1It was the 12th year since King Jehoiachin had been brought to Babylon as a prisoner. On the first day of the 12th month, a message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said, 2“Son of man, sing a song of sadness about Pharaoh Hophra, the king of Egypt. Tell him,
“ ‘You are like a lion among the nations.
You are like a monster in the sea.
You move around wildly in your rivers.
You churn the water with your feet.
You make the streams muddy.’ ”
3The Lord and King says,
“I will use a large crowd of people
to throw my net over you.
They will pull you up in it.
4Then I will throw you on the land.
I will toss you into an open field.
I will let all the birds in the sky settle on you.
I will let all the wild animals eat you up.
5I will scatter the parts of your body all over the mountains.
I will fill the valleys with your remains.
6I will soak the land with your blood.
It will flow all the way to the mountains.
The valleys will be filled with the parts of your body.
7When I wipe you out,
I will put a cover over the heavens.
I will darken the stars.
I will cover the sun with a cloud.
The moon will stop shining.
8I will darken all the bright lights
in the sky above you.
I will bring darkness over your land,”
announces the Lord and King.
9“The hearts of many people will be troubled.
That is because I will destroy you among the nations.
You had never known anything about those lands before.
10Many nations will be shocked
when they see what has happened to you.
Their kings will tremble with fear
when they find out about it.
I will get ready to use Nebuchadnezzar
as my sword against them.
On the day you fall from power,
each of the kings will tremble with fear.
Each will be afraid he is the next to die.”
11The Lord and King says,
“I will send against you
the sword of the king of Babylon.
12I will destroy your huge army.
They will be killed by the swords
of Babylon’s mighty soldiers.
The soldiers will not show them any pity.
They will bring Egypt down in all its pride.
Its huge armies will be thrown down.
13I will destroy all its cattle
from the places where they have plenty of water.
Human feet will never stir up the water again.
The hooves of cattle will not make it muddy anymore.
14I will let the waters of Egypt settle.
I will make its streams flow like olive oil,”
announces the Lord and King.
15“I will turn Egypt into an empty land.
I will strip away everything in it.
I will strike down everyone who lives there.
Then they will know that I am the Lord.
16“That is the song of sadness people will sing about Egypt. Women from other nations will sing it. They will weep over Egypt and its huge armies,” announces the Lord and King.
17A message from the Lord came to me. King Jehoiachin had been brought to Babylon as a prisoner. On the 15th day of a month 12 years after that, the message came. The Lord said, 18“Son of man, weep over the huge army of Egypt. Tell the Egyptians they will go down into the earth below. The women singers from the other mighty nations will go down into the grave along with them and others. 19Tell them, ‘Are you any better than others? Since you are not, go down there. Lie down with those who have not been circumcised.’ 20They will fall dead among those who were killed by swords. Nebuchadnezzar is ready to use his sword against them. Let Egypt be dragged off together with its huge armies. 21The mighty leaders who are already in the place of the dead will talk about Egypt. They will also speak about the nations that were going to help it. They will say, ‘They have come down here. They are lying down with those who had not been circumcised. They are here with those who were killed by swords.’
22“Assyria is there with its whole army. Its king is surrounded by the graves of all its people who were killed by swords. 23Their graves are deep down in the pit. Assyria’s army lies around the grave of its king. All those who spread terror while they were alive are now dead. They were killed by swords.
24“Elam is also there. Its huge armies lie around the grave of its king. All those who spread terror while they were alive are now dead. They were killed by swords. They had not been circumcised. They went down into the earth below. Their shame is like the shame of others who go down into the grave. 25A bed is made for Elam’s king among the dead. His huge armies lie around his grave. They had not been circumcised. They were killed by swords. They had spread terror while they were alive. So now their shame is like the shame of others who go down into the grave. They lie down among the dead.
26“Meshek and Tubal are also there. Their huge armies lie around the graves of their kings. None of them had been circumcised. They had spread their terror while they were alive. So they were killed by swords. 27But they do not lie down with the other dead soldiers of long ago. Those soldiers and their weapons had gone down into the place of the dead. Their swords had been placed under their heads. Their shields rest on their bones. The soldiers of Meshek and Tubal do not lie down with them. This is true even though they had also spread terror while they were alive.
28“Pharaoh Hophra, you too will be broken. You will lie down among those who had not been circumcised. You will be there with those who were killed by swords.
29“Edom is also there. So are its kings and all its princes. In spite of their power, they lie down with those who were killed by swords. They lie down with those who had not been circumcised. They are there with others who went down into the grave.
