Pharaoh to Be Slain
1 tIn the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 2 u“Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to vhis multitude:
w“Whom are you like in your greatness?
3 Behold, xAssyria was a ycedar in zLebanon,
with beautiful branches and aforest shade,
band of towering height,
its top among the clouds.1
4 The waters nourished it;
the deep made it grow tall,
making cits rivers flow
around the place of its planting,
sending forth its streams
to all the trees of the field.
5 So dit towered high
above all the trees of the field;
its boughs grew large
and its branches long
from eabundant water in its shoots.
6 fAll the birds of the heavens
made their nests in its boughs;
under its branches all the beasts of the field
gave birth to their young,
and under its shadow
lived all great nations.
7 It was gbeautiful in its greatness,
in the length of its branches;
efor its roots went down
to abundant waters.
8 hThe cedars iin the garden of God could not rival it,
nor the fir trees equal its boughs;
neither were the plane trees
like its branches;
no tree iin the garden of God
was its equal in beauty.
9 I made it beautiful
in the mass of its branches,
and all the trees of jEden envied it,
that were in the garden of God.
10 “Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because kit2 towered high and set its top among the clouds,3 and lits heart was proud of its height, 11 I will give it into the hand of a mighty one of the nations. He shall surely deal with it as its wickedness deserves. I have cast it out. 12 mForeigners, mthe most ruthless of nations, have cut it down and left it. nOn the mountains and in all the valleys its branches have fallen, and its boughs have been broken in all othe ravines of the land, and pall the peoples of the earth have gone away from its shadow and left it. 13 qOn its fallen trunk dwell all the birds of the heavens, and on its branches are all the beasts of the field. 14 rAll this is in order that no trees by the waters may grow to towering height or set their tops among the clouds,4 and that no trees that drink water may reach up to them in height. For they are all given over to death, sto the world tbelow, among the children of man,5 with those who go down to the pit.
15 “Thus says the Lord God: On the day uthe cedar6 went down to Sheol I caused mourning; I closed the deep over it, and restrained its rivers, and many waters were stopped. I clothed Lebanon in gloom for it, and all the trees of the field fainted because of it. 16 vI made the nations quake at the sound of its fall, uwhen I cast it down to Sheol with those who go down to the pit. wAnd all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, xwere comforted in the world below. 17 They also went down to Sheol with it, yto those who are slain by the sword; yes, zthose who were its arm, awho lived under its shadow among the nations.
18 b“Whom are you thus like in glory and in greatness wamong the trees of Eden? cYou shall be brought down with wthe trees of Eden to the world below. dYou shall lie among the uncircumcised, ywith those who are slain by the sword.
b“This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares the Lord God.”
A Lament over Pharaoh and Egypt
1 eIn the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 2 f“Son of man, graise a lamentation over hPharaoh king of Egypt and say to him:
“You consider yourself ia lion of the nations,
but you are like ja dragon kin the seas;
lyou burst forth in your rivers,
trouble the waters with your feet,
and foul their rivers.
3 Thus says the Lord God:
mI will throw my net over you
with a host of nmany peoples,
and othey will haul you up in my dragnet.
4 And pI will cast you on the ground;
on the open field I will fling you,
and will cause all the birds of the heavens to settle on you,
and I will gorge the beasts of the whole earth with you.
5 I will strew your flesh qupon the mountains
and fill the valleys with your carcass.7
6 I will drench the land even to the mountains
with your flowing blood,
and the ravines will be full of you.
7 rWhen I blot you out, sI will cover the heavens
and make their stars dark;
I will cover the sun with a cloud,
and the moon shall not give its light.
8 All the bright lights of heaven
will I make dark over you,
and tput darkness on your land,
declares the Lord God.
9 “I will trouble the hearts of many peoples, when I bring your destruction among the nations, into the countries that you have not known. 10 uI will make many peoples appalled at you, and the hair of their kings shall bristle with horror because of you, when vI brandish my sword before them. wThey shall tremble every moment, every one for his own life, on the day of your downfall.
11 “For thus says the Lord God: xThe sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon you. 12 I will cause yyour multitude to fall by the swords of mighty ones, all of them zmost ruthless of nations.
a“They shall bring to ruin the pride of Egypt,
and all its multitude8 shall perish.
13 I will destroy all its beasts
from beside many waters;
band no foot of man shall trouble them anymore,
nor shall the hoofs of beasts trouble them.
14 Then cI will make their waters clear,
and cause their rivers to run like oil,
declares the Lord God.
15 When I make the land of Egypt desolate,
and when the land dis desolate of all that fills it,
when I strike down all who dwell in it,
then ethey will know that I am the Lord.
