Ezekiel

And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

1In the twelfth year of the exile, on the first day of the twelfth month, the LORD spoke to me. He said:

2Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou art like a young lion of the nations, and thou art as a whale in the seas: and thou camest forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers.

2"Son of man, sing a funeral song for Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Tell him: 'You think you are a lion among the nations, but you are like a monster in the sea. You thrash around in your rivers, stirring up the water with your feet and making the streams muddy.'

NoteThe KJV says "whale," but the word means a large water monster. In Egypt's rivers it points to a crocodile.

3Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will therefore spread out my net over thee with a company of many people; and they shall bring thee up in my net.

3This is what the Lord GOD says: 'I will throw My net over you, using a crowd of many peoples, and they will haul you up in My net.

4Then will I leave thee upon the land, I will cast thee forth upon the open field, and will cause all the fowls of the heaven to remain upon thee, and I will fill the beasts of the whole earth with thee.

4I will dump you on dry ground and throw you out in the open field. I will let every bird settle on you, and I will let the wild animals of the whole earth eat their fill of you.

5And I will lay thy flesh upon the mountains, and fill the valleys with thy height.

5I will spread your flesh over the mountains and fill the valleys with what is left of you.

6I will also water with thy blood the land wherein thou swimmest, even to the mountains; and the rivers shall be full of thee.

6I will soak the land with your flowing blood, all the way to the mountains, and the streambeds will be full.

7And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light.

7When I snuff you out, I will cover the sky and darken its stars. I will hide the sun behind a cloud, and the moon will not shine.

8All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord GOD.

8I will darken every shining light in the sky above you, and I will bring darkness over your land, says the Lord GOD.

9I will also vex the hearts of many people, when I shall bring thy destruction among the nations, into the countries which thou hast not known.

9I will trouble the hearts of many peoples when I carry news of your ruin to nations you have never even heard of.

Note"Vex" in 1611 English meant to trouble or upset, not to annoy.

10Yea, I will make many people amazed at thee, and their kings shall be horribly afraid for thee, when I shall brandish my sword before them; and they shall tremble at every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of thy fall.

10I will leave many peoples stunned at what happened to you. Their kings will shake with horror when I swing My sword in front of them. On the day you fall, each one will tremble every moment, afraid for his own life.'

11For thus saith the Lord GOD; The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon thee.

11This is what the Lord GOD says: 'The sword of the king of Babylon is coming against you.

12By the swords of the mighty will I cause thy multitude to fall, the terrible of the nations, all of them: and they shall spoil the pomp of Egypt, and all the multitude thereof shall be destroyed.

12I will make your crowds fall by the swords of mighty men, the most brutal soldiers of any nation. They will tear down everything Egypt is proud of, and all her people will be destroyed.

13I will destroy also all the beasts thereof from beside the great waters; neither shall the foot of man trouble them any more, nor the hoofs of beasts trouble them.

13I will also kill all her cattle that graze beside the wide waters. No human foot will stir up that water again, and no hoof will muddy it.

14Then will I make their waters deep, and cause their rivers to run like oil, saith the Lord GOD.

14Then I will let her waters settle and clear, and make her rivers flow smooth as oil, says the Lord GOD.

15When I shall make the land of Egypt desolate, and the country shall be destitute of that whereof it was full, when I shall smite all them that dwell therein, then shall they know that I am the LORD.

15When I make the land of Egypt empty and strip away everything that filled it, and when I strike down everyone living there, then they will know that I am the LORD.'

16This is the lamentation wherewith they shall lament her: the daughters of the nations shall lament her: they shall lament for her, even for Egypt, and for all her multitude, saith the Lord GOD.

16This is the funeral song people will sing for Egypt. The women of the nations will sing it. They will sing it over Egypt and all her crowds of people, says the Lord GOD."

17It came to pass also in the twelfth year, in the fifteenth day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

17Also in the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the month, the LORD spoke to me. He said:

18Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt, and cast them down, even her, and the daughters of the famous nations, unto the nether parts of the earth, with them that go down into the pit.

