Ezekiel 28:1--30:26

A Prophecy Against the King of Tyre

28:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 28:2 “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:

“‘Your heart is proud and you said, “I am a god;

I sit in the seat of gods, in the heart of the seas” –

yet you are a man and not a god,

though you think you are godlike.

28:3 Look, you are wiser than Daniel;

no secret is hidden from you.

28:4 By your wisdom and understanding you have gained wealth for yourself;

you have amassed gold and silver in your treasuries.

28:5 By your great skill in trade you have increased your wealth,

and your heart is proud because of your wealth.

28:6 “‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says:

Because you think you are godlike,

28:7 I am about to bring foreigners against you, the most terrifying of nations.

They will draw their swords against the grandeur made by your wisdom,

and they will defile your splendor.

28:8 They will bring you down to the pit, and you will die violently in the heart of the seas.

28:9 Will you still say, “I am a god,” before the one who kills you –

though you are a man and not a god –

when you are in the power of those who wound you?

28:10 You will die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of foreigners;

for I have spoken, declares the sovereign Lord.’”

28:11 The word of the Lord came to me: 28:12 “Son of man, sing a lament for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:

“‘You were the sealer of perfection,

full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.

28:13 You were in Eden, the garden of God.

Every precious stone was your covering,

the ruby, topaz, and emerald,

the chrysolite, onyx, and jasper,

the sapphire, turquoise, and beryl;

your settings and mounts were made of gold.

On the day you were created they were prepared.

28:14 I placed you there with an anointed guardian cherub;

you were on the holy mountain of God;

you walked about amidst fiery stones.

28:15 You were blameless in your behavior from the day you were created,

until sin was discovered in you.

28:16 In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned;

so I defiled you and banished you from the mountain of God –

the guardian cherub expelled you from the midst of the stones of fire.

28:17 Your heart was proud because of your beauty;

you corrupted your wisdom on account of your splendor.

I threw you down to the ground;

I placed you before kings, that they might see you.

28:18 By the multitude of your iniquities, through the sinfulness of your trade,

you desecrated your sanctuaries.

So I drew fire out from within you;

it consumed you,

and I turned you to ashes on the earth

before the eyes of all who saw you.

28:19 All who know you among the peoples are shocked at you;

you have become terrified and will be no more.’”

A Prophecy Against Sidon

28:20 The word of the Lord came to me: 28:21 “Son of man, turn toward Sidon and prophesy against it. 28:22 Say, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:

“‘Look, I am against you, Sidon,

and I will magnify myself in your midst.

Then they will know that I am the Lord

when I execute judgments on her

and reveal my sovereign power in her.

28:23 I will send a plague into the city and bloodshed into its streets;

the slain will fall within it, by the sword that attacks it from every side.

Then they will know that I am the Lord.

28:24 “‘No longer will Israel suffer from the sharp briers or painful thorns of all who surround and scorn them. Then they will know that I am the sovereign Lord.

28:25 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: When I regather the house of Israel from the peoples where they are dispersed, I will reveal my sovereign power over them in the sight of the nations, and they will live in their land that I gave to my servant Jacob. 28:26 They will live securely in it; they will build houses and plant vineyards. They will live securely when I execute my judgments on all those who scorn them and surround them. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God.’”

A Prophecy Against Egypt

29:1 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 29:2 “Son of man, turn toward Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt. 29:3 Tell them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:

“‘Look, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt,

the great monster lying in the midst of its waterways,

who has said, “My Nile is my own, I made it for myself.”

29:4 I will put hooks in your jaws

and stick the fish of your waterways to your scales.

I will haul you up from the midst of your waterways,

and all the fish of your waterways will stick to your scales.

29:5 I will leave you in the wilderness,

you and all the fish of your waterways;

you will fall in the open field and will not be gathered up or collected.

I have given you as food to the beasts of the earth and the birds of the skies.

29:6 Then all those living in Egypt will know that I am the Lord

because they were a reed staff for the house of Israel;

29:7 when they grasped you with their hand, you broke and tore their shoulders,

and when they leaned on you, you splintered and caused their legs to be unsteady.

