Ezekiel 27; Ezekiel 28; Ezekiel 29; 1 Peter 3

1 The LORD's word came to me:

2 You, human one, sing a lament for Tyre.

3 Say this about Tyre, who sits enthroned at the entrance to the sea, the people's agent for trade throughout the coastlands. The LORD God proclaims: Tyre, you say, "I'm perfectly beautiful!"

4 But your territory is in the depths of the sea, and it's your builders who made you beautiful.

5 For you they made your deck of cypress from Senir. To make your mast, they took cedar from Lebanon.

6 For your oars, they used the oaks of Bashan. They made your hull, inlaid with ivory, of boxwood from the coasts of Cyprus.

7 Fine embroidered linen from Egypt was your sail; it became your emblem. Your awning was made of blue and purple cloth from the coasts of Elishah.

8 The princes of Sidon and Arvad were your oarsmen. Your own wise men were in you as your helmsmen.

9 The elders and wise men of Gebal were in you, patching up your leaks. Every seagoing ship and its sailors came to do business with you.

10 Paras, Lud, and Put were the warriors in your army. By hanging their shields and helmets on you, they made you radiant.

11 The men of Arvad and Helech were stationed on your walls all around; the men of Gamad were in your towers. They hung their weapons on your walls all around. They were the ones who completed your beauty.

12 Tarshish was your procurer of great wealth. For your wares, they exchanged silver, iron, tin, and lead.

13 Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your agents in human trafficking. They gave you bronze vessels for these wares of yours.

14 Beth-togarmah traded horses, warhorses, and mules for your wares.

15 Islanders from Rhodes were your agents. By contract they procured ebony and ivory for you from many coastlands.

16 Aram was your agent for many products. They traded turquoise, purple cloth, colorful brocades, linen, coral, and rubies for your wares.

17 Judah and the land of Israel were your agents, trading the finest wheat, millet, honey, oil, and balm for your wares.

18 For many of your finished products, Damascus traded out of its great wealth the wine of Helbon and white wool.

19 Vedan and Javan from the region of Uzal traded with you. They exchanged wrought iron, cinnamon, and spices for your wares.

20 Dedan was your agent for saddle blankets.

21 Arabia and all the princes of Kedar traded for you. They procured lambs, rams, and goats for you.

22 They were your agents in Sheba and Raamah. For your wares they exchanged the finest spices, every kind of precious stone, and gold.

23 Haran, Canneh, and Eden were your agents, and also Assyria and Chilmad.

24 They procured fine finished goods for you, garments of purple and brocade, and plush carpets rolled up and securely tied with ropes, among your acquisitions.

25 The ships of Tarshish carried your goods. You were filled to capacity and heavily laden in the middle of the sea.

26 Your oarsmen brought you out onto the high seas; an east wind sank you into the sea's depths.

27 Your goods, your wares, your wealth, your sailors, your helmsmen, those patching your leaks, your merchants, all your warriors in you, and all the company that is with you— they also sank into the sea's depth on the day of your demise.

28 At your helmsmen's cries for help, the troubled waters seethe.

29 Those entrusted with the oars desert their posts. All sailors and helmsmen seek footing on the shore.

30 Loudly they cry, bitterly they wail, and they put dust on their heads and cover themselves with ashes.

31 They cut off all their hair and put on mourning clothes. In despair they weep for you, and bitterly perform the mourning rites.

32 In their lamentation they raise a lament for you; they sing lamentions over you: "Who was like Tyre, silenced in the middle of the sea?"

33 When your wares came out from the seas, you satisfied many people. Your abundant wealth and merchandise enriched the kings of the earth.

34 Now you are shattered by the seas; your cargoes, as well as everyone in your company, are sunk into the water's depths.

35 Now the inhabitants of the coastlands shudder on account of you. And as for their kings, their hair stands on end; their faces betray their horror.

36 The merchants for the peoples hiss because of you. You have become a terror; from now on you are nothing.

1 The LORD's word came to me:

2 Human one, say to the prince of Tyre, The LORD God proclaims: In your arrogance, you say, "I am God, and as God I rule the seas!" Though you claim to have the mind of a god, you are mortal, not divine.