16 fThis is a lamentation that shall be chanted; the daughters of the nations shall chant it; over Egypt, and over gall her multitude, shall they chant it, declares the Lord God.”
17 hIn the twelfth year, in the twelfth month,9 on the fifteenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 18 i“Son of man, jwail over gthe multitude of Egypt, and ksend them down, her and the daughters of majestic nations, lto the world below, to those who have gone down to the pit:
19 m‘Whom do you surpass in beauty?
Go down and nbe laid to rest with the uncircumcised.’
20 They shall fall amid those owho are slain by the sword. Egypt10 is delivered to the sword; drag her away, and pall her multitudes. 21 The mighty chiefs qshall speak of them, rwith their helpers, out of the midst of Sheol: ‘They have come down, they lie still, sthe uncircumcised, oslain by the sword.’
22 t“Assyria is there, and all her company, uits graves all around it, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, 23 whose graves are set in vthe uttermost parts of the pit; and her company is all around her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, wwho spread terror xin the land of the living.
24 y“Elam is zthere, and all her multitude around her grave; all of them aslain, fallen by the sword, who went down uncircumcised into bthe world below, who spread their terror in the land of the living; and cthey bear their shame bwith those who go down to the pit. 25 dThey have made her a bed among the slain with all her multitude, eher graves all around it, all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for terror of them was spread in the land of the living, and they bear their shame with those who go down to the pit; they are placed among the slain.
26 f“Meshech-Tubal is ethere, and all her multitude, eher graves all around it, all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for they spread their terror in the land of the living. 27 And gthey do not lie with the mighty, the fallen from among the uncircumcised, who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war, whose swords were laid under their heads, and whose iniquities are upon their bones; for the terror of the mighty men was in the land of the living. 28 But as for you, you shall be broken hand lie among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword.
29 i“Edom is jthere, her kings and all her princes, who for all their might are laid with those who are killed by the sword; they lie with the uncircumcised, with those who go down to the pit.
30 “The princes kof the north are there, all of them, and all the lSidonians, who have gone down in shame with the slain, mfor all the terror that they caused by their might; they lie uncircumcised with those who are slain by the sword, and nbear their shame with those who go down to the pit.
31 “When Pharaoh sees them, he owill be comforted for pall his multitude, Pharaoh and all his army, slain by the sword, declares the Lord God. 32 qFor I spread terror rin the land of the living; and he shall be laid to rest among sthe uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword, Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares the Lord God.”
Shepherd the Flock of God
1 So I exhort the elders among you, mas a fellow elder and na witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: 2 oshepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight,1 pnot under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you;2 qnot for shameful gain, but eagerly; 3 not rdomineering over those in your charge, but sbeing examples to the flock. 4 And when tthe chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the uunfading vcrown of glory. 5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. wClothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for x“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
6 xHumble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 ycasting all your anxieties on him, because zhe cares for you. 8 aBe sober-minded; bbe watchful. Your cadversary the devil dprowls around elike a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 fResist him, gfirm in your faith, knowing that hthe same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 And iafter you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, jwho has called you to his keternal glory in Christ, will himself lrestore, mconfirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 nTo him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Final Greetings
12 By oSilvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, pI have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is qthe true grace of God. rStand firm in it. 13 She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so does sMark, my son. 14 tGreet one another with the kiss of love.
uPeace to all of you who are in Christ.
Greeting
1 Simeon1 Peter, a servant2 and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who have obtained aa faith of equal standing with ours bby the righteousness of our cGod and Savior Jesus Christ:
2 dMay grace and peace be multiplied to you ein the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
Confirm Your Calling and Election
3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him fwho called us to3 his own glory and excellence,4 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become gpartakers of the divine nature, hhaving escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith iwith virtue,5 and virtue jwith knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control kwith steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness lwith brotherly affection, and brotherly affection mwith love. 8 For if these qualities6 are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or nunfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he ois blind, having forgotten that he was pcleansed from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers,7 be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and qelection, for if you practice these qualities ryou will never fall. 11 For in this way there will be richly provided for you san entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
12 Therefore I intend talways to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in uthe truth that you have. 13 I think it right, as long as I am in this vbody,8 wto stir you up by way of reminder, 14 xsince I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, yas our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. 15 And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.
Christ’s Glory and the Prophetic Word
16 For we did not follow zcleverly devised amyths when we made known to you bthe power and ccoming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but dwe were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, e“This is my beloved Son,9 with whom I am well pleased,” 18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on fthe holy mountain. 19 And gwe have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention has to a lamp shining in a dark place, until ithe day jdawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21 For kno prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God las they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
