Font Size
Ezekiel 32
Contemporary English Version
Ezekiel 32
Contemporary English Version
A Funeral Song for the King of Egypt
32 Twelve years after King Jehoiachin and the rest of us had been led away as prisoners to Babylonia, the Lord spoke to me on the first day of the twelfth month.[a] He said:
2 Ezekiel, son of man, condemn the king of Egypt and tell him I am saying:
You act like a lion
roaming the earth;
but you are nothing more than
a crocodile in a river,
churning up muddy water
with your feet.
3 King of Egypt, listen to me. I, the Lord God, will catch you in my net and let a crowd of foreigners drag you to shore. 4 I will throw you into an open field, where birds and animals will come to feed on your flesh. 5 I will spread your rotting flesh[b] over the mountains and in the valleys, 6 and your blood will flow throughout the land and fill up the streams. 7 (A) I will cover the whole sky and every star with thick clouds, so that the sun and moon will stop shining. 8 The heavens will become black, leaving your country in total darkness. I, the Lord God, have spoken.
9 Foreign nations you have never heard of will be shocked when I tell them how I destroyed you.[c] 10 They will be horrified, and when I flash my sword in victory on the day of your death, their kings will tremble in the fear of what could happen to them.
11 The king of Babylonia is coming to attack you, king of Egypt! 12 Your soldiers will be killed by the cruelest army in the world, and everything you take pride in will be crushed. 13 I will slaughter your cattle that graze by the river,[d] and no people or livestock will be left to muddy its water. 14 The water will be clear, and streams will be calm. I, the Lord God, have spoken.
15 Egypt will become a barren wasteland, and no living thing will ever survive there. Then you and your people will know that I am the Lord.
16 This is your warning, and it will be used as a funeral song by foreign women to mourn the death of your people. I, the Lord God, have spoken.
A Sad Ending for Egypt
17 On the fifteenth day of that same month,[e] the Lord said:
18 Ezekiel, son of man, mourn for the Egyptians and condemn them to the world of the dead, where they will be buried alongside the people of other powerful nations.[f] 19 Say to them:
You may be more beautiful
than the people
of other nations,
but you will also die
and join the godless
in the world below.
20 You cannot escape! The enemy's sword is ready to slaughter every one of you.[g] 21 Brave military leaders killed in battle will gladly welcome you and your allies into the world of the dead.
22-23 The graves of soldiers from Assyria are there. They once terrified people, but they were killed in battle and now lie deep in the world of the dead.[h]
24-25 The graves of soldiers from Elam are there. The very sight of those godless soldiers once terrified their enemies and made them panic. But now they are disgraced and ashamed as they lie in the world of the dead, alongside others who were killed in battle.
26 The graves of soldiers from Meshech and Tubal are there. These godless soldiers who terrified people were all killed in battle. 27 They were not given a proper burial like the heroes of long ago,[i] who were buried with their swords under their heads and with their shields[j] over their bodies. These were the heroes who made their enemies panic.
28 You Egyptians will be cruelly defeated, and you will be buried alongside these other godless soldiers who died in battle.
29 The graves of kings and leaders from Edom are there. They were powerful at one time. Now they are buried in the world of the dead with other godless soldiers killed in battle.
30 The graves of the rulers of the north[k] are there, as well as those of the Sidonians. Their powerful armies once terrified enemies. Now they lie buried in the world of the dead, where they are disgraced like other soldiers killed in battle.
31 The Lord God says:
When your king of Egypt sees all of these graves, he and his soldiers will be glad they are not the only ones suffering. 32 I sent him to terrify people all over the earth. But he and his army will be killed and buried alongside other godless soldiers in the world of the dead. I, the Lord God, have spoken.
Footnotes
- 32.1 Twelve years … twelfth month: Probably February of 585 b.c.
- 32.5 rotting flesh: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 32.9 when I tell them how I destroyed you: Hebrew; one ancient translation “when I scatter you like prisoners among them.”
- 32.13 the river: This possibly refers to the Nile River.
- 32.17 that same month: See verse 1.
- 32.18 where they will be buried … powerful nations: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 32.20 The enemy's sword … you: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 32.22,23 deep in the world of the dead: The place of greatest dishonor.
- 32.27 heroes of long ago: One ancient translation; Hebrew “godless heroes.”
- 32.27 shields: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 32.30 the rulers of the north: Probably the Phoenicians.
Ezekiel 32
New International Version
Ezekiel 32
New International Version
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) 2 “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)
3 “‘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)
4 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)
5 I will spread your flesh on the mountains
and fill the valleys(I) with your remains.
6 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)
7 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)
8 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.
9 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
- Ezekiel 32:9 Hebrew; Septuagint bring you into captivity among the nations, / to
- Ezekiel 32:27 Septuagint; Hebrew warriors who were uncircumcised
- Ezekiel 32:27 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text punishment
Contemporary English Version (CEV) 
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.