3 You are certainly wiser than Daniel; no secrets are hidden from you.

4 By your wisdom and discernment, you made yourself rich, and you filled your storehouses with silver and gold.

5 Through your shrewd trading you multiplied your riches. But then you became proud of your riches.

6 So now the LORD God proclaims: Because you claim to have the mind of a god,

7 I'll bring foreigners, the most ruthless nations, against you. They will let loose their swords against your fine wisdom, and they will degrade your splendor.

8 They will hurl you to destruction, and you will die, murdered, on the high seas.

9 When you face your murderers, will you still say, "I'm God"? In your killers' hands, you are mortal, not divine.

10 You will die as the uncircumcised do, at the hands of foreigners. I have spoken. This is what the LORD God has said.

11 The LORD's word came to me:

12 Human one, sing a lament for the king of Tyre. Say to him, The LORD God proclaims: You were full of wisdom and beauty, the image of perfection.

13 You were in Eden, God's garden. You were covered with gold and every precious stone: carnelian, topaz, and moonstone; beryl, onyx, and jasper; lapis lazuli, turquoise, and emerald. On the day that you were created, finely crafted pendants and engravings were prepared.

14 You, a winged creature, were installed as a guardian. I placed you in God's holy mountain where you walked among the stones of fire.

15 From the day you were created until injustice was found in you, your ways were assured.

16 But because of your trade, your oppressive business practices piled up, and you became impure. So I expelled you from God's mountain. I removed you, winged creature, guardian, from among the stones of fire.

17 You exalted yourself because of your beauty and corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I will cast you down to the earth in the sight of kings, and I will make a spectacle of you.

18 Because of your corrupt trade, which surpassed your many other sins, you made your sanctuaries impure. Therefore, I will bring fire from your midst. When it has consumed you, I will turn you into dust on the earth in the sight of all who see you.

19 Everyone among the peoples who knows you will be appalled because of you. You will become a terror. From that time on, you will be nothing.

20 The LORD's word came to me:

21 Human one, face Sidon, prophesy against it,

22 and say, The LORD God proclaims: I'm against you, Sidon, and I will manifest my glory in you. When I've executed judgment against it and through it have manifested my holiness, they will know that I am the LORD.

23 I will hurl plague against it, and blood will run in its streets. When the sword comes against it from all sides, the slain will fall within it. Then they will know that I am the LORD.

24 The house of Israel will no longer suffer from the pricking thorn or painful briar of any of its neighbors who hold it in contempt. And they will know that I am the LORD God.

25 The LORD God proclaims: When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they've scattered, and I demonstrate my holiness through them in the sight of the nations, they will live on their fertile land, which I gave to my servant Jacob.

26 They will live on it in safety. They will build houses, plant vineyards, and live in safety. When I execute judgments against all who hold them in contempt on every side, they will know that I, the LORD, am their God.

1 In the tenth year, on the twelfth day of the tenth month, the LORD's word came to me:

2 Human one, face Pharaoh, Egypt's king, and prophesy against him and against all of Egypt.

3 Speak and say, The LORD God proclaims: I'm against you, Pharaoh, Egypt's king, great crocodile lurking in the Nile's canals, who says, "The Nile is all mine; I made it for myself!"

4 I will set hooks in your jaws; I will make the fish from the Nile's canals cling to your scales. I will drag you out of the Nile's canals, and also all the fish from the Nile's canals clinging to your scales.

5 I will fling you out into the desert, and also all the fish from the Nile's canals. You will fall on the open ground, and won't be gathered or retrieved. I've given you to the beasts of the earth and the birds in the sky for food.

6 Everyone living in Egypt will know that I am the LORD. Because they were a flimsy crutch for the house of Israel—

7 when they took you in hand, you would splinter and make their shoulders sore; when they leaned on you, you would break, bringing them to their knees—

8 now the LORD God proclaims: I'm bringing a sword against you, and I will cut off from you human and beast.

9 The land of Egypt will be turned into a wasteland and ruins. Then they will know that I am the LORD. Because you said, "The Nile is mine; I made it,"

10 I'm against you and against the Nile's canals. I will make the land of Egypt into an utter ruin, a wasteland, from Migdol to Syene and as far as its boundary with Cush.

