Bible in 90 Days

⁴⁰ They even sent for men who came from far away. And when they came, you washed yourselves, colored your eyes, and put on beautiful objects for them. ⁴¹ You sat on a beautiful seat with a table made ready in front of it on which you had set My special perfume and My oil. ⁴² The sound of a group free of care was around you. Men who drank too much were brought from the desert with men who were not important. They put beautiful objects on the women’s hands and beautiful crowns on their heads. ⁴³ Then I said about the one who was worn out by sex sins, ‘Will they now lie with her when she is this way?’ ⁴⁴ But they went in to her as they would go in to a woman who sells the use of her body. So they went in to Oholah and Oholibah, the sinful women. ⁴⁵ But men who are right and good will punish them as women are punished who do sex sins and kill, because they are sinful women and blood is on their hands.

⁴⁶ “The Lord God says, ‘Bring up a group against them to fill them with fear and to rob them. ⁴⁷ The group will kill them with stones and with swords. They will kill their sons and daughters and burn down their houses. ⁴⁸ So I will put an end to sex sins in the land, that all women will learn of the danger and not sin as you have done. ⁴⁹ You will suffer the penalty for your sex sins and for worshiping your false gods. Then you will know that I am the Lord God.’”

The Boiling Pot

24 The Word of the Lord came to me on the tenth day of the tenth month in the ninth year, saying, ² “Son of man, put down in writing this day, this very day. The king of Babylon has shut Jerusalem in with his army this very day. ³ And tell a picture-story to these sinful people of Israel. Tell them, ‘The Lord God says, “Put the pot on the fire. Put it on, and pour water in it. ⁴ Put all the good pieces of meat in it, the thigh, the shoulder. And fill it with the best bones. ⁵ Take the best of the flock. Put more and more wood under the pot to make it boil, and boil the bones in it.”

⁶ ’For the Lord God says, “It is bad for the city of blood, for the rusted pot whose rust has not been cleaned out of it! Take the pieces of meat out of it without choosing them. ⁷ For the blood of the city has been poured on the rock. It was not poured on the ground where the dust would cover it. ⁸ I have put the blood on the rock where it could not be covered, so that it would cause anger and punishment.” ⁹ So the Lord God says, “It is bad for the city of blood! I will put much wood on the fire. ¹⁰ Put on more and more wood, and make the fire burn. Boil the meat well. Mix in the spices, and let the bones be burned up. ¹¹ Now set the empty pot on the coals until it becomes hot and its brass becomes bright with the heat. Then what is not clean in it will melt away. Its rust will be destroyed. ¹² But it has been all for nothing. Its rust has not left it, not even by fire. ¹³ It is sin that makes you unclean. I have tried to make you clean, but you would not be made clean from your sins. So you will not be clean again until My anger against you is finished. ¹⁴ I, the Lord, have spoken. The time has come for Me to act. I will not hold back, I will not pity, and I will not be sorry. I will punish you for your ways and for what you have done,” says the Lord God.’”

Ezekiel’s Wife Dies

¹⁵ The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ¹⁶ “Son of man, with one blow I am about to take away from you the desire of your eyes. But do not have sorrow or loud crying or any tears. ¹⁷ Cry inside yourself. Do not show sorrow for the dead. Put your head-covering on. Put your shoes on your feet. Do not cover your face or eat the bread of those in sorrow.” ¹⁸ So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. The next morning I did as I was told. ¹⁹ And the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things you are doing mean for us?” ²⁰ So I said to them, “The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ²¹ ’Tell the people of Israel, “The Lord God says, ‘I am about to let sin fill My holy place, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes, and the happiness of your soul. And your sons and daughters you have left behind will be killed by the sword. ²² Then you will do as I have done. You will not cover your face or eat the bread of those in sorrow. ²³ Your heads will be covered and your shoes will be on your feet. You will not have sorrow or cry. But you will waste away in your sins and cry in pain to one another. ²⁴ So Ezekiel will be something special for you to see. You will do just as he has done. When this happens, you will know that I am the Lord God.’”

²⁵ ‘Son of man, I will take away their strong-place that was their joy and pride, the desire of their eyes and the things their hearts wanted most. And I will take away their sons and their daughters. ²⁶ On that day, one who gets away will come to you with the news. ²⁷ That same day your mouth will be opened. You will speak with him and no longer be quiet. So you will be something special for them to see, and they will know that I am the Lord.’”

