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.
32
エジプトへの哀歌
1エホヤキン王の捕囚から十二年目の第十二の月の一日、このような主のことばがありました。 2「人の子よ、エジプトの王のために嘆け。そして、王に告げよ。
おまえは自分を、国々の中で
強くて若いライオンのようだと思っている。
だがおまえは、ナイル川の岸で水をかき混ぜて
濁らせている、わにのような存在でしかない。
3神、主はこう語る。
わたしは大軍を差し向け、
わたしの網でおまえを捕らえる。
それから引き上げ、
4死ぬまで地に放り出しておく。
空のあらゆる鳥がその上に群がり、
全地の野獣がむさぼり食って、
飽きるほどになるだろう。
5わたしは山々をおまえの肉で覆い、
谷をその骨でうずめる。
6谷川から山の頂上に至るまで、
地をおまえのほとばしる血で染めよう。
7わたしはおまえを抹殺し、空を覆い、星を暗くする。
太陽は雲に隠れ、月も光を放たない。
8ほんとうに、暗黒が全地を支配し、
明るく輝く星さえ、おまえの上では暗くなる。
9わたしがおまえを滅ぼす時、見たこともない遠い国々の人が嘆き悲しむ。 10確かに、わたしがおまえにすることを見て、多くの国々が恐怖に襲われ、王たちはおびえる。わたしが彼らの前で剣を振り回すと、わなわなと震える。おまえが倒される日、彼らは死の恐怖に取りつかれる。」
11神である主はこう語ります。
「バビロンの王の剣がおまえの上に振り下ろされる。
12わたしは、国々に恐れられているバビロンの大軍を差し向けて、おまえを滅ぼす。
エジプトの誇りも民もみな、粉々にする。
何もかも滅ぼされてしまうのだ。
13流れのほとりに放牧されている家畜の群れも滅ぼす。
その水を濁らせる人も動物もいなくなる。
14それで、エジプトの川はオリーブ油のように澄んで、
穏やかに流れるようになる。」
主は語ります。
15「わたしがエジプトを破滅させ、
その財産を全部取り上げる時、
エジプトは、主であるわたしがそうしたことを知る。
16さあ、エジプトのために泣き叫べ。すべての国々よ、エジプトとその民のために悲しめ。」主がそう語るのです。
17二週間後、主から次のようなことばがありました。
18「人の子よ、エジプトの民のために、
また他の強大な国々のために泣け。
彼らを死者の住みかに送り込め。
19ああ、エジプトよ。
おまえのように美しい国があるだろうか。
だが、その終わりは地獄であり、
おまえが見下していた者たちといっしょに
横たわるのだ。
20彼らは剣によって殺された者たちとともに死ぬ。エジプトの地に下される、剣が抜かれたからだ。エジプトはさばきの座に引きずり下ろされる。 21よみの勇士たちは、エジプトの到着を仲間たちといっしょに待ちかねている。エジプトは、自分が見下していた国々、また剣の犠牲となったすべての人々といっしょに、そこに横たわるのだ。
22アッシリヤの君主たちは、剣で殺されたアッシリヤの全民衆の墓に囲まれている。 23それらの墓は地獄の奥深くにあり、回りには同盟国の墓がある。かつて人々に恐れられた勇士たちも、みな敵の手にかかって死んでしまった。
24エラムの大王たちも、その民とともにそこに横たわっている。生前、彼らは国々をさんざん荒らし回った。しかし今では、落ちぶれて地獄に横たわっている。その終わりは、普通の人間と少しも変わらない。 25殺された全民衆の墓の間に眠るだけだ。生きている時は国々に恐れられていたのに、今は剣に倒れ、その恥を地獄にさらしている。
26メシェクとトバルの君主たちも、兵士たちの墓に囲まれてそこにいる。みな偶像礼拝者で、かつては人々を恐れさせた者だったのに、今は死んで横たわっている。 27昔の君主たちは、その武具をわきに置き、剣を枕とし、盾で体を覆うようにして、大きな栄誉を受けて埋葬された。だが彼らは、共同墓地に埋められただけだ。生前は人々に恐れられていたのに、 28今は打ち砕かれて、偶像礼拝者や剣で殺された者とともに横たわっている。
29そこには、エドムとその王たち、そのすべての族長たちがいる。かつては勇者だった彼らも、剣で殺された者や地獄に落ちた偶像礼拝者とともに横たわっている。
30そこには、殺された北の国々の君主たちやシドン人もいる。かつて恐れられていた彼らも、今は恥をさらして横たわっている。殺されて地獄の穴に落ちた者とともに、同じ屈辱を味わっているのだ。」
31神である主はこう語ります。「エジプトの王はそこに来ると、殺された配下の兵士たちもいるのを見て、胸をなでおろす。 32わたしは生きている者すべてを、恐怖のどん底に突き落とす。エジプトの王とその軍勢は、剣で殺された偶像礼拝者とともに横たわる。」
