At the sound of your captains' cry the waves will surge;

they will tear out their hair because of you and put on sackcloth, and they will weep bitterly over you with intense mourning.

When your products went out from the seas, you satisfied many peoples; with the abundance of your wealth and merchandise you enriched the kings of the earth.

All the inhabitants of the coastlands are shocked at you, and their kings are horribly afraid -- their faces are troubled.

The traders among the peoples hiss at you; you have become a horror, and will be no more.'"

"Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: "'Your heart is proud and you said, "I am a god; I sit in the seat of gods, in the heart of the seas" -- yet you are a man and not a god, though you think you are godlike.

"'Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Because you think you are godlike,

"Son of man, sing a lament for the king of Tyre, and say to him, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: "'You were the sealer of perfection, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.

By the multitude of your iniquities, through the sinfulness of your trade, you desecrated your sanctuaries. So I drew fire out from within you; it consumed you, and I turned you to ashes on the earth before the eyes of all who saw you.

All who know you among the peoples are shocked at you; you have become terrified and will be no more.'"

"Son of man, turn toward Sidon and prophesy against it.

Say, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: "'Look, I am against you, Sidon, and I will magnify myself in your midst. Then they will know that I am the Lord when I execute judgments on her and reveal my sovereign power in her.

I will send a plague into the city and bloodshed into its streets; the slain will fall within it, by the sword that attacks it from every side. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

"'This is what the sovereign Lord says: When I regather the house of Israel from the peoples where they are dispersed, I will reveal my sovereign power over them in the sight of the nations, and they will live in their land that I gave to my servant Jacob.

They will live securely in it; they will build houses and plant vineyards. They will live securely when I execute my judgments on all those who scorn them and surround them. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God.'"

Tell them, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: "'Look, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great monster lying in the midst of its waterways, who has said, "My Nile is my own, I made it for myself."

"'Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to bring a sword against you, and I will kill every person and every animal.

The land of Egypt will become a desolate ruin. Then they will know that I am the Lord. Because he said, "The Nile is mine and I made it,"

No human foot will pass through it, and no animal's foot will pass through it; it will be uninhabited for forty years.

"'For this is what the sovereign Lord says: At the end of forty years I will gather Egypt from the peoples where they were scattered.

It will be the most insignificant of the kingdoms; it will never again exalt itself over the nations. I will make them so small that they will not rule over the nations.

It will never again be Israel's source of confidence, but a reminder of how they sinned by turning to Egypt for help. Then they will know that I am the sovereign Lord.'"

"Son of man, King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre. Every head was rubbed bald and every shoulder rubbed bare; yet he and his army received no wages from Tyre for the work he carried out against it.

Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to give the land of Egypt to King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon. He will carry off her wealth, capture her loot, and seize her plunder; it will be his army's wages.

I have given him the land of Egypt as his compensation for attacking Tyre, because they did it for me, declares the sovereign Lord.

"Son of man, prophesy and say, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: "'Wail, "Alas, the day is here!"

For the day is near, the day of the Lord is near; it will be a day of storm clouds, it will be a time of judgment for the nations.

"'This is what the Lord says: Egypt's supporters will fall; her confident pride will crumble. From Migdol to Syene they will die by the sword within her, declares the sovereign Lord.

On that day messengers will go out from me in ships to frighten overly confident Ethiopia; panic will overtake them on the day of Egypt's doom; for beware -- it is coming!

"'This is what the sovereign Lord says: I will put an end to the hordes of Egypt, by the hand of King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon.

I will dry up the waterways and hand the land over to evil men. I will make the land and everything in it desolate by the hand of foreigners. I, the Lord, have spoken!

"'This is what the sovereign Lord says: I will destroy the idols, and put an end to the gods of Memphis. There will no longer be a prince from the land of Egypt; so I will make the land of Egypt fearful.

I will pour out my anger upon Pelusium, the stronghold of Egypt; I will cut off the hordes of Thebes.

"Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Look, it has not been bandaged for healing or set with a dressing so that it might become strong enough to grasp a sword.

Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and I will break his arms, the strong arm and the broken one, and I will make the sword drop from his hand.

I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fall limp. Then they will know that I am the Lord when I place my sword in the hand of the king of Babylon and he extends it against the land of Egypt.

The water made it grow; underground springs made it grow tall. Rivers flowed all around the place it was planted, while smaller channels watered all the trees of the field.

Therefore it grew taller than all the trees of the field; its boughs grew large and its branches grew long, because of the plentiful water in its shoots.

It was beautiful in its loftiness, in the length of its branches; for its roots went down deep to plentiful waters.

The cedars in the garden of God could not eclipse it, nor could the fir trees match its boughs; the plane trees were as nothing compared to its branches; no tree in the garden of God could rival its beauty.

I made it beautiful with its many branches; all the trees of Eden, in the garden of God, envied it.

"'Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Because it was tall in stature, and its top reached into the clouds, and it was proud of its height,

I gave it over to the leader of the nations. He has judged it thoroughly, as its sinfulness deserves. I have thrown it out.

Foreigners from the most terrifying nations have cut it down and left it to lie there on the mountains. In all the valleys its branches have fallen, and its boughs lie broken in the ravines of the land. All the peoples of the land have departed from its shade and left it.

"'This is what the sovereign Lord says: On the day it went down to Sheol I caused observers to lament. I covered it with the deep and held back its rivers; its plentiful water was restrained. I clothed Lebanon in black for it, and all the trees of the field wilted because of it.

I made the nations shake at the sound of its fall, when I threw it down to Sheol, along with those who descend to the pit. Then all the trees of Eden, the choicest and the best of Lebanon, all that were well-watered, were comforted in the earth below.

Those who lived in its shade, its allies among the nations, also went down with it to Sheol, to those killed by the sword.

Which of the trees of Eden was like you in majesty and loftiness? You will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the lower parts of the earth; you will lie among the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword! This is what will happen to Pharaoh and all his hordes, declares the sovereign Lord.'"

"'This is what the sovereign Lord says: "'I will throw my net over you in the assembly of many peoples; and they will haul you up in my dragnet.

"'For this is what the sovereign Lord says: "'The sword of the king of Babylon will attack you.

When I turn the land of Egypt into desolation and the land is destitute of everything that fills it, when I strike all those who live in it, then they will know that I am the Lord.'

This is a lament; they will chant it. The daughters of the nations will chant it. They will chant it over Egypt and over all her hordes, declares the sovereign Lord."

"Son of man, wail over the horde of Egypt. Bring it down; bring her and the daughters of powerful nations down to the lower parts of the earth, along with those who descend to the pit.

Indeed, I terrified him in the land of the living, yet he will lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with those killed by the sword, Pharaoh and all his hordes, declares the sovereign Lord."

but there is one who hears the sound of the trumpet yet does not heed the warning. Then the sword comes and sweeps him away. He will be responsible for his own death.

"And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, 'This is what you have said: "Our rebellious acts and our sins have caught up with us, and we are wasting away because of them. How then can we live?"'

"And you, son of man, say to your people, 'The righteousness of the righteous will not deliver him if he rebels. As for the wicked, his wickedness will not make him stumble if he turns from it. The righteous will not be able to live by his righteousness if he sins.'

Suppose I say to the wicked, 'You must certainly die,' but he turns from his sin and does what is just and right.

He returns what was taken in pledge, pays back what he has stolen, and follows the statutes that give life, committing no iniquity. He will certainly live -- he will not die.

None of the sins he has committed will be counted against him. He has done what is just and right; he will certainly live.

"Yet your people say, 'The behavior of the Lord is not right,' when it is their behavior that is not right.

When a righteous man turns from his godliness and commits iniquity, he will die for it.

When the wicked turns from his sin and does what is just and right, he will live because of it.

Yet you say, 'The behavior of the Lord is not right.' House of Israel, I will judge each of you according to his behavior."

