A Lament for Pharaoh
1In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 2“Son of man, lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him,
‘You compare yourself to a lion of the nations,
but you are like a monster in the seas.
You thrash about in your rivers,
churn up the waters with your feet,
and muddy the rivers.
3“‘This is what the Lord God says:
I will spread my net over you
with an assembly of many peoples,
and they will haul you up in my net.
4I will abandon you on the land
and throw you onto the open field.
I will cause all the birds of the sky
to settle on you
and let the wild creatures of the entire earth
eat their fill of you.
5I will put your flesh on the mountains
and fill the valleys with your carcass.
6I will drench the land
with the flow of your blood,
even to the mountains;
the ravines will be filled with your gore.
7“‘When I snuff you out,
I will cover the heavens
and darken their stars.
I will cover the sun with a cloud,
and the moon will not give its light.
8I will darken all the shining lights
in the heavens over you,
and will bring darkness on your land.
This is the declaration of the Lord God.
9“‘I will trouble the hearts of many peoples,
when I bring about your destruction
among the nations,
in countries you have not known.
10I will cause many peoples to be appalled at you,
and their kings will shudder with fear because of you
when I brandish my sword in front of them.
On the day of your downfall
each of them will tremble
every moment for his life.
11“‘For this is what the Lord God says:
The sword of Babylon’s king
will come against you!
12I will make your hordes fall
by the swords of warriors,
all of them ruthless men from the nations.
They will ravage Egypt’s pride,
and all its hordes will be destroyed.
13I will slaughter all its cattle
that are beside many waters.
No human foot will churn them again,
and no cattle hooves will disturb them.
14Then I will let their waters settle
and will make their rivers flow like oil.
This is the declaration of the Lord God.
15When I make the land of Egypt a desolation,
so that it is emptied of everything in it,
when I strike down all who live there,
then they will know that I am the Lord.
16“‘The daughters of the nations will chant that lament. They will chant it over Egypt and all its hordes. This is the declaration of the Lord God.’”
Egypt in Sheol
17In the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 18“Son of man, wail over the hordes of Egypt and bring Egypt and the daughters of mighty nations down to the underworld, to be with those who descend to the Pit:
19Who do you surpass in loveliness?
Go down and be laid to rest with the uncircumcised!
20They will fall among those slain by the sword.
A sword is appointed!
They drag her and all her hordes away.
21Warrior leaders will speak
from the middle of Sheol
about him and his allies:
‘They have come down;
the uncircumcised lie
slain by the sword.’
22“Assyria is there with her whole assembly;
her graves are all around her.
All of them are slain, fallen by the sword.
23Her graves are set in the deepest regions of the Pit,
and her assembly is all around her burial place.
All of them are slain, fallen by the sword —
those who once spread terror
in the land of the living.
24“Elam is there
with all her hordes around her grave.
All of them are slain, fallen by the sword —
those who went down to the underworld uncircumcised,
who once spread their terror
in the land of the living.
They bear their disgrace
with those who descend to the Pit.
25Among the slain
they prepare a bed for Elam
with all her hordes.
Her graves are all around her.
All of them are uncircumcised,
slain by the sword,
although their terror was once spread
in the land of the living.
They bear their disgrace
with those who descend to the Pit.
They are placed among the slain.
26“Meshech and Tubal are there,
with all their hordes.
Their graves are all around them.
All of them are uncircumcised, slain by the sword,
although their terror was once spread
in the land of the living.
27They do not lie down
with the fallen warriors of the uncircumcised,
who went down to Sheol
with their weapons of war,
whose swords were placed under their heads
and their shields
rested on their bones,
although the terror of these warriors
was once in the land of the living.
28But you will be shattered
and will lie down among the uncircumcised,
with those slain by the sword.
29“Edom is there, her kings and all her princes,
who, despite their strength, have been placed
among those slain by the sword.
They lie down with the uncircumcised,
with those who descend to the Pit.
30All the leaders of the north
and all the Sidonians are there.
They went down in shame with the slain,
despite the terror their strength inspired.
They lie down uncircumcised
with those slain by the sword.
They bear their disgrace
with those who descend to the Pit.
31“Pharaoh will see them
and be comforted over all his hordes —
Pharaoh and his whole army,
slain by the sword.”
This is the declaration of the Lord God.
32“For I will spread my terror
in the land of the living,
so Pharaoh and all his hordes
will be laid to rest among the uncircumcised,
with those slain by the sword.”
This is the declaration of the Lord God.