Pharaoh Warned of Assyria’s Fate

1In the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first of the month, the word of the Lord came to me saying, 2“Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his hordes,

‘Whom are you like in your greatness?

3Behold, Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon

With beautiful branches and forest shade,

And very high,

And its top was among the clouds.

4The waters made it grow, the deep made it high.

With its rivers it continually extended all around its planting place,

And sent out its channels to all the trees of the field.

5Therefore its height was loftier than all the trees of the field

And its boughs became many and its branches long

Because of many waters as it spread them out.

6All the birds of the heavens nested in its boughs,

And under its branches all the beasts of the field gave birth,

And all great nations lived under its shade.

7So it was beautiful in its greatness, in the length of its branches;

For its roots extended to many waters.

8The cedars in God’s garden could not match it;

The cypresses could not compare with its boughs,

And the plane trees could not match its branches.

No tree in God’s garden could compare with it in its beauty.

9I made it beautiful with the multitude of its branches,

And all the trees of Eden, which were in the garden of God, were jealous of it.

10‘Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Because it is high in stature and has set its top among the clouds, and its heart is haughty in its loftiness, 11therefore I will give it into the hand of a despot of the nations; he will thoroughly deal with it. According to its wickedness I have driven it away. 12Alien tyrants 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 have been broken in all the ravines of the land. And all the peoples of the earth have gone down from its shade and left it. 13On its ruin all the birds of the heavens will dwell, and all the beasts of the field will be on its fallen branches 14so that all the trees by the waters may not be exalted in their stature, nor set their top among the clouds, nor their well-watered mighty ones stand erect in their height. For they have all been given over to death, to the earth beneath, among the sons of men, with those who go down to the pit.”

15‘Thus says the Lord God, “On the day when it went down to Sheol I caused lamentations; I closed the deep over it and held back its rivers. And its many waters were stopped up, and I made Lebanon mourn for it, and all the trees of the field wilted away on account of it. 16I made the nations quake at the sound of its fall when I made it go down to Sheol with those who go down to the pit; and all the well-watered trees of Eden, the choicest and best of Lebanon, were comforted in the earth beneath. 17They also went down with it to Sheol to those who were slain by the sword; and those who were its strength lived under its shade among the nations.

18“To which among the trees of Eden are you thus equal in glory and greatness? Yet you will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the earth beneath; you will lie in the midst of the uncircumcised, with those who were slain by the sword. So is Pharaoh and all his hordes!” ’ declares the Lord God.”

Lament over Pharaoh and Egypt

1In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first of the month, the word of the Lord came to me saying, 2“Son of man, take up a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him,

‘You compared yourself to a young lion of the nations,

Yet you are like the monster in the seas;

And you burst forth in your rivers

And muddied the waters with your feet

And fouled their rivers.’ ”

3Thus says the Lord God,

“Now I will spread My net over you

With a company of many peoples,

And they shall lift you up in My net.

4I will leave you on the land;

I will cast you on the open field.

And I will cause all the birds of the heavens to dwell on you,

And I will satisfy the beasts of the whole earth with you.

5I will lay your flesh on the mountains

And fill the valleys with your refuse.

6I will also make the land drink the discharge of your blood

As far as the mountains,

And the ravines will be full of you.

7And when I extinguish you,

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.

8All the shining lights in the heavens

I will darken over you

And will set darkness on your land,”

Declares the Lord God.

9“I will also trouble the hearts of many peoples when I bring your destruction among the nations, into lands which you have not known. 10I will make many peoples appalled at you, and their kings will be horribly afraid of you when I brandish My sword before them; and they will tremble every moment, every man for his own life, on the day of your fall.”

11For thus says the Lord God, “The sword of the king of Babylon will come upon you. 12By the swords of the mighty ones I will cause your hordes to fall; all of them are tyrants of the nations,

And they will devastate the pride of Egypt,

And all its hordes will be destroyed.

13I will also destroy all its cattle from beside many waters;

And the foot of man will not muddy them anymore

And the hoofs of beasts will not muddy them.

14Then I will make their waters settle

And will cause their rivers to run like oil,”

Declares the Lord God.

15“When I make the land of Egypt a desolation,

And the land is destitute of that which filled it,

When I smite all those who live in it,

Then they shall know that I am the Lord.