29:8 “‘Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to bring a sword against you, and I will kill every person and every animal. 29:9 The land of Egypt will become a desolate ruin. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

Because he said, “The Nile is mine and I made it,” 29:10 I am against you and your waterways. I will turn the land of Egypt into an utter desolate ruin from Migdol to Syene, as far as the border with Ethiopia. 29:11 No human foot will pass through it, and no animal’s foot will pass through it; it will be uninhabited for forty years. 29:12 I will turn the land of Egypt into a desolation in the midst of desolate lands; for forty years her cities will lie desolate in the midst of ruined cities. I will scatter Egypt among the nations and disperse them among foreign countries.

29:13 “‘For this is what the sovereign Lord says: At the end of forty years I will gather Egypt from the peoples where they were scattered. 29:14 I will restore the fortunes of Egypt, and will bring them back to the land of Pathros, to the land of their origin; there they will be an insignificant kingdom. 29:15 It will be the most insignificant of the kingdoms; it will never again exalt itself over the nations. I will make them so small that they will not rule over the nations. 29:16 It will never again be Israel’s source of confidence, but a reminder of how they sinned by turning to Egypt for help. Then they will know that I am the sovereign Lord.’”

29:17 In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 29:18 “Son of man, King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre. Every head was rubbed bald and every shoulder rubbed bare; yet he and his army received no wages from Tyre for the work he carried out against it. 29:19 Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to give the land of Egypt to King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon. He will carry off her wealth, capture her loot, and seize her plunder; it will be his army’s wages. 29:20 I have given him the land of Egypt as his compensation for attacking Tyre, because they did it for me, declares the sovereign Lord. 29:21 On that day I will make Israel powerful, and I will give you the right to be heard among them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

A Lament Over Egypt

30:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 30:2 “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:

“‘Wail, “Alas, the day is here!”

30:3 For the day is near,

the day of the Lord is near;

it will be a day of storm clouds,

it will be a time of judgment for the nations.

30:4 A sword will come against Egypt

and panic will overtake Ethiopia

when the slain fall in Egypt

and they carry away her wealth

and dismantle her foundations.

30:5 Ethiopia, Put, Lud, all the foreigners, Libya, and the people of the covenant land will die by the sword along with them.

30:6 “‘This is what the Lord says:

Egypt’s supporters will fall;

her confident pride will crumble.

From Migdol to Syene they will die by the sword within her,

declares the sovereign Lord.

30:7 They will be desolate among desolate lands,

and their cities will be among ruined cities.

30:8 They will know that I am the Lord

when I ignite a fire in Egypt

and all her allies are defeated.

30:9 On that day messengers will go out from me in ships to frighten overly confident Ethiopia; panic will overtake them on the day of Egypt’s doom; for beware – it is coming!

30:10 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:

I will put an end to the hordes of Egypt,

by the hand of King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon.

30:11 He and his people with him,

the most terrifying of the nations,

will be brought there to destroy the land.

They will draw their swords against Egypt,

and fill the land with corpses.

30:12 I will dry up the waterways

and hand the land over to evil men.

I will make the land and everything in it desolate by the hand of foreigners.

I, the Lord, have spoken!

30:13 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:

I will destroy the idols,

and put an end to the gods of Memphis.

There will no longer be a prince from the land of Egypt;

so I will make the land of Egypt fearful.

30:14 I will desolate Pathros,

I will ignite a fire in Zoan,

and I will execute judgments on Thebes.

30:15 I will pour out my anger upon Pelusium,

the stronghold of Egypt;

I will cut off the hordes of Thebes.

30:16 I will ignite a fire in Egypt;

Syene will writhe in agony,

Thebes will be broken down,

and Memphis will face enemies every day.

30:17 The young men of On and of Pi-beseth will die by the sword;

and the cities will go into captivity.

30:18 In Tahpanhes the day will be dark

when I break the yoke of Egypt there.

Her confident pride will cease within her;

a cloud will cover her, and her daughters will go into captivity.

30:19 I will execute judgments on Egypt.

Then they will know that I am the Lord.’”

30:20 In the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 30:21 “Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Look, it has not been bandaged for healing or set with a dressing so that it might become strong enough to grasp a sword. 30:22 Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and I will break his arms, the strong arm and the broken one, and I will make the sword drop from his hand. 30:23 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them among foreign countries. 30:24 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and I will place my sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan like the fatally wounded before the king of Babylon. 30:25 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fall limp. Then they will know that I am the Lord when I place my sword in the hand of the king of Babylon and he extends it against the land of Egypt. 30:26 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among foreign countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”