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32 In mid-February of the twelfth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, this message came to me from the Lord:

“Son of dust, mourn for Pharaoh, king of Egypt and say to him: ‘You think of yourself as a strong young lion among the nations, but you are merely a crocodile[a] along the banks of the Nile, making bubbles and muddying the stream.’”

The Lord God says: “I will send a great army to catch you with my net. I will haul you out and leave you stranded on the land to die. And all the birds of the heavens will light upon you, and the wild animals of the whole earth will devour you until they are glutted and full. And I will cover the hills with your flesh and fill the valleys with your bones. And I will drench the earth with your gushing blood, filling the ravines to the tops of the mountains. I will blot you out, and I will veil the heavens and darken the stars. I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give you her light. Yes, darkness will be everywhere across your land—even the bright stars will be dark above you.

“And when I destroy you,[b] grief will be in many hearts among the distant nations you have never seen. 10 Yes, terror shall strike in many lands, and their kings shall be terribly afraid because of all I do to you. They shall shudder with terror when I brandish my sword before them. They shall greatly tremble for their lives on the day of your fall.”

11 For the Lord God says: “The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon you. 12 I will destroy you with Babylon’s mighty army—the terror of the nations. It will smash the pride of Egypt and all her people; all will perish. 13 I will destroy all your flocks and herds that graze beside the streams, and neither man nor animal will disturb those waters anymore. 14 Therefore, the waters of Egypt will be as clear and flow as smoothly as olive oil,” the Lord God says. 15 “And when I destroy Egypt and wipe out everything she has, then she shall know that I, the Lord, have done it. 16 Yes, cry for the sorrows of Egypt. Let all the nations weep for her and for her people,” says the Lord.

17 Two weeks later,[c] another message came to me from the Lord. He said:

18 “Son of dust, weep for the people of Egypt and for the other mighty nations. Send them down to the netherworld among the denizens of death. 19 What nation is as beautiful as you, O Egypt? Yet your doom is the pit; you will be laid beside the people you despise. 20 The Egyptians will die with the multitudes slain by the sword, for the sword is drawn against the land of Egypt. She will be drawn down to judgment. 21 The mighty warriors in the netherworld will welcome her as she arrives with all her friends, to lie there beside the nations she despised, all victims of the sword.

22 “The princes of Assyria lie there surrounded by the graves of all her people, those the sword has slain. 23 Their graves are in the depths of hell, surrounded by their allies. All these mighty men who once struck terror into the hearts of everyone are now dead at the hands of their foes.

24 “Great kings of Elam lie there with their people. They scourged the nations while they lived, and now they lie undone in hell; their fate is the same as that of ordinary men. 25 They have a resting place among the slain, surrounded by the graves of all their people. Yes, they terrorized the nations while they lived, but now they lie in shame in the pit, slain by the sword.

26 “The princes of Meshech and Tubal are there, surrounded by the graves of all their armies—all of them idolaters—who once struck terror to the hearts of all; now they lie dead. 27 They are buried in a common grave and not as the fallen lords who are buried in great honor with their weapons beside them, with their shields covering them and their swords beneath their heads.[d] They were a terror to all while they lived. 28 Now you will lie crushed and broken among the idolaters, among those who are slain by the sword.

29 “Edom is there with her kings and her princes; mighty as they were, they too lie among the others whom the sword has slain, with the idolaters who have gone down to the pit. 30 All the princes of the north are there and the Sidonians, all slain. Once a terror, now they lie in shame; they lie in ignominy with all the other slain who go down to the pit.

31 “When Pharaoh arrives, he will be comforted to find that he is not alone in having all his army slain,” says the Lord God. 32 “For I have caused my terror to fall upon all the living. And Pharaoh and his army shall lie among the idolaters who are slain by the sword.”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 32:2 crocodile, or “sea serpent.”
  2. Ezekiel 32:9 when I destroy you, or “when I carry you captive among the nations.”
  3. Ezekiel 32:17 Two weeks later, literally, “In the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the month.”
  4. Ezekiel 32:27 and their swords beneath their heads, literally, “and their iniquity [iniquities] upon their bones.”

