וַיְהִי בִּשְׁתֵּי עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה בִּשְׁנֵי־עָשָׂר חֹדֶשׁ בְּאֶחָד לַחֹדֶשׁ הָיָה דְבַר־ה' אֵלַי לֵאמֹר

It was in the twelfth year, probably dated from the exile of Yehoyakhin, in the twelfth month, Adar, on the first of the month; the word of the Lord was with me, saying:

בֶּן־אָדָם שָׂא קִינָה עַל־פַּרְעֹה מֶלֶךְ־מִצְרַיִם וְאָמַרְתָּ אֵלָיו כְּפִיר גּוֹיִם נִדְמֵיתָ וְאַתָּה כַּתַּנִּים בַּיַּמִּים וַתָּגַח בְּנַהֲרֹתֶיךָ וַתִּדְלַח מַיִם בְּרַגְלֶיךָ וַתִּרְפֹּס נַהֲרוֹתָם

Son of man, raise a lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say the following, as though you are speaking directly to him: You likened yourself to a young lion of the nations, but you are more accurately like a crocodile (see 29:3) in the seas. Pharaoh is compared disparagingly to a huge reptile whose attachment and dependence on its waters is also the source of its weakness. And occasionally you emerged with your rivers, and when you did so, you sullied the water with your feet, and you muddied their rivers and rendered them murky. In other words, you are harming other countries and nations.

כֹּה אָמַר ה' אֱלוֹהִים וּפָרַשְׂתִּי עָלֶיךָ אֶת־רִשְׁתִּי בּקְהַל עַמִּים רַבִּים וְהֶעֱלוּךָ בְּחֶרְמִי

So said the Lord God with regard to you: I will spread My net over you, as though you are a fish, with an assembly of many peoples, and they will lift you up into My fishing net. Many nations will gather together to hunt you.

וּנְטַשְׁתִּיךָ בָאָרֶץ עַל־פְּנֵי הַשָּׂדֶה אֲטִילֶךָ וְהִשְׁכַּנְתִּי עָלֶיךָ כָּל־עוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם וְהִשְׂבַּעְתִּי מִמְּךָ חַיַּת כָּל־הָאָרֶץ

I will cast you (see 29:5) upon the ground; upon the open field will I hurl you, and I will settle all the birds of the heavens upon you, and I will satiate the beasts of the entire land with you. Since you are a creature of the sea, you will die when you are cast upon dry land, and all kinds of creatures will come to pick at your carcass lying in the open field.

וְנָתַתִּי אֶת־בְּשָׂרְךָ עַל־הֶהָרִים וּמִלֵּאתִי הַגֵּאָיוֹת רָמוּתֶךָ

I will place your flesh upon the mountains, and I will fill the valleys with your haughtiness. Egypt was a conceited, boastful nation, which considered itself the leading representative of the cultured world.

וְהִשְׁקֵיתִי אֶרֶץ צָפָתְךָ מִדָּמְךָ אֶל הֶהָרִים וַאֲפִקִים יִמָּלְאוּן מִמֶּךָּ

I will water the land of your inundation, which is regularly engulfed by the waters of the Nile, with your blood, until, or on, the mountains; and the channels will be filled from you.

וְכִסֵּיתִי בְכַבּוֹתְךָ שָׁמַיִם וְהִקְדַּרְתִּי אֶת־כֹּכְבֵיהֶם שֶׁמֶשׁ בֶּעָנָן אֲכַסֶּנּוּ וְיָרֵחַ לֹא־יָאִיר אוֹרוֹ

I will cover the heavens when you are extinguished, the sky will appear to be covered, and I will darken its stars; the sun will I cover with a cloud, and the moon will not shine its light. The fall of the Egyptian Empire will have the appearance of a cosmic event.

כָּל־מְאוֹרֵי אוֹר בַּשָּׁמַיִם אַקְדִּירֵם עָלֶיךָ וְנָתַתִּי חֹשֶׁךְ עַל־אַרְצְךָ נְאֻם ה' אֱלוֹהִים

The prophet repeats: All the lights of the heavens I will darken over you, and I will place darkness upon your land – the utterance of the Lord God.

וְהִכְעַסְתִּי לֵב עַמִּים רַבִּים בַּהֲבִיאִי שִׁבְרְךָ בַּגּוֹיִם עַל־אֲרָצוֹת אֲשֶׁר לֹא־יְדַעְתָּם

And likewise on the earth, I will vex the heart of many peoples, when I bear news of your ruin among the nations to lands that you did not know. The report of the fall of Egypt will shock the world. Just as Egypt’s fame reached the far corners of the civilized world, so too its fate will horrify all the nations.

