Ezekiel 29 - 30, Philemon, Proverbs 5

Prophesy Against Egypt

29In the ^atenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth of the month, the word of Yahweh came to me saying, ²“Son of man, set your face against ^aPharaoh king of Egypt and prophesy against him and against all ^bEgypt. ³“Speak and say, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt,The great ¹^,^amonster that lies in the midst of his canals of the Nile,That ^bhas said, ‘My Nile is mine, and I myself have made it.’

⁴“I will put ^ahooks in your jawsAnd make the fish of your canals of the Nile cling to your scales.And I will bring you up out of the midst of your canals of the Nile,And all the fish of your canals of the Nile will cling to your scales.⁵“I will ^aabandon you to the wilderness, you and all the fish of your canals of the Nile;You will fall on the ¹open field; you will not be brought together or ²^,^bgathered.I have given you for ^cfood to the beasts of the earth and to the birds of the sky.⁶“Then all the inhabitants of Egypt will know that I am YahwehBecause they have been only a ^astaff made of reed to the house of Israel.⁷“When they seized you with the hand,You ^atore and split open all their ¹shoulders;And when they leaned on you,You broke and made all their loins ²quake.”

⁸‘Therefore thus says Lord Yahweh, “Behold, I will ^abring upon you a sword, and I will cut off from you man and beast. ⁹“The ^aland of Egypt will become a desolation and waste. Then they will know that I am Yahweh. Because ¹you ^bsaid, ‘The Nile is mine, and I have made it,’ ¹⁰therefore, behold, I am ^aagainst you and against your canals of the Nile, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from Migdol to Syene and even to the border of ¹Ethiopia. ¹¹“A man’s foot will ^anot pass through it, and the foot of a beast will not pass through it, and it will not be inhabited for forty years. ¹²“So I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the ^amidst of desolated lands. And her cities, in the midst of cities that are laid waste, will be desolate forty years; and I will ^bscatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands.”

¹³‘For thus says Lord Yahweh, “At the end of forty years I will ^agather the Egyptians from the peoples ¹among whom they were scattered. ¹⁴“I will return the fortunes of Egypt and make them return to the land of ^aPathros, to the land of their origin, and there they will be a lowly kingdom. ¹⁵“It will be the ^alowest of the kingdoms, and it will never again lift itself up above the nations. And I will make them so small that they will not ^bhave dominion over the nations. ¹⁶“And it will never again be the ^asecurity of the house of Israel, ^bbringing to remembrance the iniquity of their having turned to go after Egypt. Then they will know that I am Lord Yahweh.”’”

¹⁷Now in the ^atwenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first of the month, the word of Yahweh came to me saying, ¹⁸“Son of man, ^aNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his military force ¹labor hard against Tyre; every head was made ^bbald, and every shoulder was rubbed bare. But he and his military force had no wages from Tyre for the ²labor that he had ³labored against it.” ¹⁹Therefore thus says Lord Yahweh, “Behold, I ^awill give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. And he will carry off her ¹^,^babundance and capture her spoil and seize her plunder; and it will be wages for his military force. ²⁰“I have given him the land of Egypt for his work which he ¹^,^alabored because they acted for Me,” declares Lord Yahweh.

²¹“On that day I will make a ^ahorn sprout for the house of Israel, and I will ¹^,^bopen your mouth in their midst. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.”

Those Who Support Egypt Will Fall

30The word of Yahweh came again to me saying, ²“Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “^aWail, ‘Alas for the day!’

³“For the day is near,Even ^athe day of Yahweh is near;It will be a day of ^bclouds,A time of doom for the nations.⁴“A sword will come upon Egypt,And anguish will be in ¹Ethiopia;When the slain fall in Egypt,They ^atake away her multitude,And her foundations are pulled down.

⁵“¹Ethiopia, Put, Lud, all ²^,^aArabia, ³Libya, and the ⁴people of the land ⁵that is in covenant will fall with them by the sword.”

⁶‘Thus says Yahweh, “Indeed, those who support ^aEgypt will fall,And the pride of her strength will come down;From Migdol to SyeneThey will fall within her by the sword,”Declares Lord Yahweh.

⁷“They will be desolateIn the ^amidst of the desolated lands;And her cities will beIn the midst of the cities laid waste.⁸“And they will ^aknow that I am Yahweh,When I set a ^bfire in EgyptAnd all her helpers are broken.

⁹“On that day ^amessengers will go forth from Me in ships to frighten ^bsecure ¹Ethiopia; and ^canguish will be on them as on the day of Egypt; for behold, it is coming!”

¹⁰‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “^aI will also make the multitude of Egypt ceaseBy the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.

¹¹“He and his people with him,^aThe most ruthless of the nations,Will be brought in to make the land a ruin;And they will draw their swords against EgyptAnd fill the land with the slain.¹²“Moreover, I will make the ^acanals of the Nile dryAnd ^bsell the land into the hands of evil men.And I will make the land desolate,As well as its fullness,By the hand of strangers; I, Yahweh, have spoken.”

¹³‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “I will also ^adestroy the idolsAnd make the ¹images cease from ²^,^bMemphis.And there will no longer be a prince in the land of Egypt;And I will put fear in the land of Egypt.

¹⁴“I will make ^aPathros desolate,Set a fire in ^bZoan,And execute judgments on ¹^,^cThebes.¹⁵“I will pour out My wrath on ¹Sin,The strong defense of Egypt;I will also cut off the multitude of ²Thebes.¹⁶“I will set a fire in Egypt;¹Sin will writhe in anguish;²Thebes will be breached,And ³Memphis will have ⁴distresses daily.¹⁷“The choice men of ¹^,^aOn and of Pi-besethWill fall by the sword,And ²the women will go into captivity.¹⁸“In ^aTehaphnehes the day will ¹be ^bdarkWhen I ^cbreak there the bars of the yoke of Egypt.Then the pride of her strength will cease in her;A cloud will cover her,And her daughters will go into captivity.¹⁹“Thus I will ^aexecute judgments on Egypt,And they will know that I am Yahweh.”’”