Word against Ammon

25 The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ² “Son of man, look toward the Ammonites and speak against them. ³ Tell them, ‘Hear the Word of the Lord God! The Lord God says, “Because you were happy when My holy place was made unclean, and when the land of Israel was made waste, and when the people of Judah were taken away, ⁴ I am going to give you to the people of the east. They will put up their tents among you and live among you. They will eat your fruit and drink your milk. ⁵ I will turn the city of Rabbah into a field for camels, and Ammon into a resting place for flocks. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” ⁶ For the Lord God says, “Because you have clapped your hands and crushed under your feet and showed your joy because of your hate for Israel, ⁷ I have put out My hand against you. I will give you away to the nations. And I will destroy you from the nations and from the lands. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”

Word against Moab

⁸ ‘The Lord God says, “Because Moab and Seir say, ‘See, Judah is like all the nations,’ ⁹ I will lay waste the side of Moab, beginning with these cities there, Beth-jeshimoth, Baalmeon, and Kiriathaim, the best of the country. ¹⁰ I will give it to the people of the east, as I did with Ammon, so that the Ammonites will not be remembered among the nations. ¹¹ I will punish Moab, and they will know that I am the Lord.”

Word against Edom

¹² ‘The Lord God says, “Because Edom has fought against Judah in its anger, and has become very guilty by doing so,” ¹³ the Lord God says, “I will put out My hand against Edom and kill its men and their animals. I will destroy it and they will fall by the sword from Teman to Dedan. ¹⁴ I will punish Edom by the hand of My people Israel. They will act in My anger against Edom, and Edom will know My anger,” says the Lord God.

Word against Philistia

¹⁵ ‘The Lord God says, “Because the Philistines have fought to destroy Judah with the lasting anger that is in their hearts,” ¹⁶ the Lord God says, “I will put out My hand against the Philistines. And I will destroy the Cherethites and those left beside the sea. ¹⁷ I will punish them in My anger, and they will know that I am the Lord when I punish them.”’”

Word against Tyre

26 In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the Word of the Lord came to me saying, ² “Son of man, Tyre has said this about Jerusalem, ‘O, the gate to the nations is broken. It has opened to me. I will do well, now that she is laid waste.’ ³ So the Lord God says, ‘I am against you, O Tyre. And I will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves. ⁴ They will destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers. Then I will clean away what is left from her and make her nothing but rock. ⁵ She will be a place to spread fish nets out in the sea, for I have spoken,’ says the Lord God. ‘The nations will take her riches. ⁶ And her villages on the land across the sea from her will be destroyed by the sword. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’

⁷ For the Lord God says, “I will bring Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, against Tyre from the north. He will come with horses, war-wagons, horsemen, and a large army. ⁸ And he will kill with the sword those in your villages. He will build battle-walls around you. He will build up earth so they can go over your walls. He will build walls and make battle-coverings around you. ⁹ He will roll down large objects to knock down your walls, and will break down your towers with axes. ¹⁰ There will be so many horses that you will be covered by their dust. Your walls will shake at the noise of the horsemen and wheels and war-wagons, when he comes through your gates as men come into a city that has been broken open. ¹¹ The feet of his horses will run all over your streets. He will kill your people with the sword, and your strong pillars will fall to the ground. ¹² They will take your riches and good things as prizes of war. They will break down your walls and destroy your beautiful houses. And they will throw your stones and wood into the sea. ¹³ I will put an end to the music of your songs. And the sound of your harps will be heard no more. ¹⁴ I will make you nothing but rock. You will be a place for nets to be spread. You will never be built again, for I the Lord have spoken,” says the Lord God.

¹⁵ The Lord God says to Tyre, “Will not the lands beside the sea shake at the sound of your fall, when those who have been hurt cry in pain, when your people are killed? ¹⁶ Then all the leaders of the sea will step down from their thrones and take off their beautiful clothing. They will clothe themselves with fear. They will sit on the ground and not be able to stop shaking, full of fear and wonder because of you. ¹⁷ They will cry in sorrow for you and say, ‘How you have been destroyed from the seas, O well-known city where many people once lived! You were powerful on the sea. You and all your people who lived here were filled with fear. ¹⁸ Now the islands shake in fear on the day of your fall. Yes, the lands which are by the sea are afraid because of how you are destroyed.’” ¹⁹ The Lord God says, “I will lay waste your city and make you like a destroyed city where no one lives. I will bring up the deep sea over you, and the many waters will cover you. ²⁰ Then I will send you down with those who go down to the grave, to the people of long ago. I will make you stay in the lower parts of the earth, like in waste places of long ago, with those who go down to the grave. So you will not have people living in you, and you will not have a place in the land of the living. ²¹ I will fill you with fear and destroy you. People will look for you, but you will never be found again,” says the Lord God.

