Ezekiel 26:3

26:3 therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, ¹  I am against you, ²  O Tyre! I will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves.

Ezekiel 28:7

28:7 I am about to bring foreigners ³  against you, the most terrifying of nations.

They will draw their swords against the grandeur made by your wisdom, ⁴ 

and they will defile your splendor.

Ezekiel 30:11

30:11 He and his people with him,

the most terrifying of the nations, ⁵ 

will be brought there to destroy the land.

They will draw their swords against Egypt,

and fill the land with corpses.

Ezekiel 31:6

31:6 All 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 great ⁶  nations lived.

Ezekiel 31:17

31:17 Those who lived in its shade, its allies ⁷  among the nations, also went down with it to Sheol, to those killed by the sword.

Ezekiel 32:12

32:12 By 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.

Ezekiel 32:18

32:18 “Son of man, wail ⁸  over the horde of Egypt. Bring it down; ⁹  bring ¹⁰  her ¹¹  and the daughters of powerful nations down to the lower parts of the earth, along with those who descend to the pit.

[26:3]  ¹ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) draws attention to something and has been translated here as a verb.

[26:3]  ² tn Or “I challenge you.” The phrase “I am against you” may be a formula for challenging someone to combat or a duel. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:201-2, and P. Humbert, “Die Herausforderungsformel ‘h!nn#n' ?l?K>,’” ZAW 45 (1933): 101-8. The Hebrew text switches to a second feminine singular form here, indicating that personified Jerusalem is addressed (see vv. 5-6a). The address to Jerusalem continues through v. 15. In vv. 16-17 the second masculine plural is used, as the people are addressed.

[28:7]  ³ sn This is probably a reference to the Babylonians.

[28:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “they will draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom.”

[30:11]  ⁵ tn The Babylonians were known for their cruelty (2 Kgs 25:7).

[31:6]  ⁷ tn Or “many.”

[31:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “its arm.”

[32:18]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew verb is used as a response to death (Jer 9:17-19; Amos 5:16).

[32:18]  ¹² sn Through this prophetic lament given by God himself, the prophet activates the judgment described therein. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:217, and L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:136-37.

[32:18]  ¹³ tn 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.

[32:18]  ¹⁴ tn This apparently refers to personified Egypt.