Ezekiel 32

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,

1It was the twelfth year. It was the first day of the twelfth month. God's message came to me, Ezekiel.

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.

2God said: Son of man — that is God's name for me, and it means a human being — sing a sad song for Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. A sad song like this is sung when someone has died. Tell him: You act like a strong lion among the nations. But you are like a big monster in the water. You splash around in your rivers. You stir the water up with your feet. You make the streams all muddy.

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. A crowd of many people will pull the net in. They will drag you up in it.

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 drop you on dry ground. I will throw you out in an open field. I will let all the birds land on you. I will let wild animals from everywhere 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. I will 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 blood. It will run all the way to the mountains. The valleys will be filled with you.

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 put you out, like blowing out a lamp, I will cover the sky. I will make its stars go dark. I will hide the sun behind a cloud. 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 bright light in the sky above you. I will bring darkness over your land. This is what the Lord GOD says.

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 people. I will do it when I send news of your ruin to other nations. They live in countries you have never even heard of.

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.

10Many people will be shocked at what happens to you. Their kings will shake with fear because of you. That is when I wave My sword in front of them. On the day you fall, each king will fear for his own life every moment.

NoteIn verse 10 the KJV says people will be "amazed." In 1611 that meant shocked and horrified, not pleased. "Brandish" means to wave a sword in the air.

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 will come 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 let your crowds of soldiers fall by the swords of strong men. Those men come from the cruelest nations of all. They will tear down everything Egypt was proud of. All her crowds of 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 beside the deep waters. No person's foot will stir up that water again. No animal's hoof will make it muddy anymore.

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 go still and clear. I will make her rivers flow smooth, like oil. This is what the Lord GOD says.

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.

15I will make the land of Egypt empty and bare. I will take away everything that once filled it. I will strike down all the people 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 sad song people will sing for Egypt. The women of the nations will sing it. They will sing it for Egypt and all her crowds of people. This is what the Lord GOD says.

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,

17It was still the twelfth year. It was the fifteenth day of the month. God's message came to me again.

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.

18God said: Son of man, cry out loud for the crowds of Egypt. Send Egypt down to the world below. Send the women of the great nations down too. They go down with all the people who go into the pit, which means the grave.

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

19Are you more lovely than anyone else? No, you are not. So go down. Lie there with the uncircumcised, the people who were not part of God's people Israel.

NoteCircumcision was a small cut that marked a boy as part of Israel, God's people. Calling other nations "uncircumcised" was a way of saying they were outsiders. Being buried among them was counted as a shame.

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.

20The people of Egypt will fall among those killed by the sword. The sword is ready for her. Let them drag her away, and all her crowds with her.

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.

21The strongest leaders will speak from the place of the dead. They will talk about Egypt and the nations that helped her. They will say, "They have come down here. They lie with the uncircumcised, killed by the sword."

NoteThe KJV word "hell" here stands for the Hebrew word Sheol. That means the place of the dead, where everyone was thought to go. It does not mean a place of fire and 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 are all around her. Every one of them was killed. They fell 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. Her army lies buried all around her grave. Every one of them was killed by the sword. Once they had frightened everyone in 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. Every one of them was killed by the sword. They went down uncircumcised into the world below. Once they had frightened everyone in the land of the living. Now they carry their shame with those who go 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.

25They made a bed for Elam among the dead. All her crowds lie there, with her graves all around. Every one of them is uncircumcised and killed by the sword. Once they had frightened everyone in the land of the living. Now they carry their shame with those who go down to the pit. Elam is placed right among the dead.

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. Their graves are all around them. Every one of them is uncircumcised and killed by the sword. Once they had frightened everyone in 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 strong fighters of long ago. Those fighters went down to the place of the dead with their weapons. Their swords were laid under their heads. But the wrong these others did rests on their bones. Once even the strong were afraid of them in 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 too will be broken. You will lie down with the uncircumcised. You will lie 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 her kings and all her leaders. They were strong, but they lie with 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 leaders of the north are there, and all the people of Sidon. They went down with the dead in shame. Their strength once made people afraid, but it did not save them. They lie uncircumcised with those killed by the sword. They carry their shame with those who go 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. It will comfort him to know he is not alone. He and his whole army were killed by the sword. This is what the Lord GOD says.

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.

32I spread fear of Me through the land of the living. So Pharaoh will be laid among the uncircumcised. He and all his crowds will lie with those killed by the sword. This is what the Lord GOD says.