Ezekiel 32:1-16

Lamentation over Pharaoh and Egypt

32:1 In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first of the month, ¹  the word of the Lord came to me: 32:2 “Son of man, sing a lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him:

“‘You were like a lion ²  among the nations,

but you are a monster in the seas;

you thrash about in your streams,

stir up the water with your feet,

and muddy your ³  streams.

32:3 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:

“‘I will throw my net over you ⁴  in the assembly of many peoples;

and they will haul you up in my dragnet.

32:4 I will leave you on the ground,

I will fling you on the open field,

I will allow ⁵  all the birds of the sky to settle ⁶  on you,

and I will permit ⁷  all the wild animals ⁸  to gorge themselves on you.

32:5 I will put your flesh on the mountains,

and fill the valleys with your maggot-infested carcass. ⁹ 

32:6 I will drench the land with the flow

of your blood up to the mountains,

and the ravines will be full of your blood. ¹⁰ 

32:7 When I extinguish you, I will cover the sky;

I will darken its stars.

I will cover the sun with a cloud,

and the moon will not shine. ¹¹ 

32:8 I will darken all the lights in the sky over you,

and I will darken your land,

declares the sovereign Lord.

32:9 I will disturb ¹²  many peoples,

when I bring about your destruction among the nations,

among countries you do not know.

32:10 I will shock many peoples with you,

and their kings will shiver with horror because of you.

When I brandish my sword before them,

every moment each one will tremble for his life, on the day of your fall.

32:11 “‘For this is what the sovereign Lord says:

“‘The sword of the king of Babylon ¹³  will attack ¹⁴  you.

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.

32:13 I will destroy all its cattle beside the plentiful waters;

and no human foot will disturb ¹⁵  the waters ¹⁶  again,

nor will the hooves of cattle disturb them.

32:14 Then I will make their waters calm, ¹⁷ 

and will make their streams flow like olive oil, declares the sovereign Lord.

32:15 When I turn the land of Egypt into desolation

and the land is destitute of everything that fills it,

when I strike all those who live in it,

then they will know that I am the Lord.’

32:16 This is a lament; they will chant it.

The daughters of the nations will chant it.

They will chant it over Egypt and over all her hordes,

declares the sovereign Lord.”

[32:1]  ¹ sn This would be March 3, 585 b.c.

[32:2]  ² tn The lion was a figure of royalty (Ezek 19:1-9).

[32:2]  ³ tc The Hebrew reads “their streams”; the LXX reads “your streams.”

[32:3]  ⁴ tn The expression “throw my net” is common in Ezekiel (12:13; 17:20; 19:8).

[32:4]  ⁵ tn Or “cause.”

[32:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “live.”

[32:4]  ⁷ tn Or “cause.”

[32:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “the beasts of the field,” referring to wild as opposed to domesticated animals.

[32:5]  ⁹ tc The Hebrew text is difficult here, apparently meaning “your height.” Following Symmachus and the Syriac, it is preferable to emend the text to read “your maggots.” See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:203.

[32:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “from you.”

[32:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “will not shine its light.” For similar features of cosmic eschatology, see Joel 2:10; 4:15; Amos 5:18-20; Zeph 1:5.

[32:9]  ¹² tn Heb “I will provoke the heart of.”

[32:11]  ¹³ sn The king of Babylon referred to here was Nebuchadnezzar (Ezek 21:19).

[32:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “approach.”

[32:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “muddy.”

[32:13]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “them,” that is, the waters mentioned in the previous line. The translation clarifies the referent.

[32:14]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “sink,” that is, to settle and become clear, not muddied.