A Song of Sorrow for Tyre

27 The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ² “Son of man, sing a song of sorrow over Tyre. ³ Say to Tyre, whose people live at the gateway to the sea and trade with people from many lands, ‘The Lord God says, “O Tyre, you have said, ‘I am perfect in beauty.’ ⁴ Your home is on the sea. Your builders have made you perfect in beauty. ⁵ They made your pieces of wood from the fir trees from Senir. They made the wood that holds your sail out of a cedar from Lebanon. ⁶ They made your oars out of oak trees from Bashan. They made your floor of ivory and boxwood from the land of Cyprus. ⁷ Your sail was made of fine and beautiful linen from Egypt, to show all people who you are. Your covering was made of blue and purple cloth from the land of Elishah. ⁸ The people of Sidon and Arvad were your rowers. Your own wise and able men were your sailors. ⁹ The leaders and wise men of Gebal were with you, putting tar where it was needed to keep the water out. All the ships of the sea and their sailors were with you to trade for your good things.

¹⁰ “Soldiers from Persia and Lud and Put were in your army. They hung battle-coverings and head-coverings in you, and made you beautiful. ¹¹ The men of Arvad and Helech were on your walls all around. And men of Gammad were in your towers. They hung their battle-coverings all around your walls, and made you perfect in beauty.

¹² “Tarshish traded with you because of all your riches of every kind. They paid for your good things with silver, iron, tin, and lead. ¹³ Javan, Tubal, and Meshech traded with you. They paid for your good things with servants and objects of brass. ¹⁴ Men of Beth-togarmah paid for your good things with horses, war horses, and mules. ¹⁵ The men of Dedan traded with you. Many lands beside the sea traded with you, paying you with ivory horns and beautiful dark wood. ¹⁶ Syria traded with you because of all your good things. They bought them with stones of great worth, purple cloth, cloth with beautiful sewing, fine linen, and coral. ¹⁷ Judah and the land of Israel traded with you. They paid for your good things with the grain of Minnith, cakes, honey, oil, and medicine. ¹⁸ Damascus traded with you because of all your good things and riches of all kinds. They paid for them with the wine of Helbon and white wool. ¹⁹ Vedan and Javan traded with you from Uzal. They paid you with pure iron and spices. ²⁰ Dedan paid you with horse coverings. ²¹ Arabia and all the leaders of Kedar traded with you. They paid you with lambs, rams, and goats. ²² Sheba and Raamah traded with you. They paid for your good things with the best of all kinds of spices, stones of great worth, and gold. ²³ Haran, Canneh, Eden, Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad traded with you. ²⁴ They paid you with the best clothing, clothes of blue cloth and beautiful sewing, floor coverings of many colors, and strong ropes. ²⁵ The ships of Tarshish carried your good things for you. You were filled and honored in the middle of the seas.

²⁶ “Your rowers have brought you into deep waters. The east wind has wrecked you far out in the sea. ²⁷ Your riches, your good things, the things you trade, your sailors, your pilots, your builders, your traders, all your soldiers, and all your people will fall into the sea on the day you are destroyed. ²⁸ The lands by the sea will shake at the sound of your sailors’ cry. ²⁹ All the rowers and sailors of the sea will leave their ships. They will stand on the land ³⁰ and cry in a loud voice of sorrow over you. They will throw dust on their heads and roll in ashes. ³¹ They will cut off their hair because of you, and dress themselves in cloth made from hair. They will cry over you with much sorrow in their soul. ³² In their crying they will sing a song of sorrow for you, saying, ‘Who is like Tyre, destroyed and quiet in the sea? ³³ When your good things went out on the sea, you pleased many nations. With all your riches and good things you made the kings of the earth rich. ³⁴ Now you are wrecked by the sea, in the deep waters. Your good things and all your people have gone down with you. ³⁵ All the people who live on the islands are full of fear and wonder because of you. Their kings are very afraid. Their faces are troubled. ³⁶ The traders among the nations make sounds of surprise at you. You have come to an end and you will be no more.’”

Words against the King of Tyre

28 The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ² “Son of man, tell the leader of Tyre, ‘The Lord God says, “Because your heart is proud, you have said, ‘I am a god. I sit in the seat of gods, with the seas around me.’ Yet you are a man and not God, even if you think you are as wise as God. ³ You are wiser than Daniel. There is no secret that is hidden from you. ⁴ By your wisdom and understanding you have gathered riches for yourself. You have gathered gold and silver for your store-houses. ⁵ By all your wisdom in trade you have added to your riches, and your heart has become proud because of them. ⁶ So the Lord God says, ‘Because you think you are as wise as God, ⁷ I will bring strangers against you, those who have the hardest hearts of all the nations. With their swords they will destroy the beauty of your wisdom and your greatness. ⁸ They will bring you down to the grave. You will die the death of those who are killed on the sea. ⁹ Will you still say, “I am a god,” in front of those who kill you? You will be only a man and not a god in the hands of those who kill you. ¹⁰ You will be killed by strangers, and will die the death of one who has not gone through the religious act of My people. For I have spoken,’ says the Lord God.”’”

