Ezekiel 32
32
Lamentation over Pharaoh and Egypt
1 In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first of the month,#sn This would be March 3, 585 b.c. the word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, sing a lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him:
“‘You were like a lion#tn The lion was a figure of royalty (Ezek 19:1-9). 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#tc The Hebrew reads “their streams”; the LXX reads “your streams.” streams.
3 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:
“‘I will throw my net over you#tn The expression “throw my net” is common in Ezekiel (12:13; 17:20; 19:8). in the assembly of many peoples;
and they will haul you up in my dragnet.
4 I will leave you on the ground,
I will fling you on the open field,
I will allow#tn Or “cause.” all the birds of the sky to settle#tn Heb “live.” on you,
and I will permit#tn Or “cause.” all the wild animals#tn Heb “the beasts of the field,” referring to wild as opposed to domesticated animals. to gorge themselves on you.
5 I will put your flesh on the mountains,
and fill the valleys with your maggot-infested carcass.#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.
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.#tn Heb “from you.”
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.#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.
8 I will darken all the lights in the sky over you,
and I will darken your land,
declares the sovereign Lord.
9 I will disturb#tn Heb “I will provoke the heart of.” many peoples,
when I bring about your destruction among the nations,
among countries you do not know.
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.
11 “‘For this is what the sovereign Lord says:
“‘The sword of the king of Babylon#sn The king of Babylon referred to here was Nebuchadnezzar (Ezek 21:19). will attack#tn Heb “approach.” you.
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.
13 I will destroy all its cattle beside the plentiful waters;
and no human foot will disturb#tn Heb “muddy.” the waters#tn Heb “them,” that is, the waters mentioned in the previous line. The translation clarifies the referent. again,
nor will the hooves of cattle disturb them.
14 Then I will make their waters calm,#tn Heb “sink,” that is, to settle and become clear, not muddied.
and will make their streams flow like olive oil, declares the sovereign Lord.
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.’
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.”
17 In the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the month,#tn March 17, 585 b.c. The LXX adds “first month.” the word of the Lord came to me: 18 “Son of man, wail#tn The Hebrew verb is used as a response to death (Jer 9:17-19; Amos 5:16). over the horde of Egypt. Bring it down;#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. bring#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. her#tn This apparently refers to personified Egypt. and the daughters of powerful nations down to the lower parts of the earth, along with those who descend to the pit. 19 Say to them,#tc The LXX places this verse after v. 21.tn The words “say to them” are added in the translation for clarity to indicate the shift in addressee from the prophet to Egypt. ‘Whom do you surpass in beauty?#tn Heb “pleasantness.” Go down and be laid to rest with the uncircumcised!’ 20 They will fall among those killed by the sword. The sword is drawn; they carry her and all her hordes away. 21 The bravest of the warriors will speak to him from the midst of Sheol along with his allies, saying: ‘The uncircumcised have come down; they lie still, killed by the sword.’
22 “Assyria is there with all her assembly around her grave,#tn Heb “around him his graves.” The masculine pronominal suffixes are problematic; the expression is best emended to correspond to the phrase “around her grave” in v. 23. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:219. all of them struck down by the sword.#tn Heb “all of them slain, the ones felled by the sword.” See as well vv. 23-24. 23 Their#tn Heb “whose.” graves are located in the remote slopes of the pit.#tn The only other occurrence of the phrase “remote slopes of the pit” is in Isa 14:15. Her assembly is around her grave, all of them struck down by the sword, those who spread terror in the land of the living.
24 “Elam is there with all her hordes around her grave; all of them struck down by the sword. They went down uncircumcised to the lower parts of the earth, those who spread terror in the land of the living. Now they will bear their shame with those who descend to the pit. 25 Among the dead they have made a bed for her, along with all her hordes around her grave.#tn Heb “around him her graves,” but the expression is best emended to read “around her grave” (see vv. 23-24). All of them are uncircumcised, killed by the sword, for their terror had spread in the land of the living. They bear their shame along with those who descend to the pit; they are placed among the dead.
26 “Meshech-Tubal is there, along with all her hordes around her grave.#tn Heb “around him her graves,” but the expression is best emended to read “around her grave” (see vv. 23-24). All of them are uncircumcised, killed by the sword, for they spread their terror in the land of the living. 27 They do not lie with the fallen warriors of ancient times,#tc Heb “of the uncircumcised.” The LXX reads, probably correctly, “from of old” rather than “of the uncircumcised.” The phrases are very similar in spelling. The warriors of Meshech-Tubal are described as uncircumcised, so it would be odd for them to not be buried with the uncircumcised. Verse 28 specifically says that they would lie with the uncircumcised. who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war, having their swords placed under their heads and their shields on their bones,#tn Heb “and their iniquities were over their bones.” The meaning of this statement is unclear; in light of the parallelism (see “swords”) it is preferable to emend “their iniquities” to “their swords.” See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:135. when the terror of these warriors was in the land of the living.
28 “But as for you, in the midst of the uncircumcised you will be broken, and you will lie with those killed by the sword.
29 “Edom is there with her kings and all her princes. Despite their might they are laid with those killed by the sword; they lie with the uncircumcised and those who descend to the pit.