A Lament Over Pharaoh

32 In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month on the first day, the word of the Lord came to me:(A) “Son of man, take up a lament(B) concerning Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him:

“‘You are like a lion(C) among the nations;
    you are like a monster(D) in the seas(E)
thrashing about in your streams,
    churning the water with your feet
    and muddying the streams.(F)

“‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘With a great throng of people
    I will cast my net over you,
    and they will haul you up in my net.(G)
I will throw you on the land
    and hurl you on the open field.
I will let all the birds of the sky settle on you
    and all the animals of the wild gorge themselves on you.(H)
I will spread your flesh on the mountains
    and fill the valleys(I) with your remains.
I will drench the land with your flowing blood(J)
    all the way to the mountains,
    and the ravines will be filled with your flesh.(K)
When I snuff you out, I will cover the heavens
    and darken their stars;
I will cover the sun with a cloud,
    and the moon will not give its light.(L)
All the shining lights in the heavens
    I will darken(M) over you;
    I will bring darkness over your land,(N)
declares the Sovereign Lord.
I will trouble the hearts of many peoples
    when I bring about your destruction among the nations,
    among[a] lands you have not known.
10 I will cause many peoples to be appalled at you,
    and their kings will shudder with horror because of you
    when I brandish my sword(O) before them.
On the day(P) of your downfall
    each of them will tremble
    every moment for his life.(Q)

11 “‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘The sword(R) of the king of Babylon(S)
    will come against you.(T)
12 I will cause your hordes to fall
    by the swords of mighty men—
    the most ruthless of all nations.(U)
They will shatter the pride of Egypt,
    and all her hordes will be overthrown.(V)
13 I will destroy all her cattle
    from beside abundant waters
no longer to be stirred by the foot of man
    or muddied by the hooves of cattle.(W)
14 Then I will let her waters settle
    and make her streams flow like oil,
declares the Sovereign Lord.
15 When I make Egypt desolate
    and strip the land of everything in it,
when I strike down all who live there,
    then they will know that I am the Lord.(X)

16 “This is the lament(Y) they will chant for her. The daughters of the nations will chant it; for Egypt and all her hordes they will chant it, declares the Sovereign Lord.”

Egypt’s Descent Into the Realm of the Dead

17 In the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me:(Z) 18 “Son of man, wail for the hordes of Egypt and consign(AA) to the earth below both her and the daughters of mighty nations, along with those who go down to the pit.(AB) 19 Say to them, ‘Are you more favored than others? Go down and be laid among the uncircumcised.’(AC) 20 They will fall among those killed by the sword. The sword is drawn; let her be dragged(AD) off with all her hordes.(AE) 21 From within the realm of the dead(AF) the mighty leaders will say of Egypt and her allies, ‘They have come down and they lie with the uncircumcised,(AG) with those killed by the sword.’

22 “Assyria is there with her whole army; she is surrounded by the graves of all her slain, all who have fallen by the sword. 23 Their graves are in the depths of the pit(AH) and her army lies around her grave.(AI) All who had spread terror in the land of the living are slain, fallen by the sword.

24 “Elam(AJ) is there, with all her hordes around her grave. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword.(AK) All who had spread terror in the land of the living(AL) went down uncircumcised to the earth below. They bear their shame with those who go down to the pit.(AM) 25 A bed is made for her among the slain, with all her hordes around her grave. All of them are uncircumcised,(AN) killed by the sword. Because their terror had spread in the land of the living, they bear their shame with those who go down to the pit; they are laid among the slain.

26 “Meshek and Tubal(AO) are there, with all their hordes around their graves. All of them are uncircumcised, killed by the sword because they spread their terror in the land of the living. 27 But they do not lie with the fallen warriors of old,[b](AP) who went down to the realm of the dead with their weapons of war—their swords placed under their heads and their shields[c] resting on their bones—though these warriors also had terrorized the land of the living.

28 “You too, Pharaoh, will be broken and will lie among the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword.

29 “Edom(AQ) is there, her kings and all her princes; despite their power, they are laid with those killed by the sword. They lie with the uncircumcised, with those who go down to the pit.(AR)

30 “All the princes of the north(AS) and all the Sidonians(AT) are there; they went down with the slain in disgrace despite the terror caused by their power. They lie uncircumcised(AU) with those killed by the sword and bear their shame with those who go down to the pit.(AV)

31 “Pharaoh—he and all his army—will see them and he will be consoled(AW) for all his hordes that were killed by the sword, declares the Sovereign Lord. 32 Although I had him spread terror in the land of the living, Pharaoh(AX) and all his hordes will be laid among the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword, declares the Sovereign Lord.”(AY)

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 32:9 Hebrew; Septuagint bring you into captivity among the nations, / to
  2. Ezekiel 32:27 Septuagint; Hebrew warriors who were uncircumcised
  3. Ezekiel 32:27 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text punishment