Song of Sorrow for the King of Tyre

¹¹ The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ¹² “Son of man, sing a song of sorrow for the king of Tyre, and tell him, ‘The Lord God says, “You were once the mark of what is perfect, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. ¹³ You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every stone of great worth covered you: ruby, topaz, diamond, beryl, onyx, jasper, chrysolite, turquoise, and emerald. And you had beautiful objects of gold. They were made for you when you were made. ¹⁴ You were the cherub who kept watch, and I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God. You walked among the stones of fire. ¹⁵ You were without blame in your ways from the day you were made until sin was found in you. ¹⁶ Through all your trading you were filled with bad ways, and you sinned. So I have sent you away in shame from the mountain of God and I have destroyed you and driven you out from the stones of fire, O cherub who kept watch. ¹⁷ Your heart was proud because of your beauty. You made your wisdom sinful because of your beauty. So I threw you to the ground. I laid you in front of kings for them to see you. ¹⁸ By all your wrong-doing and sinful trading you made your holy places sinful. So I made a fire come out from you, and it has destroyed you. I have turned you to ashes on the earth in the eyes of all who see you. ¹⁹ All the nations who know you are filled with wonder and fear because of you. You have come to a bad end, and you will be no more forever.”’”

Words against Sidon

²⁰ The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ²¹ “Son of man, look toward Sidon and speak against her. ²² Tell her, ‘The Lord God says, “I am against you, O Sidon, and My greatness will be honored among you. They will know that I am the Lord when I punish Sidon. I will show Myself holy within her. ²³ For I will send disease upon her, and blood into her streets. People will be killed by the sword from every side. Then they will know that I am the Lord. ²⁴ No longer will the people of Israel have neighbors like a sharp thistle or thorn who hate them. Then they will know that I am the Lord God.

²⁵ “The Lord God says, ‘I will gather the people of Israel from the different nations where they have been sent. And I will show Myself holy among them in the eyes of the nations. Then they will live in their own land which I gave to My servant Jacob. ²⁶ They will live there and be safe. They will build houses, plant grape-fields, and be safe, when I punish all those around them who speak against them. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God.”’”

Word against Egypt

29 On the twelfth day of the tenth month in the tenth year, the Word of the Lord came to me saying, ² “Son of man, look toward Pharaoh king of Egypt, and speak against him and against all Egypt. ³ Tell them, ‘The Lord God says, “I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt. You are the big animal that lies in his rivers and says, ‘The Nile is mine. I made it.’ ⁴ I will put hooks in your mouth. I will make the fish of your rivers stick to your hard skin. And I will pull you up out of your rivers, with the fish that stick to your hard skin. ⁵ Then I will leave you in the desert, you and all the fish of your rivers. You will fall on the open field, and not be gathered or buried. I will feed you to the wild animals of the earth and to the birds of the sky. ⁶ Then all the people of Egypt will know that I am the Lord. They have been only a weak piece of river grass to the people of Israel. ⁷ When they took hold of you with their hands, you broke and tore all their shoulders. When they rested on you, you broke and hurt their backs.” ⁸ So the Lord God says, “I will bring a sword against you and kill your people and animals. ⁹ And the land of Egypt will be destroyed and laid waste. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

“Because you said, ‘The Nile is mine, and I made it,’ ¹⁰ I am against you and against your rivers. I will destroy Egypt and make it nothing but waste from Migdol to Syene and even to the land of Ethiopia. ¹¹ No foot of man or animal will pass through it, and no one will live there for forty years. ¹² I will make the land of Egypt a waste among the lands which are laid waste. Her cities will be a waste for forty years among cities that are laid waste. I will divide the Egyptians among the nations and spread them out among the lands.”

¹³ ’For the Lord God says, “At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the nations where they were divided. ¹⁴ I will bring them back to Egypt and let them live in Pathros, the land they came from. And there they will be a small nation. ¹⁵ It will be the least of the nations, and will never lift itself up above other nations again. I will make them so small that they will never rule over the nations. ¹⁶ It will never again be a hope for the people of Israel. They will remember their sin in turning to Egypt for help in the past. Then they will know that I am the Lord God.”’”

King Nebuchadnezzar Will Take Egypt

¹⁷ On the first day of the first month in the twenty-seventh year, the Word of the Lord came to me saying, ¹⁸ “Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army work hard against Tyre. Every head lost its hair, and skin was rubbed off every shoulder. But he and his army did not receive anything from Tyre to pay for the work he had done against it.” ¹⁹ So the Lord God says, “I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. And he will carry away her riches. He will take all her good things, and they will be pay for his army. ²⁰ I have given him the land of Egypt for the work he has done, because he and his army worked for Me,” says the Lord God.

