The word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD:

    “Wail, ‘Alas for the day!’
        For the day is near,
        the day of the LORD is near;
    it will be a day of clouds,
        a time of doom for the nations.
    A sword shall come upon Egypt,
        and anguish shall be in Cush,
    when the slain fall in Egypt,
        and her wealth is carried away,
        and her foundations are torn down.
    
    
      Cush, and Put, and Lud, and all Arabia, and Libya, and the people of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword.

    “Thus says the LORD:
    Those who support Egypt shall fall,
        and her proud might shall come down;
    from Migdol to Syene
        they shall fall within her by the sword,
    declares the Lord GOD.
    And they shall be desolated in the midst of desolated countries,
        and their cities shall be in the midst of cities that are laid waste.
    Then they will know that I am the LORD,
        when I have set fire to Egypt,
        and all her helpers are broken.
    
    
      “On that day messengers shall go out from me in ships to terrify the unsuspecting people of Cush, and anguish shall come upon them on the day of Egypt’s doom; for, behold, it comes!

  “Thus says the Lord GOD:

    “I will put an end to the wealth of Egypt,
        by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
    He and his people with him, the most ruthless of nations,
        shall be brought in to destroy the land,
    and they shall draw their swords against Egypt
        and fill the land with the slain.
    And I will dry up the Nile
        and will sell the land into the hand of evildoers;
    I will bring desolation upon the land and everything in it,
        by the hand of foreigners;
    I am the LORD; I have spoken.
    
    
      “Thus says the Lord GOD:

    “I will destroy the idols
        and put an end to the images in Memphis;
    there shall no longer be a prince from the land of Egypt;
        so I will put fear in the land of Egypt.
    I will make Pathros a desolation
        and will set fire to Zoan
        and will execute judgments on Thebes.
    And I will pour out my wrath on Pelusium,
        the stronghold of Egypt,
        and cut off the multitude of Thebes.
    And I will set fire to Egypt;
        Pelusium shall be in great agony;
    Thebes shall be breached,
        and Memphis shall face enemies by day.
    The young men of On and of Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword,
        and the women shall go into captivity.
    At Tehaphnehes the day shall be dark,
        when I break there the yoke bars of Egypt,
    and her proud might shall come to an end in her;
        she shall be covered by a cloud,
        and her daughters shall go into captivity.
    Thus I will execute judgments on Egypt.
        Then they will know that I am the LORD.”
    
    
      In the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and behold, it has not been bound up, to heal it by binding it with a bandage, so that it may become strong to wield the sword. Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt and will break his arms, both the strong arm and the one that was broken, and I will make the sword fall from his hand. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them through the countries. And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put my sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before him like a man mortally wounded. I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall. Then they shall know that I am the LORD, when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt. And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”

  In the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his multitude:

    “Whom are you like in your greatness?
        Behold, Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon,
    with beautiful branches and forest shade,
        and of towering height,
        its top among the clouds.
    The waters nourished it;
        the deep made it grow tall,
    making its rivers flow
        around the place of its planting,
    sending forth its streams
        to all the trees of the field.
    So it towered high
        above all the trees of the field;
    its boughs grew large
        and its branches long
        from abundant water in its shoots.
    All 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.
    It was beautiful in its greatness,
        in the length of its branches;
    for its roots went down
        to abundant waters.
    The cedars in 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 in the garden of God
        was its equal in beauty.
    I made it beautiful
        in the mass of its branches,
    and all the trees of Eden envied it,
        that were in the garden of God.
    
    
      “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because it towered high and set its top among the clouds, and its heart was proud of its height, 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. Foreigners, the most ruthless of nations, have cut it down and left it. On the mountains and in all the valleys its branches have fallen, and its boughs have been broken in all the ravines of the land, and all the peoples of the earth have gone away from its shadow and left it. On its fallen trunk dwell all the birds of the heavens, and on its branches are all the beasts of the field. All this is in order that no trees by the waters may grow to towering height or set their tops among the clouds, and that no trees that drink water may reach up to them in height. For they are all given over to death, to the world below, among the children of man, with those who go down to the pit.