וַהֲשִׁמּוֹתִי עָלֶיךָ עַמִּים רַבִּים ומַלְכֵיהֶם יִשְׂעֲרוּ עָלֶיךָ שַׂעַר בְּעוֹפְפִי חַרְבִּי עַל־פְּנֵיהֶם וְחָרְדוּ לִרְגָעִים אִישׁ לְנַפְשׁוֹ בְּיוֹם מַפַּלְתֶּךָ

I will cause many peoples to be astonished at and filled with grief for you, and their kings will be frantic with agitation over you when I brandish My sword before them, and they will tremble every moment, each man for his life, on the day of your downfall. Even if no imminent danger is posed to other nations, the terrible sword raised against Egypt will cast dread upon them as well.

כִּי כֹּה אָמַר ה' אֱלוֹהִים חֶרֶב מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶל תְּבוֹאֶךָ

For so said the Lord God: The sword of the king of Babylon will come upon you.

בְּחַרְבוֹת גִּבּוֹרִים אַפִּיל הֲמוֹנֶךָ עָרִיצֵי גוֹיִם כֻּלָּם וְשָׁדְדוּ אֶת־גְּאוֹן מִצְרַיִם וְנִשְׁמַד כָּל־הֲמוֹנָהּ

I will topple your multitude by the swords of the mighty, the ruthless of the nations, all of them, and they will plunder the pride and glory of Egypt, and all its multitude will be destroyed. Nebuchadnezzar had tough and cruel military personnel at his disposal, and he used them to conquer several kingdoms, thereby turning Babylon into a great empire.

וְהַאֲבַדְתִּי אֶת־כָּל־בְּהֶמְתָּהּ מֵעַל מַיִם רַבִּים וְלֹא תִדְלָחֵם רֶגֶל־אָדָם עוֹד וּפַרְסוֹת בְּהֵמָה לֹא תִדְלָחֵם

I will eradicate all its, Egypt’s, animals from beside abundant water, the waters of the Nile on which they were raised, and the foot of man will not sully them, the waters, any longer, and the hooves of animals will not sully them. The waters of the rivers will remain clear, as neither man nor beast will enter them.

אָז אַשְׁקִיעַ מֵימֵיהֶם וְנַהֲרוֹתָם כַּשֶּׁמֶן אוֹלִיךְ נְאֻם ה' אֱלוֹהִים

Then I will settle the sediment of their waters in the river beds, and their rivers I will conduct like clear oil, without disturbance – the utterance of the Lord God. There will be no activity on the river; no boats traveling, no bathing, no human or animal use at all, and consequently the river will become crystal clear.

בְּתִתִּי אֶת־אֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם שְׁמָמָה וּנְשַׁמָּה אֶרֶץ מִמְּלֹאָהּ בְּהַכּוֹתִי אֶת־כָּל־יוֹשְׁבֵי בָהּ וְיָדְעוּ כִּי־אֲנִי ה'

All this will happen when I will render the land of Egypt desolation and when the land will become desolate from its fullness, when I empty Egypt of all its assets, and when I smite all who inhabit it. A deathly silence will envelop Egypt, and then they will know that I am the Lord. Egypt’s terrible calamity will serve as a paradigm of God’s power, as a lesson for others.

קִינָה הִיא וְקוֹנְנוּהָ בְּנוֹת הַגּוֹיִם תְּקוֹנֵנָּה אוֹתָהּ עַל־מִצְרַיִם וְעַל־כָּל־הֲמוֹנָהּ תְּקוֹנֵנָּה אוֹתָהּ נְאֻם ה' אֱלוֹהִים

It, this prophecy, is a lament and they will lament with it; when the time comes, the daughters of the nations will lament with it; over Egypt and over all its multitude they will lament with it – the utterance of the Lord God.

וַיְהִי בִּשְׁתֵּי עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה בַּחֲמִשָּׁה עָשָׂר לַחֹדֶשׁ הָיָה דְבַר־ה' אֵלַי לֵאמֹר

The prophet recites another prophecy of lamentation, about two weeks after the previous prophecy: It was in the twelfth year, on the fifteenth of the aforementioned month of Adar that the word of the Lord was with me, saying:

בֶּן־אָדָם נְהֵה עַל־הֲמוֹן מִצְרַיִם וְהוֹרִדֵהוּ אוֹתָהּ ובְנוֹת גּוֹיִם אַדִּרִם אֶל־אֶרֶץ תַּחְתִּיּוֹת אֶת יוֹרְדֵי בוֹר

Son of man, wail for the horde of Egypt, and cast it down with your declarations, it, the kingdom, and the daughters of other mighty nations, to the nether lands, with, or to, those who descend into the pit, the dead.