²¹ “On that day I will make the people of Israel strong, and give you the power to speak among them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

The Lord Will Punish Egypt

30 The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ² “Son of man, speak in My name and say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Cry in a loud voice, ‘It is bad for that day!’ ³ For the day is near. The day of the Lord is near. It will be a day of clouds, a time of trouble for the nations. ⁴ A sword will come against Egypt, and Ethiopia will be very troubled. When the people are killed in Egypt, her riches will be taken away, and her country destroyed. ⁵ Ethiopia, Put, Lud, all of Arabia, Libya, and the people of Israel living there, all who have an agreement with Egypt will be killed by the sword.”’”

⁶ ‘The Lord says, “Those who help Egypt will be killed in battle. The pride of her power will come down. From Migdol to Syene they will be killed by the sword,” says the Lord God. ⁷ “They will be a waste among the lands that are laid waste. And her cities will be among the destroyed cities. ⁸ Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I start a fire in Egypt and all those who help her are destroyed. ⁹ On that day I will send men in ships to bring fear to Ethiopians who think they are safe. They will be troubled and afraid as when Egypt is destroyed, for their day is coming!” ¹⁰ The Lord God says, “I will put an end to Egypt’s riches by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. ¹¹ He and his people show the least pity of all the nations, and they will be brought in to destroy the land. They will use their swords against Egypt and fill the land with dead bodies. ¹² And I will dry up the Nile River and sell the land to sinful men. I will destroy the land and everything in it, by the hand of strangers. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

¹³ ‘The Lord God says, “I will also destroy the false gods and put an end to the objects of worship in Memphis. There will no longer be a leader in the land of Egypt, so I will put fear in the land. ¹⁴ I will destroy Pathros, start a fire in Zoan, and punish Thebes. ¹⁵ I will be angry with Pelusium, the strong city of Egypt. And I will destroy the riches of Thebes. ¹⁶ I will start a fire in Egypt. Pelusium will suffer much. Thebes will be broken open. And Memphis will not have rest from troubles and fear. ¹⁷ The young men of On and Pi-beseth will be killed in battle, and the women will be taken away. ¹⁸ At Tehaphnehes the day will be dark when I break the power of Egypt. The pride of her strength will come to an end. A cloud will cover her, and her daughters will be taken away. ¹⁹ So I will punish Egypt, and they will know that I am the Lord.’”

Word against Pharaoh

²⁰ On the seventh day of the first month in the eleventh year, the Word of the Lord came to me saying, ²¹ “Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And it has not been wrapped so that it could heal and be strong enough to hold the sword. ²² So the Lord God says, ‘I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt and will break his arms, both the strong one and the one already broken. And I will make the sword fall from his hand. ²³ I will divide the Egyptians among the nations and spread them out among the lands. ²⁴ For I will give strength to the arms of the king of Babylon and put My sword in his hand, and I will break the arms of Pharaoh, so that he will cry in pain in front of him like a dying man in battle. ²⁵ I will give strength to the arms of the king of Babylon, but Pharaoh’s arms will fall. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I give My sword to the king of Babylon and he uses it against the land of Egypt. ²⁶ I will make the Egyptians go to the different nations and spread them out among the lands. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’”

Egypt Is Like a Cedar Tree

31 On the first day of the third month in the eleventh year, the Word of the Lord came to me saying, ² “Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his people, ‘Who can be compared with you in greatness? ³ Look at Assyria, once a cedar in Lebanon with beautiful branches and many leaves. It was very high, and its top was among the heavy branches. ⁴ The waters made it grow, and the water under the ground made it grow high. Its rivers flowed all around its base, and spread water to all the trees of the field. ⁵ So it was higher than all the trees of the field. And it grew many long and spreading branches because it had so much water. ⁶ All the birds of the air made their nests in its branches. And under its branches all the animals of the field gave birth. All great nations lived in its shadow. ⁷ It was beautiful in its greatness with its spreading branches, for its roots went down to much water. ⁸ The cedars in God’s garden could not compare with it. The fir trees and the chestnut trees could not compare with its branches. No tree in God’s garden was like it in beauty. ⁹ I made it beautiful with its many branches. And all the trees that were in Eden were jealous of it.

¹⁰ ‘So the Lord God says, “Because it has grown high with its top among the heavy branches, its heart has become proud, ¹¹ I will give it over to a powerful ruler of the nations, and he will punish it. Because of its sin, I will drive it out. ¹² Rulers from other nations will cut it down and leave it. Its branches will fall on the mountains and in all the valleys. Its spreading branches will be broken in all the deep valleys of the land. All the people of the earth will go away from its shadow and leave it. ¹³ All the birds of the air will live on its broken pieces. And all the animals of the field will be on its fallen branches. ¹⁴ This will be so that no trees by the water will grow high with their tops among the heavy branches. No trees that drink water will ever grow so high. For they have all been given over to death. They will go to the earth below, among men who die and go down to the grave.”

