Ezekiel 31 - 32 - Legacy Standard Bible

Ezekiel 31 - 32

Egypt Will Be Brought Down to Sheol

Now it happened in the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first of the month, that the word of Yahweh came to me saying, 2 “Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his multitude,

‘To whom do you liken yourself in your greatness?

Behold, Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon

With beautiful branches and forest shade

And lofty in height,

And its top was among the clouds.

The waters made it grow; the deep made it high.

With its rivers it was going all around its planting place

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

Therefore 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.

All the birds of the sky nested in its boughs,

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

And all great nations lived under its shade.

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

For its roots extended to many waters.

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

The cypresses could not liken themselves with its boughs,

And the plane trees were not like its branches.

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

I made it beautiful with the multitude of its foliage,

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

10 ‘Therefore thus says Lord Yahweh, “Because it is lofty in height and has put its top among the clouds, and its heart is high up in its loftiness, 11 therefore I will give it into the hand of a dominant one of the nations; he will thoroughly deal with it. According to its wickedness I have driven it away. 12 Strangers—ruthless ones of the nations have cut it down and abandoned it; on the mountains and in all the valleys its foliage 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 abandoned it. 13 On its downfall all the birds of the sky will dwell, and all the beasts of the field will be on its fallen branches 14 so that all the trees by the waters may not be lofty in their height, nor put their top among the clouds, nor their dominant ones—all the well-watered ones—stand in their loftiness. 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 Lord Yahweh, “On the day when it went down to Sheol I caused mourning; I covered it with 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. 16 I made the nations quake at the sound of its downfall when I made it go down to Sheol with those who go down to the pit; and all the trees of Eden, the choicest and best of Lebanon, all the well-watered ones, were comforted in the earth beneath. 17 They 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 do you thus liken yourself 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 multitude!”’ declares Lord Yahweh.”

A Lament over Pharaoh and Egypt

And it happened in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first of the month, that the word of Yahweh came to me saying, 2 “Son of man, take up a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him,

‘You liken 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.’”

3 Thus says Lord Yahweh,

“So I will spread My net over you

With an assembly of many peoples,

And they shall bring you up in My net.

I will abandon you on the land;

I will hurl you on the open field.

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

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

I will put your flesh on the mountains

And fill the valleys with your refuse.

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

As far as the mountains,

And the ravines will be full of you.

And 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.

All the shining lights in the heavens

I will darken over you

And will give darkness on your land,”

Declares Lord Yahweh.

9 “I will also vex the hearts of many peoples when I bring your destruction among the nations, into lands which you have not known. 10 I 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 downfall.” 11 For thus says Lord Yahweh, “The sword of the king of Babylon will come upon you. 12 By the swords of the mighty ones I will cause your multitude to fall; all of them are ruthless ones of the nations,

And they will devastate the lofty pride of Egypt,

And all its multitude will be destroyed.

I will also make all its cattle perish from beside many waters;

And the foot of man will not muddy them anymore,

And the hoofs of beasts will not muddy them.

Then I will make their waters settle

And will cause their rivers to run like oil,”

Declares Lord Yahweh.

“When I make the land of Egypt a desolation,

And the land is desolate of its fullness,

When I strike all those who inhabit it,

Then they shall know that I am Yahweh.

16 This is a lamentation, and they shall lament over it. The daughters of the nations shall lament over it. Over Egypt and over all her multitude they shall lament over it,” declares Lord Yahweh. 17 Now it happened in the twelfth year, on the fifteenth of the month, that the word of Yahweh 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.’

20 They 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 multitude away. 21 The dominant 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 assembly; her graves are round about her. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword, 23 whose graves are put in the remotest parts of the pit, and her assembly is all round about her grave. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword, who put terror in the land of the living. 24 “Elam is there and all her multitude all around her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who went down uncircumcised to the lower parts of the earth, who put their terror in the land of the living and bore their dishonor with those who went down to the pit. 25 They have put a bed for her among the slain with all her multitude. Her graves are all around it; all of them are uncircumcised, slain by the sword (although their terror was put in the land of the living), and they bore their dishonor with those who go down to the pit; they were put in the midst of the slain. 26 “Meshech, Tubal, and all their multitude are there; their graves are all around them. All of them were slain by the sword uncircumcised, though they put their terror in the land of the living. 27 Nor do they lie beside the fallen mighty ones of the uncircumcised, who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war and whose swords were put under their heads; but the punishment for their iniquity rested on their bones, though the terror of these mighty ones was once in the land of the living. 28 But as for you, 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 put 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 dishonor with those who go down to the pit. 31 “These Pharaoh will see, and he will be comforted for all his multitude slain by the sword, even Pharaoh and all his military force,” declares Lord Yahweh. 32 “Though I put 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 Lord Yahweh.