16This is a lamentation and they shall chant it. The daughters of the nations shall chant it. Over Egypt and over all her hordes they shall chant it,” declares the Lord God.

17In the twelfth year, on the fifteenth of the month, the word of the Lord came to me saying, 18“Son of man, wail for the hordes of Egypt and bring it down, her and the daughters of the powerful nations, to the nether world, with those who go down to the pit;

19‘Whom do you surpass in beauty?

Go down and make your bed with the uncircumcised.’

20They shall fall in the midst of those who are slain by the sword. She is given over to the sword; they have drawn her and all her hordes away. 21The strong among the mighty ones shall speak of him and his helpers from the midst of Sheol, ‘They have gone down, they lie still, the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.’

22“Assyria is there and all her company; her graves are round about her. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword, 23whose graves are set in the remotest parts of the pit and her company is round about her grave. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword, who spread terror in the land of the living.

24“Elam is there and all her hordes around her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who went down uncircumcised to the lower parts of the earth, who instilled their terror in the land of the living and bore their disgrace with those who went down to the pit. 25They have made a bed for her among the slain with all her hordes. Her graves are around it, they are all uncircumcised, slain by the sword (although their terror was instilled in the land of the living), and they bore their disgrace with those who go down to the pit; they were put in the midst of the slain.

26“Meshech, Tubal and all their hordes are there; their graves surround them. All of them were slain by the sword uncircumcised, though they instilled their terror in the land of the living. 27Nor do they lie beside the fallen heroes of the uncircumcised, who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war and whose swords were laid under their heads; but the punishment for their iniquity rested on their bones, though the terror of these heroes was once in the land of the living. 28But in the midst of the uncircumcised you will be broken and lie with those slain by the sword.

29“There also is Edom, its kings and all its princes, who for all their might are laid with those slain by the sword; they will lie with the uncircumcised and with those who go down to the pit.

30“There also are the chiefs of the north, all of them, and all the Sidonians, who in spite of the terror resulting from their might, in shame went down with the slain. So they lay down uncircumcised with those slain by the sword and bore their disgrace with those who go down to the pit.

31“These Pharaoh will see, and he will be comforted for all his hordes slain by the sword, even Pharaoh and all his army,” declares the Lord God. 32“Though I instilled a terror of him in the land of the living, yet he will be made to lie down among the uncircumcised along with those slain by the sword, even Pharaoh and all his hordes,” declares the Lord God.

14Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. 15See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled; 16that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. 17For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.

Contrast of Sinai and Zion

18For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind, 19and to the blast of a trumpet and the sound of words which sound was such that those who heard begged that no further word be spoken to them. 20For they could not bear the command, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it will be stoned.” 21And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, “I am full of fear and trembling.” 22But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, 23to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.

The Unshaken Kingdom

25See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven. 26And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven.” 27This expression, “Yet once more,” denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; 29for our God is a consuming fire.

PSALM 113

The Lord Exalts the Humble.

1Praise the Lord!

Praise, O servants of the Lord,

Praise the name of the Lord.

2Blessed be the name of the Lord

From this time forth and forever.

3From the rising of the sun to its setting

The name of the Lord is to be praised.

4The Lord is high above all nations;

His glory is above the heavens.

5Who is like the Lord our God,

Who is enthroned on high,

6Who humbles Himself to behold

The things that are in heaven and in the earth?

7He raises the poor from the dust

And lifts the needy from the ash heap,

8To make them sit with princes,

With the princes of His people.

9He makes the barren woman abide in the house

As a joyful mother of children.

Praise the Lord!

PSALM 114

God’s Deliverance of Israel from Egypt.

1When Israel went forth from Egypt,

The house of Jacob from a people of strange language,

2Judah became His sanctuary,

Israel, His dominion.

3The sea looked and fled;

The Jordan turned back.

4The mountains skipped like rams,

The hills, like lambs.

5What ails you, O sea, that you flee?

O Jordan, that you turn back?

6O mountains, that you skip like rams?

O hills, like lambs?

7Tremble, O earth, before the Lord,

Before the God of Jacob,

8Who turned the rock into a pool of water,

The flint into a fountain of water.

18He who tends the fig tree will eat its fruit,

And he who cares for his master will be honored.

19As in water face reflects face,

So the heart of man reflects man.

20Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied,

Nor are the eyes of man ever satisfied.