Ezekiel 28; Ezekiel 29; Ezekiel 30; Ezekiel 31

1 A message came to me from the Lord. He said,

2 "Son of man, speak to Ethbaal. He is the ruler of Tyre. Tell him, 'The LORD and King says, " ' "In your proud heart you say, 'I am a god. I sit on the throne of a god in the Mediterranean Sea.' But you are only a man. You are not a god. In spite of that, you think you are as wise as a god.

3 Are you wiser than Daniel? Isn't even one secret hidden from you?

4 You are wise and understanding. So you have become very wealthy. You have piled up gold and silver among your treasures.

5 You have used your great skill in trading to increase your wealth. You are very rich. So your heart has become proud." ' "

6 The LORD and King says, "You think you are wise. In fact, you claim to be as wise as a god.

7 So I am going to bring strangers against you. They will not show you any pity at all. They will use their swords against your beauty and wisdom. They will strike down your shining glory.

8 They will bring you down to the grave. You will die a horrible death in the middle of the sea.

9 Then will you say, 'I am a god'? Will you say that to those who kill you? You will be only a man to those who kill you. You will not be a god to them.

10 You will die just like those who have not been circumcised. Strangers will kill you. I have spoken," announces the LORD and King.

11 A message came to me from the Lord. He said,

12 "Son of man, sing a song of sadness about the king of Tyre. Tell him, 'The LORD and King says, " ' "You were the model of perfection. You were full of wisdom. You were perfect and beautiful.

13 You were in Eden. It was my garden. All kinds of jewels decorated you. Here is a list of them. ruby, topaz and emerald chrysolite, onyx and jasper sapphire, turquoise and beryl Your settings and mountings were made out of gold. On the day you were created, they were prepared.

14 I appointed you to be like a guardian cherub. I anointed you for that purpose. You were on my holy mountain. You walked among the gleaming jewels.

15 Your conduct was without blame from the day you were created. But soon you began to sin.

16 You traded with many nations. You harmed people everywhere. And you sinned. So I sent you away from my mountain in shame. Guardian cherub, I drove you away from among the gleaming jewels.

17 You thought you were so handsome that it made your heart proud. You thought you were so glorious that it spoiled your wisdom. So I threw you down to the earth. I made an example out of you in front of kings.

18 Your many sins and dishonest trade polluted your temple. So I made you go up in flames. I turned you into nothing but ashes on the ground. I let everyone see it.

19 All of the nations that knew you are shocked because of what happened to you. You have come to a horrible end. And you will be gone forever." ' "

20 A message came to me from the Lord. He said,

21 "Son of man, turn your attention to the city of Sidon. Prophesy against it.

22 Say, 'The LORD and King says, " ' "Sidon, I am against your people. I will gain glory for myself inside your city walls. I will punish your people. I will show that I am holy among them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

23 I will send a plague on them. I will make blood flow in your streets. Those who are killed will fall inside you. Swords will strike your people on every side. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

24 " ' "The people of Israel will no longer have neighbors who hate them. Those neighbors will not be like sharp and painful thorns anymore. Then Israel will know that I am the LORD and King." ' "

25 The LORD and King says, "I will gather the people of Israel together from the nations where they have been scattered. I will show that I am holy among them. I will let the nations see it. Then Israel will live in their own land. I gave it to my servant Jacob.

26 My people will live there in safety. They will build houses. They will plant vineyards. They will live in safety. I will punish all of their neighbors who told lies about them. Then Israel will know that I am the LORD their God."

1 It was the tenth year since King Jehoiachin had been brought to Babylon as a prisoner. On the 12th day of the tenth month, a message came to me from the Lord. He said,

2 "Son of man, turn your attention to Pharaoh Hophra. He is king of Egypt. Prophesy against him and the whole land of Egypt.

3 Tell him, 'The LORD and King says, " ' "Pharaoh Hophra, I am against you. King of Egypt, you are like a huge monster lying among your streams. You say, 'The Nile River belongs to me. I made it for myself.'

4 But I will put hooks in your jaws. I will make the fish in your streams stick to your scales. I will pull you out from among your streams. All of the fish will stick to your scales.

5 I will leave you out in the desert. All of the fish in your streams will be there with you. You will fall down in an open field. You will not be picked up. I will feed you to the wild animals and to the birds of the air.