¹⁵ ‘The Lord God says, “When it goes down to the place of the dead, I will make the waters under the ground cover it in sorrow. I will stop its rivers of water and fill Lebanon with sorrow over it. All the trees of the field will waste away because of it. ¹⁶ I will make the nations shake in fear at the sound of its fall when I send it to the place of the dead with those who go down to the grave. Then all the well-watered trees of Eden, the best of Lebanon, will be comforted in the earth below. ¹⁷ And those who lived under its shadow among the nations will go down to the place of the dead with it, to those who were killed by the sword.

¹⁸ “Which of the trees of Eden can be compared with you in beauty and greatness? Yet you will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the earth below. You will lie among the sinful, with those who were killed by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his people!”’ says the Lord God.”

King of Egypt Is Like a Dragon

32 On the first day of the twelfth month in the twelfth year, the Word of the Lord came to me saying, ² “Son of man, sing a song of sorrow for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him, ‘You compared yourself to a young lion among the nations, yet you are like the big dragon in the seas. You go through your rivers, troubling the water with your feet and making the rivers muddy.’” ³ The Lord God says, “Now I will throw My net over you with an army of many nations. They will lift you up in My net. ⁴ And I will leave you on the land. I will throw you on the open field. I will have all the birds of the air live on you. And I will feed you to the wild animals of the earth. ⁵ I will lay your flesh on the mountains, and fill the valleys with what is left of you. ⁶ I will make the land drink your flowing blood as far as the mountains, and the deep valleys will be full of you. ⁷ When I destroy you, I will cover the heavens and make the stars dark. I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not give its light. ⁸ I will make all the shining lights in the heavens dark over you, and bring darkness upon your land,” says the Lord God. ⁹ “I will trouble the hearts of many people when I destroy you among the nations, among lands you have not known. ¹⁰ I will fill many nations with fear and wonder because of you. Their kings will shake in fear for you when I wave My sword in front of them. Every man will keep shaking in fear for his own life, on the day you are destroyed.”

¹¹ For the Lord God says, “The sword of the king of Babylon will come against you. ¹² I will cause your people to be killed by the swords of powerful men who will have no pity, all of them strong rulers of the nations. They will destroy the pride of Egypt and kill all its people. ¹³ I will also destroy all its cattle from beside many waters. No foot of man or animal will fill them with mud any more. ¹⁴ I will make their waters clear and make their rivers flow like oil,” says the Lord God. ¹⁵ “When I destroy the land of Egypt and take from the land everything that was in it, and when I punish all who live there, then they will know that I am the Lord. ¹⁶ This is the song of sorrow they will sing. The women of the nations will sing it. They will sing it over Egypt and all her people,” says the Lord God.

The Place of the Dead

¹⁷ In the twelfth year, on the fifteenth of the month, the Word of the Lord came to me saying, ¹⁸ “Son of man, cry in a loud voice for the people of Egypt. Send them down with the powerful nations to the place of the dead, with those who go down to the grave. ¹⁹ Say to them, ‘Do you think you are more favored than anyone else? Go down and make your bed with the sinful.’ ²⁰ They will fall among those who are killed by the sword. The sword is ready to kill all of Egypt’s people. ²¹ From the place of the dead the powerful leaders will say of Egypt and her helpers, ‘They have come down. They lie with the sinful, with those killed by the sword.’

²² “Assyria is there, with all of her army. All around her are the graves of her dead, who have been killed by the sword. ²³ Their graves lie in the farthest parts of the place of the dead. Her army is around her grave. All who had spread fear in the land of the living are dead, killed by the sword.

²⁴ “Elam is there, with all of her people around her grave. All of them are dead, killed by the sword. They have gone to the lower parts of the earth having not gone through the religious act of the Jews. They filled the land of the living with fear, and carried their shame with those who went down to the place of the dead. ²⁵ A bed is made for her among the dead with all her people. Their graves are around her. They are all sinful people, killed by the sword. They spread fear in the land of the living, and were put to shame with those who go down to the place of the dead and are among the dead.

²⁶ “Meshech and Tubal are there, with all their people. Their graves are around them. All of them are sinful, killed by the sword, for they had spread fear in the land of the living. ²⁷ They do not lie beside the graves of the powerful men of long ago, who went down to the place of the dead with their swords of war, whose swords were laid under their heads. But the punishment for their sin rested on their bones. For the fear of these powerful men was once in the land of the living. ²⁸ You too, O Pharaoh, will be broken and lie among the sinful, with those killed by the sword.

²⁹ “Edom is there, with its kings and all its leaders. Even with all their power they are laid with those killed by the sword. They lie with the sinful, with those who go down to the place of the dead.