מִמִּי נָעָמְתָּ רְדָה וְהָשְׁכְּבָה אֶת עֲרֵלִים

The prophet casts down, as it were, the nations to the grave one by one (see verse 25): Are you more pleasing than others, Pharaoh? Are you better and more favored than the others? Descend, and be laid with the uncircumcised, the wicked and despicable (see commentary on 28:10), who have already died.

בְּתוֹךְ חַלְלֵי־חֶרֶב יִפֹּלוּ חֶרֶב נִתָּנָה מָשְׁכוּ אוֹתָהּ וְכָל־הֲמוֹנֶיהָ

Among the slain by sword they, the Egyptians, will fall; it is delivered to the sword. Drag it and all its hordes to the netherworld.

יְדַבְּרוּ־לוֹ אֵלֵי גִבּוֹרִים מִתּוֹךְ שְׁאוֹל אֶת עֹזְרָיו יָרְדוּ שָׁכְבוּ הָעֲרֵלִים חַלְלֵי חָרֶב

Mighty heroes who have already died will speak of him, Pharaoh, and of his helpers, from the midst of the netherworld: The uncircumcised descended, lay down, slain by the sword.

שָׁם אַשּׁוּר וְכָל־קְהָלָהּ סְבִיבוֹתָיו קִבְרֹתָיו כֻּלָּם חֲלָלִים הַנֹּפְלִים בֶּחָרֶב

There is Assyria, the former world power that was defeated by the Babylonians, in the netherworld, and all its assembly; all around it are its graves. The multitudes of people who had attached themselves to Assyria in the world of the living reside near them in the world of the dead as well; they are all slain, who have fallen by the sword,

אֲשֶׁר נִתְּנוּ קִבְרֹתֶיהָ בְּיַרְכְּתֵי בוֹר וַיְהִי קְהָלָהּ סְבִיבוֹת קְבֻרָתָהּ כֻּלָּם חֲלָלִים נֹפְלִים בַּחֶרֶב אֲשֶׁר־נָתְנוּ חִתִּית בְּאֶרֶץ חַיִּים

whose graves, of the Assyrian kingdom, are placed at the edge of the pit, and its assembly is all around its burial place. They are all slain, fallen by the sword, as they imposed terror in the land of the living. Those who had formerly cast their dread on the rest of the world are now wretched and helpless themselves.

שָׁם עֵילָם וְכָל־הֲמוֹנָהּ סְבִיבוֹת קְבֻרָתָהּ כֻּלָּם חֲלָלִים הַנֹּפְלִים בַּחֶרֶב אֲשֶׁר־יָרְדוּ עֲרֵלִים אֶל־אֶרֶץ תַּחְתִּיּוֹת אֲשֶׁר נָתְנוּ חִתִּיתָם בְּאֶרֶץ חַיִּים וַיִּשְׂאוּ כְלִמָּתָם אֶת יוֹרְדֵי בוֹר

There in the netherworld is Elam, once a distant nation in Persia whose armies were feared by all, and all its horde around its burial place; they are all slain, who have fallen by the sword, who descended as the despicable and wicked uncircumcised into the nether lands, as they imposed their terror in the land of the living, and they bore their humiliation with those who descend into the pit. They too fell from greatness to oblivion.

בְּתוֹךְ חֲלָלִים נָתְנוּ מִשְׁכָּב לָהּ בְּכָל הֲמוֹנָהּ סְבִיבוֹתָיו קִבְרֹתֶהָ כֻּלָּם עֲרֵלִים חַלְלֵי־חֶרֶב כִּי־נִתַּן חִתִּיתָם בְּאֶרֶץ חַיִּים וַיִּשְׂאוּ כְלִמָּתָם אֶת־יוֹרְדֵי בוֹר בְּתוֹךְ חֲלָלִים נִתָּן

Among the slain, in the netherworld, they placed a bier for it, Elam, with all its horde, all around it, the king of Elam, or the bed, they are all uncircumcised, slain by the sword, because their terror was imposed in the land of the living, and they bore their humiliation with those who descend into the pit; among the slain were they, Elam, placed.