11 No foot, animal or human, will walk across it, and it won't be inhabited for forty years.

12 I will make the land of Egypt the most desolate of wastelands and its cities the most devastated of ruined cities. It will be a wasteland for forty years, and the Egyptians will be scattered among the nations and dispersed throughout the lands.

13 The LORD God proclaims: At the end of forty years, I will gather the Egyptians from among the nations where they are scattered.

14 I will improve their circumstances and bring them back to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin. Egypt will be a lowly kingdom there.

15 Out of all the kingdoms, it will be the lowliest. It will never again exalt itself over the nations, and I will make it small to keep it from ruling the nations.

16 The house of Israel will never again bring guilt on itself by faithlessly turning to Egypt for help, for they will know that I am the LORD God.

17 In the twenty-seventh year, on the first day of the first month, the LORD's word came to me:

18 Human one, Babylon's King Nebuchadrezzar made his army labor very hard against Tyre. Every head was scraped bald, and every shoulder was rubbed raw, yet he got nothing from Tyre for himself or for his army for any of his efforts against it.

19 So now the LORD God proclaims: I'm going to give the land of Egypt to Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar. He will carry off its wealth, he will plunder and loot it, and it will be the wages for his army.

20 I will give him the land of Egypt as payment for his laboring for me. This is what the LORD God says.

21 On that day I will give new strength to the house of Israel, and I will open your mouth among them. Then they will know that I am the LORD.

1 Wives, likewise, submit to your own husbands. Do this so that even if some of them refuse to believe the word, they may be won without a word by their wives' way of life.

2 After all, they will have observed the reverent and holy manner of your lives.

3 Don't try to make yourselves beautiful on the outside, with stylish hair or by wearing gold jewelry or fine clothes.

4 Instead, make yourselves beautiful on the inside, in your hearts, with the enduring quality of a gentle, peaceful spirit. This type of beauty is very precious in God's eyes.

5 For it was in this way that holy women who trusted in God used to make themselves beautiful, accepting the authority of their own husbands.

6 For example, Sarah accepted Abraham's authority when she called him master. You have become her children when you do good and don't respond to threats with fear.

7 Husbands, likewise, submit by living with your wife in ways that honor her, knowing that she is the weaker partner. Honor her all the more, as she is also a coheir of the gracious care of life. Do this so that your prayers won't be hindered.

8 Finally, all of you be of one mind, sympathetic, lovers of your fellow believers, compassionate, and modest in your opinion of yourselves.

9 Don't pay back evil for evil or insult for insult. Instead, give blessing in return. You were called to do this so that you might inherit a blessing.

10 For those who want to love life and see good days should keep their tongue from evil speaking and their lips from speaking lies.

11 They should shun evil and do good; seek peace and chase after it.

12 The Lord's eyes are on the righteous and his ears are open to their prayers. But the Lord cannot tolerate those who do evil.

13 Who will harm you if you are zealous for good?

14 But happy are you, even if you suffer because of righteousness! Don't be terrified or upset by them.

15 Instead, regard Christ as holy in your hearts. Whenever anyone asks you to speak of your hope, be ready to defend it.

16 Yet do this with respectful humility, maintaining a good conscience. Act in this way so that those who malign your good lifestyle in Christ may be ashamed when they slander you.

17 It is better to suffer for doing good (if this could possibly be God's will) than for doing evil.

18 Christ himself suffered on account of sins, once for all, the righteous one on behalf of the unrighteous. He did this in order to bring you into the presence of God. Christ was put to death as a human, but made alive by the Spirit.

19 And it was by the Spirit that he went to preach to the spirits in prison.

20 In the past, these spirits were disobedient—when God patiently waited during the time of Noah. Noah built an ark in which a few (that is, eight) lives were rescued through water.

21 Baptism is like that. It saves you now—not because it removes dirt from your body but because it is the mark of a good conscience toward God. Your salvation comes through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

22 who is at God's right side. Now that he has gone into heaven, he rules over all angels, authorities, and powers.