18"Son of man, cry out loud for the crowds of Egypt. Send her and the women of the great nations down to the world below, along with those who go down to the pit.

19Whom dost thou pass in beauty? go down, and be thou laid with the uncircumcised.

19Ask them, 'Do you think you are more beautiful than anyone else? Go down and lie with those who are not circumcised.'

NoteCircumcision was a mark cut into the body that set Israel apart. To be called uncircumcised here means being counted as an outsider, and being buried among them was seen as a disgrace.

20They shall fall in the midst of them that are slain by the sword: she is delivered to the sword: draw her and all her multitudes.

20They will fall among those killed by the sword. The sword is ready. Drag Egypt away with all her crowds.

21The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword.

21From the world of the dead, the mighty chiefs will speak about Egypt and those who helped her: 'They have come down here. They lie with the uncircumcised, killed by the sword.'

NoteThe KJV word "hell" here is Sheol, the Hebrew word for the place of the dead, where everyone goes. It does not mean a place of punishment.

22Asshur is there and all her company: his graves are about him: all of them slain, fallen by the sword:

22Assyria is there with her whole army. Their graves surround her. All of them were killed, cut down by the sword.

23Whose graves are set in the sides of the pit, and her company is round about her grave: all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which caused terror in the land of the living.

23Her graves are set deep down in the pit, and her army lies buried all around her. All of them were killed by the sword, though once they spread terror through the land of the living.

24There is Elam and all her multitude round about her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which are gone down uncircumcised into the nether parts of the earth, which caused their terror in the land of the living; yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit.

24Elam is there too, with all her crowds around her grave. All of them were killed by the sword. They went down uncircumcised to the world below. They once spread terror through the land of the living, but now they carry their shame down to the pit.

25They have set her a bed in the midst of the slain with all her multitude: her graves are round about him: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword: though their terror was caused in the land of the living, yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit: he is put in the midst of them that be slain.

25A resting place is laid out for Elam among the dead, with all her crowds and her graves around her. All of them are uncircumcised and killed by the sword. They once spread terror through the land of the living, but now they carry their shame down to the pit. They are laid among the slain.

26There is Meshech, Tubal, and all her multitude: her graves are round about him: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword, though they caused their terror in the land of the living.

26Meshech and Tubal are there with all their crowds, and their graves surround them. All of them are uncircumcised and killed by the sword, because they spread terror through the land of the living.

27And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised, which are gone down to hell with their weapons of war: and they have laid their swords under their heads, but their iniquities shall be upon their bones, though they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.

27They do not lie with the great warriors of long ago, who went down to the world of the dead with their weapons. Those men had their swords placed under their heads and their shields laid on their bones, though they too once terrified the land of the living.

28Yea, thou shalt be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised, and shalt lie with them that are slain with the sword.

28You, Egypt, will be broken as well. You will lie among the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword.

29There is Edom, her kings, and all her princes, which with their might are laid by them that were slain by the sword: they shall lie with the uncircumcised, and with them that go down to the pit.

29Edom is there, with all her kings and rulers. For all their strength, they are laid among those killed by the sword. They lie with the uncircumcised, with those who go down to the pit.

30There be the princes of the north, all of them, and all the Zidonians, which are gone down with the slain; with their terror they are ashamed of their might; and they lie uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword, and bear their shame with them that go down to the pit.

30All the rulers of the north are there, and all the people of Sidon. They went down in disgrace with the dead, for all the terror their strength once caused. They lie uncircumcised with those killed by the sword, carrying their shame down to the pit.

31Pharaoh shall see them, and shall be comforted over all his multitude, even Pharaoh and all his army slain by the sword, saith the Lord GOD.

31Pharaoh will see them all, and he will be comforted about his own lost crowds. Pharaoh and his whole army were killed by the sword, says the Lord GOD.

32For I have caused my terror in the land of the living: and he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that are slain with the sword, even Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord GOD.

32For I spread My terror through the land of the living. So Pharaoh and all his crowds will be laid among the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword, says the Lord GOD."