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A funeral song for Egypt and its king

32 The Lord gave this message to me on the first day of the 12th month, in the 12th year: ‘Son of man, sing a funeral song about Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Say this to him:

“You have shown your power among the nations,
like a strong lion.
But really you are a monster who lives in the sea.
You live in the rivers of your country.
You beat the water with your feet.
The water of your streams becomes dirty.

This is what the Almighty Lord says:

I will bring a big crowd of people together
to catch you in my net.
They will use my net to pull you out of the water.
I will throw you onto dry ground
and I will leave you there.
I will bring the birds to fly down from the sky
and sit on you.
I will bring the wild animals to feed themselves on you,
and eat as much as they want.
I will put the meat of your body on the mountains.
Your bones will fill the valleys.
I will make the ground wet with your blood.
It will pour out of you, up to the mountains.
And it will fill the deep valleys.
When I completely destroy you,
I will cover the sky and make the stars become dark.
I will cover the sun with a cloud.
The moon will no longer give any light.
I will make the sky over you become dark,
with no lights in it.
Your whole country will become dark.

That is what the Almighty Lord says.

When many other nations know that I have destroyed you,
they will be afraid.
Foreign nations that you do not know will be very upset.
10 The people of many countries will be afraid
when they see what I have done to you.
Their kings will shake with fear.
When I wave my sword in front of them,
they will not stop shaking!
At the time that your life finishes,
they will also fear death.

11 This is what the Almighty Lord says:

The king of Babylon will attack you with his army.
12 His brave soldiers will fight against you.
I will cause them to destroy your army.
They are the most cruel of all the nations.
They will stop Egypt's people being proud of their power.
They will destroy all Egypt's armies.
13 I will destroy all Egypt's cows that live beside its great rivers.
So no people or animals will walk in the water any more.
They will not cause the water to become dirty.
14 Then I will cause the water in the rivers to be clean again.
The water will move freely like olive oil.

That is what the Almighty Lord says.

15 I will cause Egypt to become an empty place.
I will remove everything that grows on the land.
I will kill all the people who live there.
Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

16 That is the funeral song that they will sing about Egypt. Women of many nations will sing it. They will sing it because of the death of Egypt and all her people. That is what the Almighty Lord says.’

17 In the 12th year, the Lord gave this message to me on the 15th day of the month: 18 ‘Son of man, weep for the many people of Egypt. Send them down to the place of dead people, deep under the ground. They will be there in their graves with the people of other powerful nations. 19 Say to them, “You think you are more beautiful than the people of other nations. But you too must go down to lie in your graves among those who do not belong to God.”

20 An enemy has come to attack Egypt! Many of its people will die among the soldiers who die in battle. The enemy will take many of Egypt's people away as their prisoners. 21 In the place of dead people, brave soldiers will welcome the people of Egypt and those who helped them. They will say, “They have come down to join us who do not belong to God. They have died in battle and now they lie in their graves.”

22 The people of Assyria and its whole army are there in their graves! All of them died in battle. 23 Their graves are in the deepest parts of the deep hole of death. Soldiers who fought with them lie all around. They were very cruel to people when they were alive. But they died in battle and now they lie in their graves.

24 The people of Elam and its whole army are also there! All of them died in battle too. They were cruel to many people when they were alive. Now they have gone down deep below the ground, as people who do not belong to God. They are ashamed to join with other people in the deep hole of death. 25 Elam lies there on a bed that people have prepared for her. All Elam's soldiers lie around its grave. None of them belongs to God and they have all died in battle. When they were alive, they made people very afraid. But now they are ashamed, as they lie in their graves among other dead people in the deep hole of death.

26 Meshech and Tubal are also there in their graves, with their soldiers all around. When they were alive, they made people very afraid. Now they have all died in battle and none of them belongs to God. 27 They do not lie with the brave dead soldiers of long ago. Those men went down into their graves with honour. People buried them with their weapons. They put their swords under their heads. When those brave men were alive, they caused people to be very afraid of them.

28 You too, Egypt, will lie in your grave among those who do not belong to God. You will lie beside other people who died in battle.

29 Edom is there, too, with its kings and leaders. They were powerful, but now they lie in their graves, among those who have died in battle. They have gone down into the deep hole of death with those who do not belong to God.

30 All the rulers of the north are there, as well as all the people of Sidon. They used their power to make people very afraid. But now they are ashamed, like other people who have gone down into the deep hole of death. They lie in their graves with those who have died in battle, and they do not belong to God.

31 The Almighty Lord says this: Pharaoh will not feel so sad when he sees all these other dead people in their graves. He and his whole army will know that they are not the only people to have died in battle. 32 When he was alive, I caused him to make people very afraid. But Pharaoh and all his great army will lie in their graves among other people who died in battle. They will lie with people who do not belong to God. That is what I, the Almighty Lord, have said.’

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