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The Lofty Cedar

31In the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: ²Mortal, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his hordes:
Whom are you like in your greatness?
³   Consider Assyria, a cedar of Lebanon,
with fair branches and forest shade,
   and of great height,
   its top among the clouds.^*
4 The waters nourished it,
   the deep made it grow tall,
making its rivers flow^*
   around the place where it was planted,
sending forth its streams
   to all the trees of the field.
⁵ So it towered high
   above all the trees of the field;
its boughs grew large
   and its branches long,
   from abundant water in its shoots.
⁶ All the birds of the air
   made their nests in its boughs;
under its branches all the animals of the field
   gave birth to their young;
and in its shade
   all great nations lived.
⁷ It was beautiful in its greatness,
   in the length of its branches;
for its roots went down
   to abundant water.
⁸ The cedars in the garden of God could not rival it,
   nor the fir trees equal its boughs;
the plane trees were as nothing
   compared with its branches;
no tree in the garden of God
   was like it in beauty.
⁹ I made it beautiful
   with its mass of branches,
the envy of all the trees of Eden
   that were in the garden of God.

10 Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Because it^* towered high and set its top among the clouds,^* and its heart was proud of its height, ¹¹I gave it into the hand of the prince of the nations; he has dealt with it as its wickedness deserves. I have cast it out. ¹²Foreigners from the most terrible of the nations have cut it down and left it. On the mountains and in all the valleys its branches have fallen, and its boughs lie broken in all the watercourses of the land; and all the peoples of the earth went away from its shade and left it.
¹³ On its fallen trunk settle
   all the birds of the air,
and among its boughs lodge
   all the wild animals.
¹⁴All this is in order that no trees by the waters may grow to lofty height or set their tops among the clouds,^* and that no trees that drink water may reach up to them in height.
For all of them are handed over to death,
   to the world below;
along with all mortals,
   with those who go down to the Pit.

15 Thus says the Lord God: On the day it went down to Sheol I closed the deep over it and covered it; I restrained its rivers, and its mighty waters were checked. I clothed Lebanon in gloom for it, and all the trees of the field fainted because of it. ¹⁶I made the nations quake at the sound of its fall, when I cast it down to Sheol with those who go down to the Pit; and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that were well watered, were consoled in the world below. ¹⁷They also went down to Sheol with it, to those killed by the sword, along with its allies,^* those who lived in its shade among the nations.

18 Which among the trees of Eden was like you in glory and in greatness? Now you shall be brought down with the trees of Eden to the world below; you shall lie among the uncircumcised, with those who are killed by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his horde, says the Lord God.

Lamentation over Pharaoh and Egypt

32In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: ²Mortal, raise a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him:
You consider yourself a lion among the nations,
   but you are like a dragon in the seas;
you thrash about in your streams,
   trouble the water with your feet,
   and foul your^* streams.
³ Thus says the Lord God:
   In an assembly of many peoples
   I will throw my net over you;
   and I^* will haul you up in my dragnet.
⁴ I will throw you on the ground,
   on the open field I will fling you,
and will cause all the birds of the air to settle on you,
   and I will let the wild animals of the whole earth gorge themselves on you.
⁵ I will strew your flesh on the mountains,
   and fill the valleys with your carcass.^*
6 I will drench the land with your flowing blood
   up to the mountains,
   and the watercourses will be filled with you.
⁷ When I blot you out, I 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 shining lights of the heavens
   I will darken above you,
   and put darkness on your land,

says the Lord God.
⁹ I will trouble the hearts of many peoples,
   as I carry you captive^* among the nations,
   into countries you have not known.
¹⁰ I will make many peoples appalled at you;
   their kings shall shudder because of you.
When I brandish my sword before them,
   they shall tremble at every moment
for their lives, each one of them,
   on the day of your downfall.
¹¹ For thus says the Lord God:
The sword of the king of Babylon shall come against you.
¹² I will cause your hordes to fall
   by the swords of mighty ones,
   all of them most terrible among the nations.
They shall bring to ruin the pride of Egypt,
   and all its hordes shall perish.
¹³ I will destroy all its livestock
   from beside abundant waters;
and no human foot shall trouble them any more,
   nor shall the hoofs of cattle trouble them.
¹⁴ Then I will make their waters clear,
   and cause their streams to run like oil, says the Lord God.
¹⁵ When I make the land of Egypt desolate
   and when the land is stripped of all that fills it,
when I strike down all who live in it,
   then they shall know that I am the Lord.
¹⁶ This is a lamentation; it shall be chanted.
   The women of the nations shall chant it.
Over Egypt and all its hordes they shall chant it,
   says the Lord God.

Dirge over Egypt

17 In the twelfth year, in the first month,^* on the fifteenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me:
¹⁸ Mortal, wail over the hordes of Egypt,
   and send them down,
with Egypt^* and the daughters of majestic nations,
   to the world below,
   with those who go down to the Pit.
¹⁹ ‘Whom do you surpass in beauty?
   Go down! Be laid to rest with the uncircumcised!’
²⁰They shall fall among those who are killed by the sword. Egypt^* has been handed over to the sword; carry away both it and its hordes. ²¹The mighty chiefs shall speak of them, with their helpers, out of the midst of Sheol: ‘They have come down, they lie still, the uncircumcised, killed by the sword.’

22 Assyria is there, and all its company, their graves all around it, all of them killed, fallen by the sword. ²³Their graves are set in the uttermost parts of the Pit. Its company is all around its grave, all of them killed, fallen by the sword, who spread terror in the land of the living.

24 Elam is there, and all its hordes around its grave; all of them killed, fallen by the sword, who went down uncircumcised into the world below, who spread terror in the land of the living. They bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit. ²⁵They have made Elam^* a bed among the slain with all its hordes, their graves all around it, all of them uncircumcised, killed 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 Meshech and Tubal are there, and all their multitude, their graves all around them, all of them uncircumcised, killed by the sword; for they spread terror in the land of the living. ²⁷And they do not lie with the fallen warriors of long ago^* who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war, whose swords were laid under their heads, and whose shields^* are upon their bones; for the terror of the warriors was in the land of the living. ²⁸So you shall be broken and lie among the uncircumcised, with those who are killed by the sword.

29 Edom is there, its kings and all its 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 of the north are there, all of them, and all the Sidonians, who have gone down in shame with the slain, for all the terror that they caused by their might; they lie uncircumcised with those who are killed by the sword, and bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit.

31 When Pharaoh sees them, he will be consoled for all his hordes—Pharaoh and all his army, killed by the sword, says the Lord God. ³²For he^* spread terror in the land of the living; therefore he shall be laid to rest among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword—Pharaoh and all his multitude, says the Lord God.