  “Thus says the Lord GOD: On the day the cedar 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. I made the nations quake at the sound of its fall, when I cast it down to Sheol with those who go down to the pit. And all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, were comforted in the world below. They also went down to Sheol with it, to those who are slain by the sword; yes, those who were its arm, who lived under its shadow among the nations.

  “Whom are you thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? You shall be brought down with the trees of Eden to the world below. You shall lie among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword.

  “This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares the Lord GOD.”

  In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, raise a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him:

    “You consider yourself a lion of the nations,
        but you are like a dragon in the seas;
    you burst forth in your rivers,
        trouble the waters with your feet,
        and foul their rivers.
    Thus says the Lord GOD:
        I will throw my net over you
        with a host of many peoples,
        and they will haul you up in my dragnet.
    And I 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.
    I will strew your flesh upon the mountains
        and fill the valleys with your carcass.
    I will drench the land even to the mountains
        with your flowing blood,
        and the ravines will be full of you.
    When I blot you out, I 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.
    All the bright lights of heaven
        will I make dark over you,
        and put darkness on your land,
                                            declares the Lord GOD.
    
    
      “I will trouble the hearts of many peoples, when I bring your destruction among the nations, into the countries that you have not known. I will make many peoples appalled at you, and the hair of their kings shall bristle with horror because of you, when I brandish my sword before them. They shall tremble every moment, every one for his own life, on the day of your downfall.

  “For thus says the Lord GOD: The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon you. I will cause your multitude to fall by the swords of mighty ones, all of them most ruthless of nations.

    “They shall bring to ruin the pride of Egypt,
        and all its multitude shall perish.
    I will destroy all its beasts
        from beside many waters;
    and no foot of man shall trouble them anymore,
        nor shall the hoofs of beasts trouble them.
    Then I will make their waters clear,
        and cause their rivers to run like oil,
                                            declares the Lord GOD.
    When I make the land of Egypt desolate,
        and when the land is desolate of all that fills it,
    when I strike down all who dwell in it,
        then they will know that I am the LORD.
    
    
      This is a lamentation that shall be chanted; the daughters of the nations shall chant it; over Egypt, and over all her multitude, shall they chant it, declares the Lord GOD.”

  In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, wail over the multitude of Egypt, and send them down, her and the daughters of majestic nations, to the world below, to those who have gone down to the pit:

    ‘Whom do you surpass in beauty?
        Go down and be laid to rest with the uncircumcised.’
    
    
      They shall fall amid those who are slain by the sword. Egypt is delivered to the sword; drag her away, and all her multitudes. The mighty chiefs shall speak of them, with their helpers, out of the midst of Sheol: ‘They have come down, they lie still, the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.’

  “Assyria is there, and all her company, its graves all around it, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, whose graves are set in the uttermost parts of the pit; and her company is all around her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who spread terror in the land of the living.

  “Elam is there, and all her multitude around her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who went down uncircumcised into the world below, who spread their terror in the land of the living; and they bear their shame with those who go down to the pit. They have made her a bed among the slain with all her multitude, her 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.

  “Meshech-Tubal is there, and all her multitude, her graves all around it, all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for they spread their terror in the land of the living. And they 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. But as for you, you shall be broken and lie among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword.

  “Edom is there, 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.

  “The princes of the north are there, all of them, and all the Sidonians, who have gone down in shame with the slain, for all the terror that they caused by their might; they lie uncircumcised with those who are slain by the sword, and bear their shame with those who go down to the pit.

  “When Pharaoh sees them, he will be comforted for all his multitude, Pharaoh and all his army, slain by the sword, declares the Lord GOD. For I spread terror in the land of the living; and he shall be laid to rest among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword, Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares the Lord GOD.” (ESV)

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

  By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

  By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.

  These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

  By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau. By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff. By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.

  By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.

  By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

  And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets—who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated—of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

  And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. (ESV)