Ezekiel

Introduction
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32
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CHAPTER 32

Lament over Pharaoh.

1On the first day of the twelfth month in the twelfth year,^* the word of the LORD came to me:

2Son of man, utter a lament over Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and say to him:

You liken yourself to a lion among nations,

but you are like the monster in the sea!

Thrashing about in your streams,

churning the water with your feet,

polluting the streams.^a

3Thus says the Lord GOD:

I will cast my net over you

by assembling many armies,

and I will hoist you up in my mesh.

4I will hurl you onto the land,

cast you into an open field.

I will make all the birds of the sky

roost upon you,

The beasts of the whole earth

gorge themselves on you.

5I will strew your flesh on the mountains,

and fill the valleys with your corpse.^b

6I will drench the land,

pouring out your blood on the mountain;

filling up the ravines with you.

7When I extinguish you,

I will cover the heavens

and darken all its stars.

The sun I will cover with clouds;

the moon will not give light.^c

8All the shining lights in the heavens

I will darken over you;

I will spread darkness over your land—

oracle of the Lord GOD.

9I will trouble the hearts

of many peoples,

When I bring you captive

among the nations,

to lands you do not know.

10I will fill many nations with horror;

their kings will shudder at you,

when I brandish my sword in their faces.

They will tremble violently

fearing for their lives on the day of your fall.^d

11For thus says the Lord GOD:

The sword of the king of Babylon

will come against you.

12I will cut down your hordes

with the swords of warriors,

all of them, ruthless nations;

They will lay waste the glory of Egypt,

and all its hordes will be destroyed.^e

13I will wipe out all the livestock

from the banks of its many waters;

No human foot will disturb them again,

no animal hoof stir them up.

14Then I will make their waters clear

and their streams flow like oil—

oracle of the Lord GOD.

15When I make Egypt a wasteland

and the land destitute of everything,

When I strike down all its inhabitants

they shall know that I am the LORD.

16This is the lamentation

women of all nations will chant;

They will raise it over Egypt;

over all its hordes they will chant it—

oracle of the Lord GOD.

Another Lament over Egypt.

17^* On the fifteenth day of that month in the twelfth year, the word of the LORD came to me:

18Son of man, wail over the hordes of Egypt—

you and the women of mighty nations—

Send them down to the underworld,

with those who go down into the pit.

19Whom do you excel in beauty? Go down!

Be laid to rest with the uncircumcised!

20Among those slain by the sword they will fall,

for the sword has been appointed!

Seize Egypt and all its hordes.^f

21Out of Sheol the mighty warriors

will speak to him and his allies:

Let them descend and lie down among the uncircumcised,

those slain by the sword!^g

22There is Assyria and all its company,

around it are its graves,

all of them slain, fallen by the sword.

23The graves are set

in the recesses of the pit;

Its company is assembled

around its grave,

All of them slain, fallen by the sword,

those who spread terror in the land of the living.^h

24There is Elam and all its horde

around its grave,

All of them slain, fallen by the sword;

they descended uncircumcised

into the underworld,

Those who spread their terror

in the land of the living.

They bear their disgrace

with those who go down into the pit.

25Among the slain is set its bed,

with all its horde around its grave;

All of them uncircumcised,

slain by the sword

Because of the terror they spread

in the land of the living.

They bear their disgrace

with those who go down into the pit.

Among the slain it is set!

26There is Meshech and Tubal^* and all the hordes

surrounding it with their graves.

All of them uncircumcised,

slain by the sword

Because they spread their terror

in the land of the living.ⁱ

27They do not rest with the warriors

who fell in ancient times,

who went down to Sheol fully armed.

Their swords were placed under their heads

and their shields laid over their bones;

For there was terror of these warriors

in the land of the living.

28But as for you, among the uncircumcised

you will be broken and laid to rest

with those slain by the sword.

29There is Edom, all its kings and princes,

who, despite their might,

are put with those slain by the sword.

They lie among the uncircumcised,

with those who go down into the pit.^j

30There are the generals of the north

and all the Sidonians

Who have gone down with the slain,

because of the terror their might inspired.

They lie uncircumcised

with those slain by the sword,

And bear their shame with those

who have gone down into the pit.^k

31When Pharaoh sees them,

he will be consoled on behalf of all his hordes,

slain by the sword—

Pharaoh and all his army—

oracle of the Lord GOD.

32I spread terror of him

in the land of the living;

Now he is laid among the uncircumcised,

with those slain by the sword—

Pharaoh and all his horde—

oracle of the Lord GOD.

* [32:1] The first day of the twelfth month in the twelfth year: March 3, 585 B.C.

* [32:17–32] The description of Pharaoh in Sheol shifts rapidly between the single individual and the collective body, between corpses speaking and corpses lying inert, between singular (his, hers, its) and plural (them, theirs) pronouns to emphasize that all the enemies of Israel come to the same end.

* [32:26] Meshech and Tubal: see note on 38:2.

a. [32:2] cf. Ez 19:1; 20:3.

b. [32:5] Is 34:3.

c. [32:7] Is 3:10.

d. [32:10] Rev 18:9–10.

e. [32:12] cf. Ez 31:11–12.

f. [32:20] cf. Ez 31:17–18.

g. [32:21] Is 14:9.

h. [32:23] Is 14:15.

i. [32:26] cf. Ez 27:13.

j. [32:29] Is 34:5–15.

k. [32:30] Jer 25:26.