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EZEKIEL 3 1
from the Lord: 21 “Son of man, I have broken
the arm of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. His arm
has not been put in a cast so that it may heal.
Neither has it been bound up with a splint to
make it strong enough to hold a sword. 22 Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
I am the enemy of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt!
I will break both of his arms—the good arm
along with the broken one—and I will make his
sword clatter to the ground. 23 I will scatter the
Egyptians to many lands throughout the world.
24 I will strengthen the arms of Babylon’s king
and put my sword in his hand. But I will break
the arms of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he will
lie there mortally wounded, groaning in pain.
25 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, while the arms of Pharaoh fall useless to
his sides. And when I put my sword in the hand
of Babylon’s king and he brings it against the
land of Egypt, Egypt will know that I am the
Lord. 26 I will scatter the Egyptians among
the nations, dispersing them throughout the
earth. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
Egypt Compared to Fallen Assyria
On June 21,* during the eleventh year of
King Jehoiachin’s captivity, this message
came to me from the Lord: 2 “Son of man, give
this message to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and all
his hordes:
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“To whom would you compare your
greatness?
You are like mighty Assyria,
which was once like a cedar of Lebanon,
with beautiful branches that cast deep
forest shade
and with its top high among the clouds.
Deep springs watered it
and helped it to grow tall and luxuriant.
The water flowed around it like a river,
streaming to all the trees nearby.
This great tree towered high,
higher than all the other trees around it.
It prospered and grew long thick branches
because of all the water at its roots.
The birds nested in its branches,
and in its shade all the wild animals
gave birth.
All the great nations of the world
lived in its shadow.
It was strong and beautiful,
with wide-spreading branches,
for its roots went deep
into abundant water.
No other cedar in the garden of God
could rival it.
No cypress had branches to equal it;
no plane tree had boughs to compare.
No tree in the garden of God
came close to it in beauty.
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Because I made this tree so beautiful,
and gave it such magnificent foliage,
it was the envy of all the other trees of Eden,
the garden of God.
10 “Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord
says: Because Egypt* became proud and arrogant, and because it set itself so high above
the others, with its top reaching to the clouds,
11 I will hand it over to a mighty nation that will
destroy it as its wickedness deserves. I have already discarded it. 12 A foreign army—the terror
of the nations—has cut it down and left it fallen
on the ground. Its branches are scattered across
the mountains and valleys and ravines of the
land. All those who lived in its shadow have
gone away and left it lying there.
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“The birds roost on its fallen trunk,
and the wild animals lie among its
branches.
Let the tree of no other nation
proudly exult in its own prosperity,
though it be higher than the clouds
and it be watered from the depths.
For all are doomed to die,
to go down to the depths of the earth.
They will land in the pit
along with everyone else on earth.
15 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
When Assyria went down to the grave,* I made
the deep springs mourn. I stopped its rivers and
dried up its abundant water. I clothed Lebanon
in black and caused the trees of the field to wilt.
16 I made the nations shake with fear at the sound
of its fall, for I sent it down to the grave with all
the others who descend to the pit. And all the
other proud trees of Eden, the most beautiful
and the best of Lebanon, the ones whose roots
went deep into the water, took comfort to find it
there with them in the depths of the earth. 17 Its
allies, too, were all destroyed and had passed
away. They had gone down to the grave—all
those nations that had lived in its shade.
18 “O Egypt, to which of the trees of Eden will
you compare your strength and glory? You, too,
will be brought down to the depths with all
these other nations. You will lie there among
the outcasts* who have died by the sword. This
will be the fate of Pharaoh and all his hordes.
I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”
A Warning for Pharaoh
On March 3,* during the twelfth year of
King Jehoiachin’s captivity, this message came to me from the Lord: 2 “Son of man,
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31:1 Hebrew On the first day of the third month, of the
ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. This event occurred on
June 21, 587 b.c.; also see note on 1:1. 31:10 Hebrew you.
31:15 Hebrew to Sheol; also in 31:16, 17. 31:18 Hebrew
among the uncircumcised. 32:1 Hebrew On the first day of
the twelfth month, of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. This
event occurred on March 3, 585 b.c.; also see note on 1:1.