³⁰ “All the leaders of the north and all the Sidonians are there. Even with the fear they caused by their power, they went down with the dead in shame. They lie as sinful people with those killed by the sword. They carried their shame with those who go down to the place of the dead.

³¹ “When Pharaoh and his army see them, they will be comforted for all his people who were killed by the sword,” says the Lord God. ³² “I spread fear of him in the land of the living, yet Pharaoh and all his people will be laid among the sinful, with those killed by the sword,” says the Lord God.

The Words of the Watchman

33 The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ² “Son of man, speak to the children of your people. Say to them, ‘If I bring a sword upon a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men to keep watch for them, ³ and he sees the sword coming upon the land and sounds the horn to tell the people of the danger, ⁴ then if anyone hears the horn and does not take care, and a sword comes and kills him, he will be to blame for his own death. ⁵ He heard the sound of the horn, but did not worry about the danger. He will be to blame for his own death. If he had been careful, he would have saved his life. ⁶ But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the horn, and the people are not told of the danger, and a sword comes and kills one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin. But the blood of the watchman must be given.’

⁷ “Son of man, I have chosen you as a watchman for the people of Israel. So when I give you the word, you must tell them of the danger. ⁸ When I tell a sinful man that he will die for sure, and you do not speak to him about the danger of his way, that sinful man will die in his sin. But your blood must be given. ⁹ But if you tell a sinful man to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he will die in his sin. But you have saved your life.

God Judges Well

¹⁰ “Son of man, say to the people of Israel, ‘You have said, “Our sins are upon us, and we are wasting away in them. How then can we live?”’ ¹¹ Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I am not pleased when sinful people die. But I am pleased when the sinful turn from their way and live. Turn! Turn from your sinful ways! Why will you die, O people of Israel?’ ¹² Now, son of man, tell the children of your people, ‘If a man does what is right and good, it will not save him when he sins.’ And the sins of a sinful man will not make him fall when he turns from his sinful way. But the man who is right and good will not be able to live by his good ways when he sins. ¹³ When I tell the man who is right and good that he will live, and he trusts in his good ways so much that he sins, none of his good works will be remembered. He will die for the sin he has done. ¹⁴ But when I tell the sinful man that he will die, and he turns from his sin and does what is right and good, ¹⁵ if he gives back what a person gave him as trust for a promise, pays back what he had stolen, follows the Laws that give life and does not sin, he will live for sure. He will not die. ¹⁶ None of the sins he has done will be remembered against him. He has done what is right and good, and he will live for sure.

¹⁷ “Yet the children of your people say, ‘The way of the Lord is not right.’ But it is their way that is not right. ¹⁸ When the right and good man turns from his good way and sins, he will die for it. ¹⁹ But when the sinful man turns from his sin and does what is right and good, he will live because of it. ²⁰ Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not right.’ O people of Israel, I will judge each of you by his ways.”

Jerusalem Is Taken

²¹ On the fifth day of the tenth month in the twelfth year since we had been taken to a strange land, a man who got away from Jerusalem came and said to me, “The city has been taken.” ²² Now the hand of the Lord had been upon me in the evening before the man came. And He opened my mouth so that when the man came to me in the morning, I was able to speak.

The Sins of the People

²³ Then the Word of the Lord came to me saying, ²⁴ “Son of man, the people who live in these waste places in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he owned the land. But we are many, and for sure the land has been given to us.’ ²⁵ So tell them, ‘The Lord God says, “You eat meat with the blood in it, and worship your false gods as you kill. Should the land belong to you? ²⁶ You trust in your sword, and keep on sinning. Each of you does sex sins with his neighbor’s wife. Should the land belong to you?”’ ²⁷ Tell them, ‘The Lord God says, “As I live, those who are in the waste places will be killed by the sword. Whoever is in the open field, I will feed to the wild animals. And those who are in the strong-places and in the caves will die of disease. ²⁸ I will destroy the land and make it a waste. The pride of her power will come to an end. The mountains of Israel will be laid waste, so that no one will pass through. ²⁹ Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I destroy the land and make it a waste because of all the hated sins they have done.”’

³⁰ “As for you, son of man, your people are talking to each other about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses. They are saying, ‘Come and hear the word that has come from the Lord.’ ³¹ They come and sit in front of you as My people, and listen to the words you say. But they do not do them. With their mouth they speak of love, but their hearts are full of sinful desire. ³² They think of you as nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays music well. For they hear what you say, but they will not do it. ³³ When all this comes true, and it will, then they will know that a man of God has been among them.”

