The MacArthur Study Bible, NKJV
Page 387
7“Theyg shall be desolate in the midst of the desolate countries,
And her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are laid waste.
8Then they will know that I am the LORD,
When I have set a fire in Egypt
And all her helpers are destroyed.
9On that day hmessengers shall go forth from Me in ships
To make the 5careless Ethiopians afraid,
And great anguish shall come upon them,
As on the day of Egypt;
For indeed it is coming!”
10‘Thus says the Lord GOD:
i“I will also make a multitude of Egypt to cease
By the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
11He and his people with him, jthe most terrible of the nations,
Shall be brought to destroy the land;
They shall draw their swords against Egypt,
And fill the land with the slain.
12k I will make the rivers dry,
And lsell the land into the hand of the wicked;
I will make the land waste, and all that is in it,
By the hand of aliens.
I, the LORD, have spoken.”
13‘Thus says the Lord GOD:
“I will also mdestroy the idols,
And cause the images to cease from 6Noph;
n There shall no longer be princes from the land of Egypt;
o I will put fear in the land of Egypt.
14I will make pPathros desolate,
Set fire to qZoan,
r And execute judgments in 7No.
15I will pour My fury on 8Sin, the strength of Egypt;
s I will cut off the multitude of 9No,
16And tset a fire in Egypt;
Sin shall have great pain,
No shall be split open,
And Noph shall be in distress daily.
17The young men of 10Aven and Pi Beseth shall fall by the sword,
And these cities shall go into captivity.
18u At 11Tehaphnehes the day shall also be 12darkened,
When I break the yokes of Egypt there.
And her arrogant strength shall cease in her;
As for her, a cloud shall cover her,
And her daughters shall go into captivity.
19Thus I will vexecute judgments on Egypt,
Then they shall know that I am the LORD.” ’ ”
Proclamation Against Pharaoh
20And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, that the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
21“Son of man, I have wbroken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and see, xit has not been bandaged for healing, nor a 13splint put on to bind it, to make it strong enough to hold a sword.
22“Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Surely I am yagainst Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will zbreak his arms, both the strong one and the one that was broken; and I will make the sword fall out of his hand.
23a‘I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them throughout the countries.
24‘I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put My sword in his hand; but I will break Pharaoh’s arms, and he will groan before him with the groanings of a mortally wounded man.
25‘Thus I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; bthey shall know that I am the LORD, when I put My sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt.
26c‘I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.’ ”
Ezekiel 31
Egypt Cut Down Like a Great Tree
(cf. Ezek. 17:22–24)
1Now it came to pass in the aeleventh year, in the third month, on the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2“Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his multitude:
b‘Whom are you like in your greatness?
3c Indeed Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon,
With fine branches that shaded the forest,
And of high stature;
And its top was among the thick boughs.
4d The waters made it grow;
Underground waters gave it height,
With their rivers running around the place where it was planted,
And sent out 1rivulets to all the trees of the field.
5‘Therefore eits height was exalted above all the trees of the field;
Its boughs were multiplied,
And its branches became long because of the abundance of water,
As it sent them out.
6All the fbirds of the heavens made their nests in its boughs;
Under its branches all the beasts of the field brought forth their young;
And in its shadow all great nations 2made their home.
7‘Thus it was beautiful in greatness and in the length of its branches,
Because its roots reached to abundant waters.
8The cedars in the ggarden of God could not hide it;
The fir trees were not like its boughs,
And the 3chestnut trees were not like its branches;
No tree in the garden of God was like it in beauty.
9I made it beautiful with a multitude of branches,
So that all the trees of Eden envied it,
That were in the garden of God.’
10“Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Because you have increased in height, and it set its top among the thick boughs, and hits heart was 4lifted up in its height,
11‘therefore I will deliver it into the hand of the imighty one of the nations, and he shall surely deal with it; I have driven it out for its wickedness.
12‘And aliens, jthe most terrible of the nations, have cut it down and left it; its branches have fallen kon the mountains and in all the valleys; its boughs lie lbroken by all the rivers of the land; and all the peoples of the earth have gone from under its shadow and left it.