6 Then everyone who lives in Egypt will know that I am the Lord. " ' "You have been like a walking stick made out of a papyrus stem. The people of Israel tried to lean on you.

7 They took hold of you. But you broke under their weight. You tore their shoulders open. They leaned on you. But you snapped in two. And their backs were broken." ' "

8 So the LORD and King says, "I will send Nebuchadnezzar's sword against you. He will kill your people and their animals.

9 Egypt will become a dry and empty desert. Then your people will know that I am the Lord. "You said, 'The Nile River belongs to me. I made it for myself.'

10 So I am against you and your streams. I will destroy the land of Egypt. I will turn it into a dry and empty desert from Migdol all the way to Aswan. I will destroy everything as far as the border of Cush.

11 "No people or animals will travel through Egypt. No one will even live there for 40 years.

12 Egypt will be more empty than any other land. Its destroyed cities will lie empty for 40 years. I will scatter the people of Egypt among the nations. I will send them to other countries."

13 But the LORD and King says, "At the end of 40 years I will gather the Egyptians together from the nations where they were scattered.

14 I will bring them back from where they were taken as prisoners. I will return them to Upper Egypt. That is where they came from. There they will be an unimportant kingdom.

15 "Egypt will be the least important kingdom of all. It will never place itself above the other nations again. I will make it very weak. Then it will never again rule over the nations.

16 The people of Israel will no longer trust in Egypt. Instead, Egypt will remind them of how they sinned when they turned to it for help. Then they will know that I am the LORD and King."

17 It was the 27th year since King Jehoiachin had been brought to Babylon as a prisoner. On the first day of the first month, a message came to me from the Lord. He said,

18 "Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylonia, drove his army in a hard military campaign against Tyre. Their helmets rubbed their heads bare. The heavy loads they carried made their shoulders raw. But he and his army did not gain anything from the campaign he led against Tyre.

19 "So I am going to give Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylonia. He will carry off its wealth. He will take away anything else you have. He will give it to his army.

20 I have given Egypt to him as a reward for his efforts. After all, he and his army attacked Egypt because I told them to," announces the LORD and King.

21 "When Nebuchadnezzar wins the battle over Egypt, I will make the people of Israel strong again. Ezekiel, I will open your mouth. And you will be able to speak to them. Then they will know that I am the Lord."

1 A message came to me from the Lord. He said,

2 "Son of man, prophesy. Say, 'The LORD and King says, " ' "Cry out, 'A terrible day is coming!'

3 The day is near. The day of the LORD is coming. It will be a cloudy day. The nations have been sentenced to die.

4 I will send Nebuchadnezzar's sword against Egypt. Cush will suffer terribly. Many will die in Egypt. Then its wealth will be carried away. Its foundations will be torn down.

5 The people of Cush, Put, Lydia, Libya and the whole land of Arabia will be killed with swords. So will the Jews who live in Egypt. They went there from the covenant land of Israel. And the Egyptians will die too." ' "

6 The LORD says, "Those who were going to help Egypt will die. The strength Egypt was so proud of will fail. Its people will be killed with swords from Migdol all the way to Aswan," announces the LORD and King.

7 "Egypt will be more empty than any other land. Its cities will be completely destroyed.

8 I will set Egypt on fire. All those who came to help it will be crushed. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

9 "At that time I will send messengers out in ships. They will terrify the people of Cush who are so contented. Cush will suffer greatly when Egypt falls. And you can be sure it will fall."

10 The LORD and King says, "I will put an end to the huge armies of Egypt. I will use Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylonia, to do it.

11 He and his armies will attack the land and destroy it. They will not show its people any pity at all. They will use their swords against Egypt. They will fill the land with dead bodies.

12 I will dry up the streams of the Nile River. I will sell the land to evil men. I will use the powerful hands of strangers to destroy the land and everything in it. "I have spoken. I am the Lord."

13 The LORD and King says, "I will destroy the statues of Egypt's gods. I will put an end to the gods the people in Memphis worship. Egypt will not have princes anymore. I will spread fear all through the land.

14 I will completely destroy Upper Egypt. I will set Zoan on fire. I will punish Thebes.

15 I will pour out my burning anger on Pelusium. It is a fort in eastern Egypt. I will cut off the huge army of Thebes.

16 I will set Egypt on fire. Pelusium will groan with terrible pain. Thebes will be ripped apart. Memphis will suffer greatly because of everything that happens.

