; Amos 5:16).
20 Through this prophetic lament given by God himself, the prophet activates the judgment described therein. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (), 2:, and L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (), 2:.
21 Heb “Bring him down, her and the daughters of the powerful nations, to the earth below.” The verb “bring down” appears in the Hebrew text only once. Because the verb takes several objects here, the repetition of the verb in the translation improves the English style.
22 This apparently refers to personified Egypt.
23 The places this verse after v. 21. The words “say to them” are added in the translation for clarity to indicate the shift in addressee from the prophet to Egypt.
24 Heb “pleasantness.”
25 Heb “around him his graves.” The masculine pronominal suffixes are problematic; the expression is best emended to correspond to the phrase “around her grave” in v. 23. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (), 2:.
26 Heb “all of them slain, the ones felled by the sword.” See as well vv. 23–24.
27 Heb “whose.”
28 The only other occurrence of the phrase “remote slopes of the pit” is in Isa 14:15.
29 Heb “around him her graves,” but the expression is best emended to read “around her grave” (see vv. 23–24).
30 Heb “around him her graves,” but the expression is best emended to read “around her grave” (see vv. 23–24).
31 Heb “of the uncircumcised.” The reads, probably correctly, “from of old” rather than “of the uncircumcised.” The phrases are very similar in spelling. The warriors of Meshech-Tubal are described as uncircumcised, so it would be odd for them to not be buried with the uncircumcised. Verse 28 specifically says that they would lie with the uncircumcised.
32 Heb “and their iniquities were over their bones.” The meaning of this statement is unclear; in light of the parallelism (see “swords”) it is preferable to emend “their iniquities” to “their swords.” See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (), 2:.