Yahweh Scatters the Egyptians

²⁰In the ^aeleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh of the month, the word of Yahweh came to me saying, ²¹“Son of man, I have ^abroken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and behold, it has not been ^bbound up to be given healing ¹or wrapped with a bandage, that it may be strong to seize the sword. ²²“Therefore thus says Lord Yahweh, ‘Behold, I am ^aagainst Pharaoh king of Egypt and will break his arms, both the strong and the ^bbroken; and I will make the sword ^cfall from his hand. ²³‘I will ^ascatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands. ²⁴‘For I will ^astrengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put ^bMy sword in his hand; and I will break the arms of Pharaoh so that he will groan before him with the groanings of a wounded man. ²⁵‘Thus I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fall. Then they will know that I am Yahweh, when I put My sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he ^astretches it out against the land of Egypt. ²⁶‘When I scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands, then they will know that I am Yahweh.’”

Philemon’s Love and Faith

1^aPaul, ^ba prisoner of ^cChrist Jesus, and ^dTimothy ¹our brother, To Philemon our beloved brother and ^efellow worker, ²and to Apphia ¹^,^aour sister, and to ^bArchippus our ^cfellow soldier, and to ^dthe church in your house: ³^aGrace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁴^aI thank my God, always making mention of you in my prayers, ⁵because I ^ahear of your love and of the faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the ¹saints; ⁶and I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective ¹through the ^afull knowledge of every good thing which is in you ²for the sake of Christ. ⁷For I have come to have much ^ajoy and comfort in your love, because the ¹hearts of the ²saints have been ^brefreshed through you, brother.

⁸Therefore, ^athough I have much boldness in Christ to command you to do what is ^bproper, ⁹yet for love’s sake I rather ^aplead with you—since I am such a person as Paul, ¹the ^baged, and now also ^ca prisoner of ^dChrist Jesus—

Plea for Onesimus

¹⁰I ^aplead with you for my ^bchild ¹^,^cOnesimus, of whom I became a ²father in my chains, ¹¹who formerly was useless to you, but now is useful both to you and to me. ¹²I have sent him back to you in person, that is, my very heart, ¹³whom I intended to keep with me, so that on your behalf he might minister to me in my ^achains for the gospel, ¹⁴but without your consent I did not want to do anything, so that your goodness would ^anot be, in effect, by compulsion but voluntary. ¹⁵For perhaps ^ahe was for this reason separated from you for a while, that you would have him back forever, ¹⁶^ano longer as a slave, but more than a slave, ^ba beloved brother, especially to me, but how much more to you, both ^cin the flesh and in the Lord.

¹⁷If then you regard me a ^apartner, accept him as you would accept me. ¹⁸But if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge that to my account. ¹⁹^aI, Paul, am writing this with my own hand, I will repay it (^bnot to ¹mention to you that you owe to me even your own self as well). ²⁰Yes, brother, let me benefit from you in the Lord. ^aRefresh my heart in Christ!

²¹^aHaving confidence in your obedience, I write to you, since I know that you will do even more than what I say.

²²And at the same time also prepare me a ^alodging, for ^bI hope that through ^cyour prayers ^dI will be graciously given to you.

²³^aEpaphras, my ^bfellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, ²⁴as do ^aMark, ^bAristarchus, ^cDemas, ^dLuke, my ^efellow workers.

²⁵^aThe grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be ^bwith your spirit.¹

Warning Against Adultery

5My son, ^apay attention to my wisdom,^bIncline your ear to my discernment;²That you may ^akeep discretionAnd that your ^blips may guard knowledge.³For the lips of a ^astrange woman ^bdrip honeyAnd ^csmoother than oil is her ¹speech;⁴But her end is ^abitter as wormwood,^bSharp as a two-edged sword.⁵Her feet ^ago down to death,Her steps take hold of Sheol,⁶Lest she watch the ^apath of life;Her tracks are ^bunstable, she ^cdoes not know it.⁷^aSo now, my sons, listen to meAnd ^bdo not turn away from the words of my mouth.⁸^aKeep your way far from herAnd do not go near the ^bdoor of her house,⁹Lest you give your splendor to othersAnd your years to the cruel one;¹⁰Lest strangers be satisfied by your strengthAnd by your painful labor, those in the house of a foreigner;¹¹And you groan at your ¹end,When your flesh and your body are consumed;¹²And you say, “How I have ^ahated discipline!And my heart ^bspurned reproof!¹³“I have not listened to the voice of my ^ainstructors,And I have not inclined my ear to my teachers!¹⁴“I was almost in utter ruinIn the midst of the assembly and congregation.”¹⁵Drink water from your own cisternAnd ¹fresh water from your own well.¹⁶Should your ^asprings be dispersed abroad,Streams of water in the streets?¹⁷Let them be for you alone,And not for strangers with you.¹⁸Let your ^afountain be blessed,And ^bbe glad in the ^cwife of your youth.¹⁹As a loving ^ahind and a graceful doe,Let her breasts satisfy you at all times;Be ¹intoxicated always with her love.²⁰So why should you, my son, be intoxicated with a ^astrange womanAnd embrace the bosom of a ^bforeign woman?²¹For the ^aways of a man are before the eyes of Yahweh,And He ^bwatches all his tracks.²²His ^aown iniquities will capture him who is the wicked one,And with the cords of his sin he will be held fast.²³He will ^adie for lack of discipline,And in the abundance of his ¹folly he will ²stumble in intoxication.