30“All the princes of the north are there too. So are all the people of Sidon. They went down into the grave in dishonor. While they were alive, they used their power to spread terror. They had never been circumcised. But now they lie down there with those who were killed by swords. Their shame is like the shame of others who go down into the grave.
31“Pharaoh and his whole army will see all of them. That will comfort him even though his huge armies were killed by swords.” This is what the Lord and King announces. 32“I let Pharaoh spread terror while he was alive. But now he and his huge armies will be buried with those who had not been circumcised. They will lie down there with those who were killed by swords,” announces the Lord and King.
为法老唱哀歌
1第十二年十二月一日，耶和华对我说： 2“人子啊，你要为埃及王法老唱哀歌，对他说，
“‘你自认为是列邦中的雄狮，
其实你像激荡江河、
用脚把江河搅浑的海怪。
3主耶和华说，
我要差遣多国组成的大军，
用我的网把你拉上来，
4抛在地上，丢在田野，
给天上的飞鸟吃，
让地上的走兽饱餐。
5我要把你的肉丢在山间，
把你的尸首填满山谷，
6用你的血浇灌大地，
漫过群山，溢满沟壑。
7当我消灭你的时候，
我要用云遮蔽天空，
使日月无光，星辰昏暗。
8我要遮蔽天上所有的光，
使黑暗笼罩你的四境。
这是主耶和华说的。
9“‘我把你灭亡的消息带到你不认识的列邦时，必使许多人惶恐不安。 10我在他们面前挥刀攻击你的时候，各国的人都必因你而惊骇，他们的君王必胆战心惊。在你倾覆那天，他们都必时刻为自己的性命战战兢兢。’
11“主耶和华这样说，‘巴比伦王的刀必来攻击你。 12我要使你的人民丧身在各国中最残暴的勇士刀下。
“‘他们必摧毁埃及的骄傲，
消灭她的人民。
13我要杀尽她河边的牲畜，
使人足兽蹄不再搅浑河水。
14我要使埃及的河流清澈见底，
像油一样缓缓流淌。
这是主耶和华说的。
15我要使埃及的土地荒凉，
毁灭其中的居民，
那时他们就知道我是耶和华。
16“‘这是列国为埃及唱的哀歌，各国的妇女要为埃及和她的人民唱这哀歌。这是主耶和华说的。’”
17第十二年十二月十五日，耶和华对我说： 18“人子啊，为埃及的百姓哀哭吧！我要把她与各强国的人民一同送入阴间。
19“埃及啊，你比谁更美呢？
你下去跟未受割礼的人躺在一起吧！
20“埃及人要倒毙在丧身刀下的人当中。刀已出鞘，她和她的国民要被拖走。 21英勇的统领要在阴间谈论埃及王和他的盟友说，‘这些丧身刀下、未受割礼的人下来长眠了。’
22“亚述和她的大军都在那里，她周围是她大军的坟墓。他们都是丧身刀下的人。 23他们的坟墓在阴间的最深处，她的大军躺卧在她坟墓的周围。他们生前曾使人恐惧，如今却丧身刀下。 24以拦在那里，她的百姓在她坟墓的周围。他们都未受割礼，丧身刀下，下到了阴间。他们生前曾使人恐惧，如今却和下坟墓的人一同抱愧蒙羞。 25以拦躺卧在被杀的人当中，周围是她百姓的坟墓。他们都未受割礼、丧身刀下。他们生前曾使人恐惧，如今却和丧身刀下的人在一起，与下坟墓的人一同抱愧蒙羞。
26“米设和土巴都在那里，周围是她们百姓的坟墓。他们都未受割礼，生前曾使人恐惧，如今却丧身刀下。 27他们没有古代32:27 “古代”有古卷作“未受割礼的”。勇士的荣耀葬礼，那些勇士带着兵器下到阴间，头枕着刀，尸骨上盖着盾，生前曾使人恐惧。
28“法老啊，你要被毁灭，跟那些未受割礼、丧身刀下的人躺在一起。
29“以东也在那里，她的王侯尽管力量强大，却和丧身刀下的人在一起，与那些未受割礼、下坟墓的人躺在一起。
30“北方的诸王和所有的西顿人也在那里，虽然他们力量强大，令人恐惧，却羞辱地与被杀的人下到了阴间。他们未受割礼，与丧身刀下的人躺在一起，与下坟墓的人一同蒙羞。
31“法老看见这些人，便得到了安慰，因为并非只有他的军队被杀。这是主耶和华说的。 32我使法老生前给人带来恐惧，但他和他的百姓最后还是要躺卧在未受割礼、丧身刀下的人当中。这是主耶和华说的。”