13‘On mits ruin will remain all the birds of the heavens,
And all the beasts of the field will come to its branches—
14‘So that no trees by the waters may ever again exalt themselves for their height, nor set their tops among the thick boughs, that no tree which drinks water may ever be high enough to reach up to them.
‘For nthey have all been delivered to death,
o To the depths of the earth,
Among the children of men who go down to the Pit.’
15“Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘In the day when it pwent down to 5hell, I caused mourning. I covered the deep because of it. I restrained its rivers, and the great waters were held back. I caused Lebanon to 6mourn for it, and all the trees of the field wilted because of it.
16‘I made the nations qshake at the sound of its fall, when I rcast it down to 7hell together with those who descend into the Pit; and sall the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, twere comforted in the depths of the earth.
17‘They also went down to hell with it, with those slain by the sword; and those who were its strong arm udwelt in its shadows among the nations.
18v‘To which of the trees in Eden will you then be likened in glory and greatness? Yet you shall be brought down with the trees of Eden to the depths of the earth; wyou shall lie in the midst of the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude,’ says the Lord GOD.”
Ezekiel 32
Lamentation for Pharaoh and Egypt
1And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the atwelfth month, on the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2“Son of man, btake up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him:
c‘You are like a young lion among the nations,
And dyou are like a monster in the seas,
e Bursting forth in your rivers,
Troubl
ing the waters with your feet,
And ffouling their rivers.’
3“Thus says the Lord GOD:
‘I will therefore gspread My net over you with a company of many people,
And they will draw you up in My net.
4Then hI will leave you on the land;
I will cast you out on the open fields,
i And cause to 1settle on you all the birds of the heavens.
And with you I will fill the beasts of the whole earth.
5I will lay your flesh jon the mountains,
And fill the valleys with your carcass.
6‘I will also water the land with the flow of your blood,
Even to the mountains;
And the riverbeds will be full of you.
7When I put out your light,
k I will cover the heavens, and make its stars dark;
I will cover the sun with a cloud,
And the moon shall not give her light.
8All the 2bright lights of the heavens I will make dark over you,
And bring darkness upon your land,’
Says the Lord GOD.
9‘I will also trouble the hearts of many peoples, when I bring your destruction among the nations, into the countries which you have not known.
10‘Yes, I will make many peoples astonished at you, and their kings shall be horribly afraid of you when I brandish My sword before them; and lthey shall tremble every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of your fall.’
11m“For thus says the Lord GOD: ‘The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon you.
12‘By the swords of the mighty warriors, all of them nthe most terrible of the nations, I will cause your multitude to fall.
o‘They shall plunder the pomp of Egypt,
And all its multitude shall be destroyed.
13Also I will destroy all its animals
From beside its great waters;
p The foot of man shall muddy them no more,
Nor shall the hooves of animals muddy them.
14Then I will make their waters 3clear,
And make their rivers run like oil,’
Says the Lord GOD.
15‘When I make the land of Egypt desolate,
And the country is destitute of all that once filled it,
When I strike all who dwell in it,
q Then they shall know that I am the LORD.
16‘This is the rlamentation
With which they shall lament her;
The daughters of the nations shall lament her;
They shall lament for her, for Egypt,
And for all her multitude,’
Says the Lord GOD.”
Egypt and Others Consigned to the Pit
17It came to pass also in the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the month, sthat the word of the LORD came to me, saying:
18“Son of man, wail over the multitude of Egypt,
And tcast them down to the depths of the earth,
Her and the daughters of the famous nations,
With those who go down to the Pit:
19‘Whom udo you surpass in beauty?
v Go down, be placed with the uncircumcised.’
20“They shall fall in the midst of those slain by the sword;
She is delivered to the sword,
w Drawing her and all her multitudes.
21x The strong among the mighty
Shall speak to him out of the midst of hell
With those who help him:
‘They have ygone down,
They lie with the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.’
22“Assyriaz is there, and all her company,
With their graves all around her,
All of them slain, fallen by the sword.
