10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also make the multitude of Egypt to cease by the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon.

11 He and his people with him, the terrible of the nations, shall be brought to destroy the land: and they shall draw their swords against Egypt, and fill the land with the slain.

:

12 And I will make the rivers dry, and sell the land into the hand of the wicked: and I will make the land waste, and all that is therein, by the hand of strangers I the LORD have spoken it. 13 Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also destroy the idols; and I will cause their images to cease out of Noph; and there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt; and I will put a fear in the land of Egypt. 14 And I will make Pathros desolate, and will set fire in Zoan, and will execute judgments in No.

15 And I will pour my fury upon Sin, the strength of Egypt; and I will cut off the multitude of No.

16 And I will set fire in Egypt: Sin shall have great pain, and No shall be rent asunder, and Noph shull have distresses daily.

17 The young men of Aven, and of Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword: and these cities shall go into captivity. 18 At Tehaphnehes also the day shall be darkened, when I shall break there the yokes of Egypt: and the pomp of her strength shall cease in her: as for her, a cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall go into captivity.

CHAP. XXX.

[against Egypt.

19 Thus will I execute judgments in Egypt: and they shall know that I am the LORD.

20 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first month, in the seventh day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

21 Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, lo, it shall not be bound up to be healed, to put a roller to bind it, to make it strong to hold the sword.

22 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms, the strong, and that which was broken; and I will cause the sword to fall out of his hand.

23 And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries.

24 And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and put my sword in his hand but I will break Pharaoh's arms, and he shall groan before him with the groanings of a deadly wounded man.

25 But I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and the arms of Pharaoli shall fall down; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall stretch it out upon the land of Egypt.

26 And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them among the countries; and they shall know that I am the LORD. (H)

(H) Farther prophecies against Egypt.This chapter describes with great elegance and force the ruin of Egypt and all her allies by Nebuchadnezzar and his forces; with an amplification of the distress of the principal cities of Egypt on that occasion.

The last six verses contain another short prophecy relative to the same event, and therefore aunexed to the preceding, though predicted at an early period. "The

Ver. 6. From the lower- Heb. "Migdol." See Ante cn ch. xxix. 10.

Ver. 12. All that is therein-Heb. "The fulness there f."

Ver. 15. Upon Sin

Marg, "Pelusium," a strong

Prophecies]

CHAP. XXXI.

AND it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the third month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

2 Son of man, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude; Whom art thou like in thy greatness?

3 Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature; and his top was among the thick boughs.

4 The waters made him great, the deep set him up on high with her rivers running round about his plants, and sent out her little rivers unto all the trees of the field.

5 Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees of the field, and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long because of the multitude of waters, when he shot forth.

6 All the fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all great nations.

7 Thus was he fair in his greatness, in the length of his branches: for his root was by great waters.

8 The cedars in the garden of God could not hide him: the fir trees were not like his boughs, and the chesnut trees were not like his branches; nor any tree in the garden of God was like unto him in his beauty.

9 I have made him fair by the mul titude of his branches: so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied him.

[against Egypt.

GOD; Because thou hast lifted up thyself in height, and he hath shot up his top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height; .

11 I have therefore delivered him into the hand of the mighty one of the heathen; he shall surely deal with him: I have driven him out for his wickedness.

12 And strangers, the terrible of the nations, have cut him off, and have left him: upon the mountains and in all the valleys his branches are fallen, and his boughs are broken by all the rivers of the land; and all the people of the earth are gone down from his

him.

shadow, and have left

13 Upon his ruin shall all the fowls of the heaven remain, and all the beasts of the field shall be upon his branches:

14 To the end that none of all the trees by the waters exalt themselves for their height, neither shoot up their top among the thick boughs, neither their trees stand up in their height, all that drink water: for they are all delivered unto death, to the nether parts of the earth, in the midst of the children of men, with them that go down to the pit.

15 Thus saith the Lord God; In the day when he went down to the grave I caused a mourning: I covered the deep for him, and I restrained the floods thereof, and the great waters were stayed and I caused Lebanon to mourn for him, and all the trees of the field fainted for him.

16 I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell with them that descend into the pit and all the trees of Eden,

CHAP. XXXI. Ver. 2. Whom- Rather, "Unto whom."

Ver. 3. With fair branches Heb. "Fair of branches.". Whose top (the king of Assyria) was among the thick boughs—that is, subordinate and pendant princes.