"Son of man, the ones living in these ruins in the land of Israel are saying, 'Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land, but we are many; surely the land has been given to us for a possession.'

Therefore say to them, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: You eat the meat with the blood still in it, pray to your idols, and shed blood. Do you really think you will possess the land?

"This is what you must say to them, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: As surely as I live, those living in the ruins will die by the sword, those in the open field I will give to the wild beasts for food, and those who are in the strongholds and caves will die of disease.

"But as for you, son of man, your people (who are talking about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses) say to one another, 'Come hear the word that comes from the Lord.'

When all this comes true -- and it certainly will -- then they will know that a prophet was among them."

"Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them -- to the shepherds: 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not shepherds feed the flock?

You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the choice animals, but you do not feed the sheep!

This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand my sheep from their hand. I will no longer let them be shepherds; the shepherds will not feed themselves anymore. I will rescue my sheep from their mouth, so that they will no longer be food for them.

"'For this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I myself will search for my sheep and seek them out.

As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will seek out my flock. I will rescue them from all the places where they have been scattered on a cloudy, dark day.

I will bring them out from among the peoples and gather them from foreign countries; I will bring them to their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams and all the inhabited places of the land.

"'As for you, my sheep, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to judge between one sheep and another, between rams and goats.

Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must trample the rest of your pastures with your feet? When you drink clean water, must you muddy the rest of the water by trampling it with your feet?

As for my sheep, they must eat what you trampled with your feet, and drink what you have muddied with your feet!

"'Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says to them: Look, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.

Because you push with your side and your shoulder, and thrust your horns at all the weak sheep until you scatter them abroad,

"Son of man, turn toward Mount Seir, and prophesy against it.

Say to it, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: "'Look, I am against you, Mount Seir; I will stretch out my hand against you and turn you into a desolate ruin.

"'You have shown unrelenting hostility and poured the people of Israel onto the blades of a sword at the time of their calamity, at the time of their final punishment.

I will turn Mount Seir into a desolate ruin; I will cut off from it the one who passes through or returns.

This is what the sovereign Lord says: While the whole earth rejoices, I will turn you into a desolation.

As you rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel because it was desolate, so will I deal with you -- you will be desolate, Mount Seir, and all of Edom -- all of it! Then they will know that I am the Lord.'"

This is what the sovereign Lord says: The enemy has spoken against you, saying "Aha!" and, "The ancient heights have become our property!"'

So prophesy and say: 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: Surely because they have made you desolate and crushed you from all directions, so that you have become the property of the rest of the nations, and have become the subject of gossip and slander among the people,

therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the sovereign Lord: This is what the sovereign Lord says to the mountains and hills, the ravines and valleys, and to the desolate ruins and the abandoned cities that have become prey and an object of derision to the rest of the nations round about --

therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Surely I have spoken in the fire of my zeal against the rest of the nations, and against all Edom, who with great joy and utter contempt have made my land their property and prey, because of its pasture.'

"Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains and hills, the ravines and valleys, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I have spoken in my zeal and in my anger, because you have endured the insults of the nations.

So this is what the sovereign Lord says: I vow that the nations around you will endure insults as well.

I will multiply your people -- the whole house of Israel, all of it. The cities will be populated and the ruins rebuilt.

I will increase the number of people and animals on you; they will increase and be fruitful. I will cause you to be inhabited as in ancient times, and will do more good for you than at the beginning of your history. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

"'This is what the sovereign Lord says: Because they are saying to you, "You are a devourer of men, and bereave your nation of children,"

"Son of man, when the house of Israel was living on their own land, they defiled it by their behavior and their deeds. In my sight their behavior was like the uncleanness of a woman having her monthly period.

So I poured my anger on them because of the blood they shed on the land and because of the idols with which they defiled it.

But when they arrived in the nations where they went, they profaned my holy name. It was said of them, 'These are the people of the Lord, yet they have departed from his land.'

"Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake that I am about to act, O house of Israel, but for the sake of my holy reputation which you profaned among the nations where you went.

I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and multiply it; I will not bring a famine on you.