A Lament over Pharaoh and Egypt
aIn the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 2 a“Son of man, braise a lamentation over cPharaoh king of Egypt and say to him:
“You consider yourself da lion of the nations,
but you are like ea dragon fin the seas;
gyou burst forth in your rivers,
trouble the waters with your feet,
and foul their rivers.
3 Thus says the Lord God:
aI will throw my net over you
with a host of bmany peoples,
and cthey will haul you up in my dragnet.
4 And aI will cast you on the ground;
on the open field I will fling you,
and will cause all the birds of the heavens to settle on you,
and I will gorge the beasts of the whole earth with you.
5 I will strew your flesh aupon the mountains
and fill the valleys with your carcass.
6 I will drench the land even to the mountains
with your flowing blood,
and the ravines will be full of you.
7 aWhen I blot you out, bI will cover the heavens
and make their stars dark;
I will cover the sun with a cloud,
and the moon shall not give its light.
8 All the bright lights of heaven
will I make dark over you,
and aput darkness on your land,
declares the Lord God.
9 “I will trouble the hearts of many peoples, when I bring your destruction among the nations, into the countries that you have not known. 10 aI will make many peoples appalled at you, and the hair of their kings shall bristle with horror because of you, when bI brandish my sword before them. cThey shall tremble every moment, every one for his own life, on the day of your downfall.
11 “For thus says the Lord God: aThe sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon you. 12 I will cause ayour multitude to fall by the swords of mighty ones, all of them bmost ruthless of nations.
c“They shall bring to ruin the pride of Egypt,
and all its multitude shall perish.
13 I will destroy all its beasts
from beside many waters;
aand no foot of man shall trouble them anymore,
nor shall the hoofs of beasts trouble them.
14 Then aI will make their waters clear,
and cause their rivers to run like oil,
declares the Lord God.
15 When I make the land of Egypt desolate,
and when the land ais desolate of all that fills it,
when I strike down all who dwell in it,
then bthey will know that I am the Lord.
16 aThis is a lamentation that shall be chanted; the daughters of the nations shall chant it; over Egypt, and over ball her multitude, shall they chant it, declares the Lord God.”
17 aIn the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 18 a“Son of man, bwail over cthe multitude of Egypt, and dsend them down, her and the daughters of majestic nations, eto the world below, to those who have gone down to the pit:
19 a‘Whom do you surpass in beauty?
Go down and bbe laid to rest with the uncircumcised.’
20 They shall fall amid those awho are slain by the sword. Egypt is delivered to the sword; drag her away, and ball her multitudes. 21 The mighty chiefs ashall speak of them, bwith their helpers, out of the midst of Sheol: ‘They have come down, they lie still, cthe uncircumcised, dslain by the sword.’
22 a“Assyria is there, and all her company, bits graves all around it, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, 23 whose graves are set in athe uttermost parts of the pit; and her company is all around her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, bwho spread terror cin the land of the living.
24 a“Elam is bthere, and all her multitude around her grave; all of them cslain, fallen by the sword, who went down uncircumcised into dthe world below, who spread their terror in the land of the living; and ethey bear their shame dwith those who go down to the pit. 25 aThey have made her a bed among the slain with all her multitude, bher graves all around it, all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for terror of them was spread in the land of the living, and they bear their shame with those who go down to the pit; they are placed among the slain.
26 a“Meshech-Tubal is bthere, and all her multitude, bher graves all around it, all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for they spread their terror in the land of the living. 27 And athey do not lie with the mighty, the fallen from among the uncircumcised, who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war, whose swords were laid under their heads, and whose iniquities are upon their bones; for the terror of the mighty men was in the land of the living. 28 But as for you, you shall be broken aand lie among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword.
29 a“Edom is bthere, her kings and all her princes, who for all their might are laid with those who are killed by the sword; they lie with the uncircumcised, with those who go down to the pit.
30 “The princes aof the north are there, all of them, and all the bSidonians, who have gone down in shame with the slain, cfor all the terror that they caused by their might; they lie uncircumcised with those who are slain by the sword, and dbear their shame with those who go down to the pit.
31 “When Pharaoh sees them, he awill be comforted for ball his multitude, Pharaoh and all his army, slain by the sword, declares the Lord God. 32 aFor I spread terror bin the land of the living; and he shall be laid to rest among cthe uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword, Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares the Lord God.”