23a Her graves are set in the recesses of the Pit,
And her company is all around her grave,
All of them slain, fallen by the sword,
Who bcaused terror in the land of the living.
24“There is cElam and all her multitude,
All around her grave,
All of them slain, fallen by the sword,
Who have dgone down uncircumcised to the lower parts of the earth,
e Who caused their terror in the land of the living;
Now they bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit.
25They have set her fbed in the midst of the slain,
With all her multitude,
With her graves all around it,
All of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword;
Though their terror was caused
In the land of the living,
Yet they bear their shame
With those who go down to the Pit;
It was put in the midst of the slain.
26“There are gMeshech and Tubal and all their multitudes,
With all their graves around it,
All of them huncircumcised, slain by the sword,
Though they caused their terror in the land of the living.
27i They do not lie with the mighty
Who are fallen of the uncircumcised,
Who have gone down to hell with their weapons of war;
They have laid their swords under their heads,
But their iniquities will be on their bones,
Because of the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.
28Yes, you shall be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised,
And lie with those slain by the sword.
29“There is jEdom,
Her kings and all her princes,
Who despite their might
Are laid beside those slain by the sword;
They shall lie with the uncircumcised,
And with those who go down to the Pit.
30k There are the princes of the north,
All of them, and all the lSidonians,
Who have gone down with the slain
In shame at the terror which they caused by their might;
They lie uncircumcised with those slain by the sword,
And bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit.
31“Pharaoh will see them
And be mcomforted over all his multitude,
Pharaoh and all his army,
Slain by the sword,”
Says the Lord GOD.
32“For I have caused My terror in the land of the living;
And he shall be placed in the midst of the uncircumcised
With those slain by the sword,
Pharaoh and all his multitude,”
Says the Lord GOD.
Ezekiel 33
The Watchman and His Message
1Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2“Son of man, speak to athe children of your people, and say to them: b‘When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their cwatchman,
3‘when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people,
4‘then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does dnot take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, ehis blood shall be on his own head.
5‘He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will 1save his life.
6‘But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, fhe is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.’
7g“So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me.
8“When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you shall surely die!’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand.
9“Nevertheless if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn fro
m his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have 2delivered your soul.
10“Therefore you, O son of man, say to the house of Israel: ‘Thus you say, “If our transgressions and our sins lie upon us, and we hpine3 away in them, ihow can we then live?” ’
11“Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord GOD, j‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked kturn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For lwhy should you die, O house of Israel?’
The Fairness of God’s Judgment
12“Therefore you, O son of man, say to the children of your people: ‘The mrighteousness of the righteous man shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression; as for the wickedness of the wicked, nhe shall not fall because of it in the day that he turns from his wickedness; nor shall the righteous be able to live because of his righteousness in the day that he sins.’
13“When I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, obut he trusts in his own righteousness and commits iniquity, none of his righteous works shall be remembered; but because of the iniquity that he has committed, he shall die.
14“Again, pwhen I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ if he turns from his sin and does 4what is lawful and 5right,
15“if the wicked qrestores the pledge, rgives back what he has stolen, and walks in sthe statutes of life without committing iniquity, he shall surely live; he shall not die.
16t“None of his sins which he has committed shall be remembered against him; he has done what is lawful and right; he shall surely live.
17u“Yet the children of your people say, ‘The way of the LORD is not 6fair.’ But it is their way which is not fair!
18v“When the righteous turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he shall die because of it.
19“But when the wicked turns from his wickedness and does what is lawful and right, he shall live because of it.
20“Yet you say, w‘The way of the LORD is not 7fair.’ O house of Israel, I will judge every one of you according to his own ways.” Ezekiel’s Temple
The Fall of Jerusalem
21And it came to pass in the twelfth year xof our captivity, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, ythat one who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me and said, z“The city has been 8captured!”
22Now athe hand of the LORD had been upon me the evening before the man came who had escaped. And He had bopened my mouth; so when he came to me in the morning, my mouth was opened, and I was no longer mute.