Through the Bible – Day 330

Bible text(s)

Ezekiel 30

Egypt will be a barren desert

₁The LORD said:

₂Ezekiel, son of man, tell the people of Egypt that I am saying:

Cry out in despair,

₃because you will soon

be punished!

That will be a time

of darkness and doom

for all nations.

₄Your own nation of Egypt

will be attacked,

and Ethiopia will suffer.

You will be killed in battle,

and your land will be robbed

and left in ruins.

₅Soldiers hired from Ethiopia, Libya, Lydia, Arabia, Kub, as well as from Israel, will die in that battle. ₆All your allies will be killed, and your proud strength will crumble. People will die from Migdol in the north to Aswan in the south. I, the LORD, have spoken.

₇Your nation of Egypt will be the most deserted place on earth, and its cities will lie in complete ruin. ₈I will set fire to your land, and anyone who defended your nation will die. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

₉On the same day I destroy Egypt, I will send messengers to the Ethiopians to announce their coming destruction. They think they are safe, but they will be terrified.

₁₀Your Egyptian army is very strong, but I will send King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia to completely defeat that army. ₁₁He and his cruel troops will invade and destroy your land and leave your dead bodies piled everywhere.

₁₂I will dry up the River Nile, then sell the land to evil buyers. I will send foreigners to turn your entire nation into a barren desert. I, the LORD, have spoken.

Egypt's proud cities will lie in ruins

The LORD said to the people of Egypt:

₁₃All the idols and images you Egyptians worship in the city of Memphis will be smashed. No one will be left to rule your nation, and terror will fill the land. ₁₄The city of Pathros will be left in ruins, and Zoan will be burnt to the ground. Thebes, your capital city, will also be destroyed! ₁₅The fortress city of Pelusium will feel my fierce anger, and all the troops stationed at Thebes will be slaughtered.

₁₆I will set fire to your nation of Egypt! The city of Pelusium will be in anguish. Thebes will fall, and the people of Memphis will live in constant fear. ₁₇The young soldiers in the cities of Heliopolis and Bubastis will die in battle, and the rest of the people will be taken prisoner. ₁₈You were so proud of your nation's power, but when I crush that power and kill that pride, darkness will fall over the city of Tahpanhes. A dark, gloomy cloud will cover the land as you are being led away into captivity. ₁₉When I've finished punishing Egypt, you will know that I am the LORD.

Egypt's king is powerless

₂₀Eleven years after King Jehoiachin and the rest of us had been led away as prisoners to Babylonia, the LORD spoke to me on the seventh day of the first month. He said:

₂₁Ezekiel, son of man, I, the LORD, have defeated the king of Egypt! I broke his arm, and no one has wrapped it or put it in a sling, so that it could heal and get strong enough to hold a sword. ₂₂So tell him that I am now his worst enemy. I will break both his arms—the good one and the broken one! His sword will drop from his hand for ever, ₂₃and I will scatter the Egyptians all over the world.

_24-25I will strengthen the power of Babylonia's king and give him my sword to use against Egypt. I will also make the wounded king of Egypt powerless, and he will moan in pain and die in front of the Babylonian king. Then everyone on earth will know that I am the LORD. ₂₆I will force the Egyptians to live as prisoners in foreign nations, and they will know that I, the LORD, have punished them.

Ezekiel 31

Egypt's king will be chopped down like a cedar tree

₁Eleven years after King Jehoiachin and the rest of us had been led away as prisoners to Babylonia, the LORD spoke to me on the first day of the third month. He said:

₂Ezekiel, son of man, tell the king of Egypt and his people that I am saying:

You are more powerful

than anyone on earth.

Now listen to this.

₃There was once a cedar tree

in Lebanon

with large, strong branches

reaching to the sky.

₄This tree had plenty of water

to help it grow tall,

and nearby streams watered

the other trees

in the forest.

₅But this tree towered over

those other trees,

and its branches

grew long and thick.

₆Birds built nests

in its branches,

and animals were born

beneath it.

People from all nations

lived in the shade

of this strong tree.

₇It had beautiful,

long branches,

and its roots found water

deep in the soil.

₈None of the cedar trees

in my garden of Eden

were as beautiful

as this tree;

no tree of any kind

had such long branches.

₉I, the LORD, gave this tree

its beauty,

and I helped the branches

grow strong.

All other trees in Eden

wanted to be just like it.

₁₀King of Egypt, now listen to what I, the LORD God, am saying about that tree:

The tree grew so tall that it reached the sky and became very proud and arrogant. ₁₁So I, the LORD God, will reject the tree and hand it over to a foreign ruler, who will punish it for its wickedness. ₁₂Cruel foreigners will chop it down and leave it wherever it falls. Branches and broken limbs will be scattered over the mountains and in the valleys. The people living in the shade of those branches will go somewhere else. ₁₃Birds will then nest on the stump of the fallen tree, and wild animals will trample its branches.