Hebrews 1

God’s Final Word in His Son

God, having spoken long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2 in these last days spoke to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds, 3 who is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power; who, having accomplished cleansing for sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become so much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they. 5 For to which of the angels did He ever say,

“You are My Son,

Today I have begotten You”?

And again,

“I will be a Father to Him

And He shall be a Son to Me”?

6 And when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says,

“And let all the angels of God worship Him.”

7 And of the angels He says,

“Who makes His angels winds,

And His ministers flaming fire.”

8 But of the Son He says,

“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,

And the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom.

You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness;

Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You

With the oil of gladness above Your companions.”

10 And,

“You, Lord, in the beginning founded the earth,

And the heavens are the works of Your hands;

They will perish, but You remain;

And they all will wear out like a garment,

And like a mantle You will roll them up;

Like a garment they will also be changed.

But You are the same,

And Your years will not come to an end.”

13 But to which of the angels has He ever said,

“Sit at My right hand,

Until I put Your enemies

As a footstool for Your feet”?

14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?

Proverbs 6

Practical Warnings

My son, if you have become a guarantor for your neighbor,

Have struck your hands in pledge for a stranger,

If you have been snared with the words of your mouth,

Have been caught with the words of your mouth,

Do this then, my son, and deliver yourself;

Since you have come into the hand of your neighbor,

Go, humble yourself, and badger your neighbor.

Give no sleep to your eyes,

Nor slumber to your eyelids;

Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hunter’s hand

And like a bird from the hand of the fowler.

Go to the ant, O sluggard,

Observe her ways and be wise,

Which, having no chief,

Officer or ruler,

Prepares her food in the summer

And gathers her provision in the harvest.

How long will you lie down, O sluggard?

When will you arise from your sleep?

“A little sleep, a little slumber,

A little folding of the hands to rest”—

Your poverty will come in like a vagabond

And your want like an armed man.

A vile person, a wicked man,

Is the one who walks with a perverse mouth,

Who winks with his eyes, who signals with his feet,

Who points with his fingers;

Who with perversity in his heart continually devises evil,

Who spreads contentions.

Therefore his disaster will come suddenly;

Instantly he will be broken and there will be no healing.

There are six things which Yahweh hates,

Even seven which are an abomination to Him:

Haughty eyes, a lying tongue,

And hands that shed innocent blood,

A heart that devises wicked thoughts,

Feet that hasten to run to evil,

A false witness who breathes out lies,

And one who spreads strife among brothers.

Warning Against Adultery

My son, observe the commandment of your father

And do not abandon the law of your mother;

Bind them continually on your heart;

Tie them around your neck.

When you walk about, they will lead you;

When you sleep, they will keep watch over you;

And when you awake, they will speak to you.

For the commandment is a lamp and the law is light;

And reproofs for discipline are the way of life

To keep you from the evil woman,

From the smooth tongue of the foreign woman.

Do not desire her beauty in your heart,

Nor let her capture you with her eyelids.

For on account of a harlot one is reduced to a loaf of bread,

And an adulteress hunts for the precious life.

Can a man take fire in his bosom

And his clothes not be burned?

Or can a man walk on hot coals

And his feet not be scorched?

So is the one who goes in to his neighbor’s wife;

Whoever touches her will not go unpunished.

Men do not despise a thief if he steals

To fill himself when he is hungry;

But when he is found, he must repay sevenfold;

He must give all the substance of his house.

The one who commits adultery with a woman is lacking a heart of wisdom;

He who would destroy his soul does it.

Wounds and disgrace he will find,

And his reproach will not be blotted out.

For jealousy enrages a man,

And he will not spare in the day of vengeance.

He will not accept any ransom,

He will not be willing though you give many bribes.