שָׁם מֶשֶׁךְ תֻבַל וְכָל־הֲמוֹנָהּ סְבִיבוֹתָיו קִבְרוֹתֶיהָ כֻּלָּם עֲרֵלִים מְחֻלְלֵי מחוררי חֶרֶב כִּי־נָתְנוּ חִתִּיתָם בְּאֶרֶץ חַיִּים

There in the netherworld is also the fallen of the kingdoms of Meshekh, Tuval and all its multitude, all around it are its graves; they are all uncircumcised, slain by the sword because they imposed their terror in the land of the living.

וְלֹא יִשְׁכְּבוּ אֶת עם גִּבּוֹרִים נֹפְלִים מֵעֲרֵלִים אֲשֶׁר יָרְדוּ־שְׁאוֹל בִּכְלֵי־מִלְחַמְתָּם וַיִּתְּנוּ אֶת־חַרְבוֹתָם תַּחַת רָאשֵׁיהֶם וַתְּהִי עֲוֹנֹתָם עַל־עַצְמוֹתָם כִּי־חִתִּית גִּבּוֹרִים בְּאֶרֶץ חַיִּים

They will not lie, be buried, with heroes; they are inferior to the uncircumcised who fell in battle with them, who descended to the netherworld with their weapons of war, and they placed their swords beneath their heads. Fallen soldiers would usually be buried with their swords under their heads, as a sign of respect. In contrast, the dead of Meshekh and Tuval will continue to lie impaled, disgraced. And instead of being laid to rest with military honor, their iniquities are upon their bones, because the terror of the heroes, Meshekh and Tuval, was in the land of the living. The prophet’s attitude toward these casualties of war is determined by their conduct during their lifetimes. These were cruel soldiers who terrified, fought, and destroyed other kingdoms, and with their deaths they left the world a better place. It is therefore fitting that they should lie in ignominy and shame.

וְאַתָּה בְּתוֹךְ עֲרֵלִים תִּשָּׁבַר וְתִשְׁכַּב אֶת חַלְלֵי־חָרֶב

And you, Pharaoh, among the uncircumcised, the wicked, you will be shattered and you will lie, with those slain by the sword. You will not merit an honorable burial, but rather your body will be left lying in the open field.

שָׁמָּה אֱדוֹם מְלָכֶיהָ וְכָל־נְשִׂיאֶיהָ אֲשֶׁר־נִתְּנוּ בִגְבוּרָתָם אֶת חַלְלֵי־חָרֶב הֵמָּה אֶת־עֲרֵלִים יִשְׁכָּבוּ וְאֶת־יֹרְדֵי בוֹר

There, among the uncircumcised in the netherworld, is also Edom, its kings and all its princes and dignitaries, who, despite their might, were placed together with those slain by the sword; they will lie with the uncircumcised and with those who descend into the pit.

שָׁמָּה נְסִיכֵי צָפוֹן כֻּלָּם וְכָל־צִדֹנִי אֲשֶׁר־יָרְדוּ אֶת־חֲלָלִים בְּחִתִּיתָם מִגְבוּרָתָם בּוֹשִׁים וַיִּשְׁכְּבוּ עֲרֵלִים אֶת־חַלְלֵי־חֶרֶב וַיִּשְׂאוּ כְלִמָּתָם אֶת־יוֹרְדֵי בוֹר

There are the Phoenician princes of the North, all of them, and all the Sidonians, who descended with the slain; they are ashamed of the terror caused by their might, but which ultimately did not avail them; and they lay uncircumcised with those slain by the sword, and they bore their humiliation with those who descend into the pit. At the time of this prophecy, the Sidonians had not yet been conquered; the prophet is describing what will happen to them in the future.

אוֹתָם יִרְאֶה פַרְעֹה וְנִחַם עַל־כֹּל־הֲמוֹנֹה חַלְלֵי חֶרֶב פַּרְעֹה וְכָל־חֵילוֹ נְאֻם ה' אֱלוֹהִים

Pharaoh will see them cast in disgrace in the netherworld, and with this he will be consoled for his entire horde, slain by the sword, Pharaoh and all his army – the utterance of the Lord God.

כִּי־נָתַתִּי אֶת־חִתִּיתִי בְּאֶרֶץ חַיִּים וְהֻשְׁכַּב בְּתוֹךְ עֲרֵלִים אֶת־חַלְלֵי־חֶרֶב פַּרְעֹה וְכָל־הֲמוֹנֹה נְאֻם ה' אֱלוֹהִים

For instead of the fear of Pharaoh and his army, I imposed My terror in the land of the living, and Pharaoh and all his horde will be laid among the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword – the utterance of the Lord God.