17 The young men of Heliopolis and Bubastis will be killed with swords. Their people will be taken away as prisoners.

18 I will break Egypt's power over other lands. That will be a dark day for Tahpanhes. There the strength Egypt was so proud of will come to an end. Egypt will be covered with clouds. The people in its villages will be taken away as prisoners.

19 So I will punish Egypt. Then they will know that I am the Lord."

20 It was the 11th year since King Jehoiachin had been brought to Babylon as a prisoner. On the seventh day of the first month, a message came to me from the Lord. He said,

21 "Son of man, I have broken the powerful arm of Pharaoh Hophra, the king of Egypt. No bandages have been put on his arm to heal it. It has not been put in a cast. So his arm will not be strong enough to use a sword.

22 I am against Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. I will break both of his arms. I will break his healthy arm and his broken one. His sword will fall from his hand.

23 I will scatter the people of Egypt among the nations. I will send them to other countries.

24 "I will make the arms of the king of Babylonia stronger. I will put my sword in his hand. But I will break the arms of Pharaoh. And he will groan in front of Nebuchadnezzar. He will cry out like someone dying from his wounds.

25 I will make the arms of the king of Babylonia stronger. But the arms of Pharaoh will not be able to help Egypt. I will put my sword in Nebuchadnezzar's hand. He will get ready to use it against Egypt. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

26 "I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations. I will send them to other countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord."

1 It was the 11th year since King Jehoiachin had been brought to Babylon as a prisoner. On the first day of the third month, a message came to me from the Lord. He said,

2 "Son of man, speak to Pharaoh Hophra, the king of Egypt. Also speak to his huge army. Tell him, " 'Who can be compared with your majesty?

3 Think about what happened to Assyria. Once it was like a cedar tree in Lebanon. It had beautiful branches that provided shade for the forest. It grew very high. Its top was above all of the leaves.

4 The waters fed it. Deep springs made it grow tall. Their streams flowed all around its base. They made their way to all of the trees in the fields.

5 So it grew higher than any other tree in the fields. It grew more limbs. Its branches grew long. They spread because they had plenty of water.

6 All of the birds of the air made their nests in its limbs. All of the wild animals had their babies under its branches. All of the great nations lived in its shade.

7 Its spreading branches made it majestic and beautiful. Its roots went down deep to where there was plenty of water.

8 The cedar trees in my garden were no match for it. The pine trees could not equal its limbs. The plane trees could not compare with its branches. No tree in my garden could match its beauty.

9 I gave it many branches. They made it beautiful. All of the trees in my Garden of Eden were jealous of it.' "

10 So the LORD and King says, "The cedar tree grew very high. Its top was above all of the leaves. It was proud of how tall it was.

11 So I handed it over to the Babylonian ruler of the nations. I wanted him to punish it because it was so evil. I decided to get rid of it.

12 "The Babylonians cut it down and left it there. They did not show it any pity at all. Some of its branches fell on the mountains. Others fell in all of the valleys. They lay broken in all of the stream beds in the land. All of the nations on earth came out from under its shade. And they went on their way.

13 All of the birds of the air settled on the fallen tree. All of the wild animals moved among its branches.

14 "So trees that receive plenty of water must never grow so high that it makes them proud. Their tops must never be above the rest of the leaves. No other trees that receive a lot of water must ever grow that high. They are appointed to die and go down into the earth below. They will join the other nations that go down into the grave."

15 The LORD and King says, "Assyria was like a cedar tree. But I brought it down to the grave. On that day I dried up the deep springs of water and covered them. I held its streams back. I shut off its rich supply of water. Because of that, Lebanon was dressed in darkness as if it were clothes. All of the trees in the fields dried up.

16 "I brought the cedar tree down to the grave. It joined the other nations that go down there. I made the nations on earth shake because of the sound of its fall. Then all of the trees of Eden were comforted in the earth below. That included the finest and best trees in Lebanon. And it included all the trees that received plenty of water.

17 Others also went down into the grave along with it. That included those that lived in its shade. And it included those nations that were going to help it. They joined those who had been killed with swords.

18 "Which one of the trees of Eden can be compared with you? What tree is as glorious and majestic as you are? But you too will be brought down to the earth below. There you will join the trees of Eden. You will lie down with those who have not been circumcised. You will be among those who were killed with swords. "That is what will happen to Pharaoh and his huge armies," announces the LORD and King.