The Shepherds of Israel

34 The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ² “Son of man, speak against the shepherds of Israel. Speak in My name and tell those shepherds, ‘The Lord God says, “It is bad for the shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock? ³ You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool. You kill the fat sheep without feeding the flock. ⁴ You have not given strength to the weak ones. You have not healed the sick. You have not helped the ones that are hurt. You have not brought back those that have gone away. And you have not looked for the lost. But you have ruled them with power and without pity. ⁵ They went everywhere because they had no shepherd. And they became food for every animal of the field. ⁶ My flock went many different ways through all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were spread over all the earth, and there was no one looking for them.”’”

⁷ So, you shepherds, hear the Word of the Lord. ⁸ “As I live,” says the Lord God, “My flock has been killed and become food for wild animals because they had no shepherd. My shepherds did not look for My flock. They fed themselves, but have not fed My flock.” ⁹ So, you shepherds, hear the Word of the Lord. ¹⁰ The Lord God says, “I am against the shepherds, and I will ask them for My sheep. I will stop them from feeding the sheep, so they will no longer be able to feed themselves. I will save my sheep from their mouths, so that they will no longer be food for them.”

The Good Shepherd

¹¹ For the Lord God says, “I Myself will look for My sheep and find them. ¹² As a shepherd looks for his sheep when they are not together, so I will look for My sheep. And I will save them from all the places where they were spread out on a day of clouds and darkness. ¹³ I will bring them out from the people and gather them from the countries, and bring them to their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the rivers, and in all the places of the land where people live. ¹⁴ I will feed them in a good field. The ground they eat upon will be on the mountains of Israel. There they will lie down in a good field and feed on good grass on the mountains of Israel. ¹⁵ I will feed My sheep, and give them rest,” says the Lord God. ¹⁶ “I will look for the lost, bring back those that have gone away, help those who have been hurt, and give strength to the sick. But I will destroy the fat and the strong. I will feed them with punishment.

¹⁷ “As for you, My flock, the Lord God says, ‘I will judge between one sheep and another, between the rams and the male goats. ¹⁸ Is it not enough for you to eat in the good field? Must you crush under foot the rest of your fields? Is it not enough for you to drink of the clear waters? Must your feet fill the rest with mud? ¹⁹ Must My flock eat what you have crushed with your feet, and drink what you have made dirty with your feet?’”

²⁰ So the Lord God says to them, “I Myself will judge between the fat sheep and the weak sheep. ²¹ Because you push with your side and shoulder and run against all the weak with your horns until you have driven them away, ²² I will save My flock. They will no longer be hurt. And I will judge between one sheep and another. ²³ Then I will set over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them. He will feed them and be their shepherd. ²⁴ I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant David will be their leader. I, the Lord, have spoken.

²⁵ “I will make a peace agreement with them and take away wild animals from the land. Then they will be safe as they live in the desert and sleep in the woods. ²⁶ I will bring good to them and to the places around My hill. I will give them rain when they need it. Good will rain down upon them. ²⁷ The trees of the field will give their fruit and the earth will give its food. They will be safe in their land. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the load from their backs and have saved them from those who made servants of them. ²⁸ They will no longer be under the power of the nations. And the wild animals of the earth will not eat them. But they will be safe, and no one will make them afraid. ²⁹ I will give them a land well known for its fields of food. They will never suffer with hunger again, and will no longer be put to shame by the nations. ³⁰ Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they, the people of Israel, are My people,” says the Lord God. ³¹ “You, My sheep, the sheep of My field, are people, and I am your God,” says the Lord God.

God Judges Edom

35 The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ² “Son of man, look toward Mount Seir and speak against it, ³ saying, ‘The Lord God says, “I am against you, Mount Seir. I will put out My hand against you and make you a waste land. ⁴ I will destroy your cities, and you will become a waste. Then you will know that I am the Lord. ⁵ You have always hated the people of Israel and have given them over to be killed at the time of their trouble, at the time of the punishment of the end. ⁶ So as I live,” says the Lord God, “I will give you over to death, and you will not get away from death. Since you have not hated killing, death will come after you. ⁷ I will destroy Mount Seir and make it a waste. And I will kill all who travel through it. ⁸ I will fill its mountains with its dead. Those killed by the sword will fall on your hills and in your valleys. ⁹ I will destroy you forever, and no one will live in your cities. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

¹⁰ “You have said, ‘These two nations and these two lands will be mine, and we will own them,’ even when the Lord was there. ¹¹ So as I live,” says the Lord God, “I will punish you for your anger and the jealousy you showed because of your hate toward them. And I will make Myself known among them when I judge you. ¹² Then you will know that I, the Lord, have heard all the bad things you have said against the mountains of Israel. You have said, ‘They are destroyed. They are given to us for food.’ ¹³ You have spoken in pride against Me, with many words and I have heard you.” ¹⁴ The Lord God says, “While the whole earth is filled with joy, I will destroy you. ¹⁵ As you had joy because the land of Israel was destroyed, so I will do to you. You will be destroyed, O Mount Seir, and all Edom, all of it. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”’