Picturing God

1. Yahweh’s word came again to me, saying, 2. “Son of man, prophesy, and say, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Wail, ‘Alas for the day!’ 3. For the day is near, even Yahweh’s day is near. It will be a day of clouds, a time of the nations. 4. A sword will come on Egypt, and anguish will be in Ethiopia, when the slain fall in Egypt. They take away her multitude, and her foundations are broken down. 5. “ ‘ “Ethiopia, Put, Lud, all the mixed people, Cub, and the children of the land that is allied with them, will fall with them by the sword.” 6. “ ‘Yahweh says: “They also who uphold Egypt will fall. The pride of her power will come down. They will fall by the sword in it from the tower of Seveneh,” says the Lord Yahweh. 7. “They will be desolate in the middle of the countries that are desolate. Her cities will be among the cities that are wasted. 8. They will know that I am Yahweh when I have set a fire in Egypt, and all her helpers are destroyed. 9. “ ‘ “In that day messengers will go out from before me in ships to make the careless Ethiopians afraid. There will be anguish on them, as in the day of Egypt; for, behold, it comes.” 10. “ ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “I will also make the multitude of Egypt to cease, by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. 11. He and his people with him, the terrible of the nations, will be brought in to destroy the land. They will draw their swords against Egypt, and fill the land with the slain. 12. I will make the rivers dry, and will sell the land into the hand of evil men. I will make the land desolate, and all that is therein, by the hand of strangers: I, Yahweh, have spoken it.” 13. “ ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “I will also destroy the idols, and I will cause the images to cease from Memphis. There will be no more a prince from the land of Egypt. I will put a fear in the land of Egypt. 14. I will make Pathros desolate, and will set a fire in Zoan, and will execute judgments on No. 15. I will pour my wrath on Sin, the stronghold of Egypt. I will cut off the multitude of No. 16. I will set a fire in Egypt Sin will be in great anguish. No will be broken up. Memphis will have adversaries in the daytime. 17. The young men of Aven and of Pibeseth will fall by the sword. They will go into captivity. 18. At Tehaphnehes also the day will withdraw itself, when I break the yokes of Egypt, there. The pride of her power will cease in her. As for her, a cloud will cover her, and her daughters will go into captivity. 19. Thus I will execute judgments on Egypt. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.” ’ ” 20. In the eleventh year, in the first month, in the seventh day of the month, Yahweh’s word came to me, saying, 21. “Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Behold, it has not been bound up, to apply medicines, to put a bandage to bind it, that it become strong to hold the sword. 22. Therefore the Lord Yahweh says: ‘Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms, the strong arm, and that which was broken. I will cause the sword to fall out of his hand. 23. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries. 24. 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 the king of Babylon with the groaning of a mortally wounded man. 25. I will hold up the arms of the king of Babylon; and the arms of Pharaoh will fall down. Then they will know that I am Yahweh, when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he stretches it out on the land of Egypt. 26. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them through the countries. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.’ ”

31

1. In the eleventh year, in the third month, in the first day of the month, Yahweh’s word came to me, saying, 2. “Son of man, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his multitude: ‘Whom are you like in your greatness? 3. Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with beautiful branches, and with a forest-like shade, of high stature; and its top was among the thick boughs. 4. The waters nourished it. The deep made it to grow. Its rivers ran all around its plantation; and it sent out its channels to all the trees of the field. 5. Therefore its stature was exalted above all the trees of the field; and its boughs were multiplied. Its branches became long by reason of many waters, when it spread them out. 6. All the birds of the sky made their nests in its boughs. Under its branches, all the animals of the field gave birth to their young. All great nations lived under its shadow. 7. Thus it was beautiful in its greatness, in the length of its branches; for its root was by many waters. 8. The cedars in the garden of God could not hide it. The cypress trees were not like its boughs. The pine trees were not as its branches; nor was any tree in the garden of God like it in its beauty. 9. I made it beautiful by the multitude of its branches, so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied it.’ 10. “Therefore thus said the Lord Yahweh: ‘Because you are exalted in stature, and he has set his top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height; 11. I will even deliver him into the hand of the mighty one of the nations. He will surely deal with him. I have driven him out for his wickedness. 12. Strangers, the tyrants of the nations, have cut him off, and have left him. His branches have fallen on the mountains and in all the valleys and his boughs are broken by all the watercourses of the land. All the peoples of the earth have gone down from his shadow, and have left him. 13. All the birds of the sky will dwell on his ruin, and all the animals of the field will be on his branches; 14. to the end that none of all the trees by the waters exalt themselves in their stature, and don’t set their top among the thick boughs. Their mighty ones don’t stand up on their height, even all who drink water; for they are all delivered to death, to the lower parts of the earth, among the children of men, with those who go down to the pit.’ 15. “The Lord Yahweh says: ‘In the day when he went down to Sheol I caused a mourning. I covered the deep for him, and I restrained its rivers. The great waters were stopped. 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 Sheol with those who descend into the pit. All the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, were comforted in the lower parts of the earth. 17. They also went down into Sheol with him to those who are slain by the sword; yes, those who were his arm, who lived under his shadow in the middle of the nations. 18. “ ‘To whom are you thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? Yet you will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the lower parts of the earth. You will lie in the middle of the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword. “ ‘This is Pharaoh and all his multitude,’ says the Lord Yahweh.”

14. I looked, and saw a white cloud, and on the cloud one sitting like a son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. 15. Another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, “Send your sickle, and reap; for the hour to reap has come; for the harvest of the earth is ripe!” 16. He who sat on the cloud thrust his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped. 17. Another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven. He also had a sharp sickle. 18. Another angel came out from the altar, he who has power over fire, and he called with a great voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Send your sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for the earth’s grapes are fully ripe!” 19. The angel thrust his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vintage of the earth, and threw it into the great wine press of the wrath of God. 20. The wine press was trodden outside of the city, and blood came out of the wine press, even to the bridles of the horses, as far as one thousand six hundred stadia.

15

1. I saw another great and marvelous sign in the sky: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them God’s wrath is finished. 2. I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who overcame the beast, his image, and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God. 3. They sang the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and marvelous are your works, Lord God, the Almighty! Righteous and true are your ways, you King of the nations. 4. Who wouldn’t fear you, Lord, and glorify your name? For you only are holy. For all the nations will come and worship before you. For your righteous acts have been revealed.” 5. After these things I looked, and the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened. 6. The seven angels who had the seven plagues came out, clothed with pure, bright linen, and wearing golden sashes around their breasts. 7. One of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever. 8. The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power. No one was able to enter into the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels would be finished.

1. “Yes, at this my heart trembles, and is moved out of its place. 2. Hear, oh, hear the noise of his voice, the sound that goes out of his mouth. 3. He sends it out under the whole sky, and his lightning to the ends of the earth. 4. After it a voice roars. He thunders with the voice of his majesty. He doesn’t hold back anything when his voice is heard. 5. God thunders marvelously with his voice. He does great things, which we can’t comprehend. 6. For he says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’ likewise to the shower of rain, and to the showers of his mighty rain. 7. He seals up the hand of every man, that all men whom he has made may know it. 8. Then the animals take cover, and remain in their dens.