Ver 4. The waters made him great.-As a tree is enriched by the waters which nourish its roots, so was Assyria, so are kingdoms and states by commerce.Running round about his plants.—This alludes to the method of watering gardens in the

that drink water, shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth.

17 They also went down into hell with him unto them that be slain with the sword; and they that were his arm, that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the heathen.

18 To whom art thou thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? yet shalt thou be brought down with the trees of Eden unto the nether parts of the earth; thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord God. (I)

CHAP. XXXII.

AND it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

2 Son of man, take up a lamenta tion for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou art like a young lion of the nations, and thou art as a whale in the seas: and thou camest forth with thy rivers, and troubledst

CHAP. XXXI.

[against Egypt.

the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers.

3 Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will therefore spread out my net over thee with a company of many people; and they shall bring thee up in my net.

4 Then will I leave thee upon the land, I will cast thee forth upon the open field, and will cause all the fowls of the heaven to remain upon thee, and I will fill the beasts of the whole earth with thee.

5 And I will lay thy flesh upon the mountains, and fill the valleys with thy height.

6 I will also water with thy blood the land wherein thou swimmest, even to the mountains; and the rivers shall

be full of thee.

7 And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light.

8 All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord GOD.

(1) Farther prophecies against Egypt and Assyria.-In this chapter the Prophet resumes the poetical style, and describes to Pharoah the fall of the king of Nineveh (see Nahum, Jonah, and Zephaniah,) under the image of a fair cedar of Lebanon, once tall, flourishing, and majestic, but now cut down and withered, with is bro ken branches strewed around. He then concludes with bringing the matter home

to the king of Babylon, by telling him that this was a picture of his own fate.

This beautiful cedar of Lebanon, now cut down and destroyed, gives a lively image of the glory and ruin of both the Assyrian and Egyptian monarchs. The manner in which the Prophet has embellished his subject is very interesting, and the moral highly important: God delighteth to abase those that exalt themselves against him, and to "stain the pride of all human glory." Isa. xxiii. 9.

The same word is rendered the grave in the verse preceding. See Exposition of Isa. xiv. and Note on ver. 9; also on Ps. xvi. 10.

Ver. 17. His arm-that is, those who supported him. But Newcome, following the LXX, &c. renders the word "seed,” i. e. offspring, which seems preferable.

CHAP. XXXII. Ver. 2. Thou art as a whaleHeb. Tanim," or sea-monster-Marg. " a dragon;"

i. e. a crocodile. See Isa. xxvii. 1.- Camest forth with thy rivers-Newcome, "Breakest forth in thy rivers;" i. e. to seize the prey.- And troubledst the waters with thy fest.-This applies to the crocodile, but not the whale, which has no feet. See Job. xli. 31. D'Herbelot cites an Eastern poet, who, celebrating the prowess of a Persian prince, said, He was dreadful as a lion in the field, and not less

terrible in the water than a crocodile." Orient. Lit. No. 1032.

Ver. 3. I will spread out, &c.-In Egypt they had several ways of taking the crocodile. In Siam it is accomplished by laying several nets, at proper distances, across a river. Orient. Cust. No. 1124.

Ver. 4. I will fill the beasts, &c.-Newcome," I will satiate (or fill) with thee the beasts of the earth."

Ver. 6. The land wherein thou swimmest.-This may apply to Egypt, when flooded by the Nile; but Newcome, and others, render this verse more poetically:

"I will water the earth with thy gore;

Thy blood shall be on the mountains, And the streams shall be filled with th Ver. 7. When I shall put thee out-t! guish thy light. Compare Isa. xiii, I'

9 I will also vex the hearts of many people, when I shall bring thy destruction among the nations, into the countries which thou hast not known.

10 Yea, I will make many people amazed at thee, and their kings shall be horribly afraid for thee, when I shall brandish my sword before them; and they shall tremble at every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of thy fall.

11 For thus saith the Lord GOD; The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon thee.

12 By the swords of the mighty will I cause thy multitude to fall, the terrible of the nations, all of them: and they shall spoil the pomp of Egypt, and all the multitude thereof shall be destroyed.

13 I will destroy also all the beasts thereof from beside the great waters, neither shall the foot of man trouble them any more, nor the hoofs of beasts trouble them.

14 Then will I make their waters deep, and cause their rivers to run like oil, saith the Lord GOD.

15 When I shall make the land of Egypt desolate, and the country shall be destitute of that whereof it was full, when I small smite all them that dwell therein, then shall they know that I am the LORD.