₁₄Never again will any tree dare to grow as tall as this tree, no matter how much water it has. Every tree must die, just as humans die and go down to the world of the dead.

₁₅On the day this tree dies and goes to the world below, I, the LORD God, will command rivers and streams to mourn its death. Every underground spring of water and every river will stop flowing. The mountains in Lebanon will be covered with darkness as a sign of their sorrow, and all the trees in the forest will wither. ₁₆This tree will crash to the ground, and I will send it to the world below. Then the nations of the earth will tremble.

The trees from Eden and the choice trees from Lebanon are now in the world of the dead, and they will be comforted when this tree falls. ₁₇Those people who found protection in its shade will also be sent to the world below, where they will join the dead.

₁₈King of Egypt, all these things will happen to you and your people! You were like this tree at one time—taller and stronger than anyone on earth. But now you will be chopped down, just as every tree in the garden of Eden must die. You will be sent down to the world of the dead, where you will join the godless and the other victims of violent death. I, the LORD God, have spoken.

Ezekiel 32

A funeral song for the king of Egypt

₁Twelve years after King Jehoiachin and the rest of us had been led away as prisoners to Babylonia, the LORD spoke to me on the first day of the twelfth month. He said:

₂Ezekiel, son of man, condemn the king of Egypt and tell him I am saying:

You act like a lion

roaming the earth;

but you are nothing more than

a crocodile in a river,

churning up muddy water

with your feet.

₃King of Egypt, listen to me. I, the LORD God, will catch you in my net and let a crowd of foreigners drag you to shore. ₄I will throw you into an open field, where birds and animals will come to feed on your body. ₅I will spread your rotting flesh over the mountains and in the valleys, ₆and your blood will flow throughout the land and fill up the streams. ₇I will cover the whole sky and every star with thick clouds, so that the sun and moon will stop shining. ₈The heavens will become black, leaving your country in total darkness. I, the LORD, have spoken.

₉Foreign nations you have never heard of will be shocked when I tell them how I destroyed you. ₁₀They will be horrified, and when I flash my sword in victory on the day of your death, their kings will tremble in the fear of what could happen to them.

₁₁The king of Babylonia is coming to attack you, king of Egypt! ₁₂Your soldiers will be killed by the cruellest army in the world, and everything you take pride in will be crushed. ₁₃I will slaughter your cattle that graze by the river, and no people or livestock will be left to muddy its water. ₁₄The water will be clear, and streams will be calm. I, the LORD God, have spoken.

₁₅Egypt will become a barren wasteland, and no living thing will ever survive there. Then you and your people will know that I am the LORD.

₁₆This is your warning, and it will be used as a funeral song by foreign women to mourn the death of your people. I, the LORD God, have spoken.

Ezekiel 30:1-32:16CEVOpen in Bible reader

1 Peter 5

Advice for church leaders

Helping Christian leaders

₁Church leaders, I am writing to encourage you. I too am a leader, as well as a witness to Christ's suffering, and I will share in his glory when it is shown to us.

₂Just as shepherds watch over their sheep, you must watch over everyone God has placed in your care. Do it willingly in order to please God, and not simply because you think you must. Let it be something you want to do, instead of something you do merely to make money. ₃Don't be bossy to those people who are in your care, but set an example for them. ₄Then when Christ the Chief Shepherd returns, you will be given a crown that will never lose its glory.

₅All you young people should obey your elders. In fact, everyone should be humble towards everyone else. The Scriptures say,

“God opposes proud people,

but he helps everyone

who is humble.”

₆Be humble in the presence of God's mighty power, and he will honour you when the time comes. ₇God cares for you, so turn all your worries over to him.

₈Be on your guard and stay awake. Your enemy, the devil, is like a roaring lion, prowling around to find someone to attack. ₉But you must resist the devil and stay strong in your faith. You know that all over the world the Lord's followers are suffering just as you are. ₁₀But God shows undeserved kindness to everyone. That's why he appointed Christ Jesus to choose you to share in his eternal glory. You will suffer for a while, but God will make you complete, steady, strong, and firm. ₁₁God will be in control for ever! Amen.

Final greetings

₁₂Silvanus helped me write this short letter, and I consider him a faithful follower of the Lord. I wanted to encourage you and tell you how kind God really is, so that you will keep on having faith in him.

₁₃Greetings from the Lord's followers in Babylon. They are God's chosen ones.

Mark, who is like a son to me, sends his greetings too.

₁₄Give each other a warm greeting. I pray that God will give peace to everyone who belongs to Christ.

1 Peter 5:1-14CEVOpen in Bible reader