30 “All the leaders of the north are there, along with all the Sidonians; despite their might they have gone down in shameful terror with the dead. They lie uncircumcised with those killed by the sword, and bear their shame with those who descend to the pit.
31 “Pharaoh will see them and be consoled over all his hordes who were killed by the sword, Pharaoh and all his army, declares the sovereign Lord. 32 Indeed, I terrified him in the land of the living, yet he will lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with those killed by the sword, Pharaoh and all his hordes, declares the sovereign Lord.”
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Ezekiel 32: NET
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1996 - 2007 by Biblical Studies Press, LLC
Ezekiel 32
32
A Lament for Pharaoh King of Egypt
1In the twelfth year, on the first day of the twelfth month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2“Son of man, take up a lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him:
‘You are like a lion among the nations;
you are like a monster in the seas.
You thrash about in your rivers,
churning up the waters with your feet
and muddying the streams.’
3This is what the Lord GOD says:
‘I will spread My net over you
with a company of many peoples,
and they will draw you up in My net.
4I will abandon you on the land
and hurl you into the open field.
I will cause all the birds of the air
to settle upon you,
and all the beasts of the earth
to eat their fill of you.
5I will put your flesh on the mountains
and fill the valleys with your remains.#32:5 Or your lofty stature
6I will drench the land
with the flow of your blood,
all the way to the mountains —
the ravines will be filled.
7When I extinguish you,
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.
8All the shining lights in the heavens
I will darken over you,
and I will bring darkness
upon your land,’
declares the Lord GOD.
9‘I will trouble the hearts of many peoples,
when I bring about your destruction among the nations,
in countries#32:9 Hebrew; LXX when I lead you into captivity among the nations, into countries you do not know.
10I will cause many peoples
to be appalled over you,
and their kings will shudder in horror because of you
when I brandish My sword before them.
On the day of your downfall
each of them will tremble
every moment for his life.’
11For this is what the Lord GOD says:
‘The sword of the king of Babylon
will come against you!
12I will make your hordes fall
by the swords of the mighty,
the most ruthless of all nations.
They will ravage the pride of Egypt
and all her multitudes will be destroyed.
13I will slaughter all her cattle
beside the abundant waters.
No human foot will muddy them again,
and no cattle hooves will disturb them.
14Then I will let her waters settle
and will make her rivers flow like oil,’
declares the Lord GOD.
15‘When I make the land of Egypt a desolation
and empty it of all that filled it,
when I strike down all who live there,
then they will know that I am the Lord.’
16This is the lament they will chant for her; the daughters of the nations will chant it. Over Egypt and all her multitudes they will chant it, declares the Lord GOD.”
Egypt Cast into the Pit
17In the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the month,#32:17 Presumably the fifteenth day of the twelfth month (see verse 1); LXX on the fifteenth day of the first month. the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 18“Son of man, wail for the multitudes of Egypt, and consign her and the daughters of the mighty nations to the depths of the earth with those who descend to the Pit:
19Whom do you surpass in beauty?
Go down and be placed with the uncircumcised!
20They will fall among those slain by the sword.
The sword is appointed!
Let them drag her away
along with all her multitudes.
21Mighty chiefs will speak from the midst of Sheol
about Egypt and her allies:
‘They have come down and lie with the uncircumcised,
with those slain by the sword.’
22Assyria is there with her whole company;
her graves are all around her.
All of them are slain,
fallen by the sword.
23Her graves are set in the depths of the Pit,
and her company is all around her grave.
All of them are slain,
fallen by the sword—
those who once spread terror
in the land of the living.
24Elam is there
with all her multitudes around her grave.
All of them are slain,
fallen by the sword—
those who went down uncircumcised
to the earth below,
who once spread their terror
in the land of the living.
They bear their disgrace
with those who descend to the Pit.
25Among the slain they prepare
a resting place for Elam
with all her hordes,
with her graves all around her.
All of them are uncircumcised,
slain by the sword,
although their terror was once spread
in the land of the living.
They bear their disgrace
with those who descend to the Pit.
They are placed among the slain.
26Meshech and Tubal are there
with all their multitudes,
with their graves all around them.
All of them are uncircumcised,
slain by the sword,
because they spread their terror
in the land of the living.
27They do not lie down
with the fallen warriors of old,#32:27 LXX; Hebrew warriors of the uncircumcised
who went down to Sheol
with their weapons of war,
whose swords were placed under their heads,
whose shields#32:27 Likely reading of the original Hebrew text; MT iniquities rested on their bones,
although the terror of the mighty
was once in the land of the living.
28But you too will be shattered
and lie down among the uncircumcised,
with those slain by the sword.
29Edom is there,
and all her kings and princes,
who despite their might
are laid among those slain by the sword.
They lie down with the uncircumcised,
with those who descend to the Pit.
30All the leaders of the north
and all the Sidonians are there;
they went down in disgrace with the slain,
despite the terror of their might.
They lie uncircumcised
with those slain by the sword
and bear their shame
with those who descend to the Pit.
31Pharaoh will see them
and be comforted over all his multitude—
Pharaoh and all his army,
slain by the sword,
declares the Lord GOD.
32For I will spread My terror
in the land of the living,
so that Pharaoh and all his multitude
will be laid to rest among the uncircumcised,
with those slain by the sword,
declares the Lord GOD.”
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