16 This is the lamentation wherewith they shall lament her: the daughters of the nations shall lament her: they shall lament for her, even for Egypt, and for all her multitude, saith the Lord God,

17 It came to pass also in the twelfth year, in the fifteenth day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

18 Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt, and cast them down, even her, and the daughters of the

[against Egypt.

famous nations, unto the nether parts of the earth, with them that go down into the pit.

19 Whom dost thou pass in beauty? go down, and be thou laid with the uncircumcised,

20 They shall fall in the midst of them that are slain by the sword: she is delivered to the sword: draw her and all her multitudes.

21 The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword.

22 Ashur is there and all her company: his graves are about him: all of them slain, fallen by the sword:

23 Whose graves are set in the sides of the pit, and her company is round about her grave: all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which caused terror in the land of the living.

24 There is Elam and all her multitude round about her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which are gone down uncircumcised into the nether parts of the earth, which caused their terror in the land of the living; yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit.

25 They have set her a bed in the midst of the slain with all her multitude: her graves are round about him: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword: though their terror was caused in the land of the living, yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit: he is put in the midst of them that be slain.

26 There is Meshech, Tubal, and all her multitude: her graves are round about him: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword, though they caused their terror in the land of the living.

27 And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncir

Ver. 9. Vex-Heb. "Provoke." Ver. 14. Rivers to run like oil-that is, clear and smooth.

Ver. 15. Destitute, &c.- Heb. "Desolate from the fulness thereof."

Ver. 17 Of the month- that is," of the first month." Newcome.

Ver. 19. Whom dost thou pass (or surpass) in

beauty? —This we think best agrees with ver. 2 and 18 in the preceding chapter. Abp. Newcome, and others, however, on the authority of some ani versions, render this line very differently, Come down from the pleasant waters," meaning those of

the Nile, which were the boast of Egypt.

Ver. 21. The strong, &c.-Compare Isa, xiv. 9.10. The priests and

Ver. 27. The uncircumcised.

cumcised, which are gone down to hell with their weapons of war: and they have laid their swords under their heads; but their iniquities shall be upon their bones, though they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.

28 Yea, thou shalt be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised, and shalt lie with them that are slain with the sword.

29 There is Edom, her kings, and all her princes, which with their might are laid by them that were slain by the sword: they shall lie with the uncircumcised, and with them that go down to the pit.

30 There be the prir.ces of the north, all of them, and all the Zidonians, which are gone down with the slain; with their terror they are ashamed of their might; and they lie uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword, and bear their shame with them that go down to the pit.

CHAP. XXXII.

[watchmen.

31 Pharaoh shall see them, and shall be comforted over all his multitude, even Pharaoh and all his army slain by the sword, saith the Lord GOD.

32 For I have caused my terror in the land of the living: and he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that are slain with the sword, even Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord GOD. (K)

CHAP. XXXIII.

AGAIN the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

2 Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman:

3 If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;

4 Then whosoever heareth the sound

In another prophecy, introduced ver. 17., the fall of Egypt is related in terms very similar to those used by Isaiah (ch. xiv.) in describing the subsequent fall of Babylon. This lamentation opens in terms very similar to those in the preceding chapter (ver. 2); "Whom art thou like in thy greatness?" So here "Whom dost thou pass (that is, surpass) in beauty?" However great, however beautiful, "Go down " to the grave, "and be thou laid with the uncircumcised" in the field of battleunpitied and unburied.-The king is then introduced below the grave, into the region of shades, to take his station among the mighty shades of former ages; where their weapons of war, now done with, are laid in silence beneath their heads. But wherefore are they here deposited? Is it not as the witnesses of their crimes.? They "bear their shame," and their iniquities lie "upon their bones" till the great day of retribution.

principal persons among the Egyptians, it may be recollected, practised circumcision. They are yone down to heil (Sheol) with their weapons of war Heb. The weapons of their war;" the proper depository of such weapons!

Ibid. They have laid their swords under their heads." In Mingrelia" (which Bochart considers

the country of Meshec and Tubal, v. 26.) SirJ. Chardin says, "They all sleep with their swords under their heads; and they bury them in the same manner." Orient. Cust. No. 322.

CHAP. XXXIII. Ver. 4. Whosoever heareth — Heb. "He that hearing heareth."