30¹ The word of the Lord came again to me saying , ² "Son of man , prophesy and say , 'Thus says the Lord GOD , " Wail , 'Alas for the day !' ³ "For the day is near , Even the day of the Lord is near ; It will be a day of clouds , A time of doom for the nations . ⁴ "A sword will come upon Egypt , And anguish will be in Ethiopia ; When the slain fall in Egypt , They take away her wealth , And her foundations are torn down . ⁵ "Ethiopia , Put , Lud , all Arabia , Libya and the people of the land that is in league will fall with them by the sword ." ⁶ 'Thus says the Lord , "Indeed, those who support Egypt will fall And the pride of her power will come down ; From Migdol to Syene They will fall within her by the sword ," Declares the Lord GOD . ⁷ "They will be desolate In the midst of the desolated lands ; And her cities will be In the midst of the devastated cities . ⁸ "And they will know that I am the Lord , When I set a fire in Egypt And all her helpers are broken . ⁹ "On that day messengers will go forth from Me in ships to frighten secure Ethiopia ; and anguish will be on them as on the day of Egypt ; for behold , it comes !" ¹⁰ 'Thus says the Lord GOD , " I will also make the hordes of Egypt cease By the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon . ¹¹ "He and his people with him, The most ruthless of the nations , Will be brought in to destroy the land ; And they will draw their swords against Egypt And fill the land with the slain . ¹² "Moreover, I will make the Nile canals dry And sell the land into the hands of evil men . And I will make the land desolate And all that is in it, By the hand of strangers ; I the Lord have spoken ." ¹³ 'Thus says the Lord GOD , "I will also destroy the idols And make the images cease from Memphis . And there will no longer be a prince in the land of Egypt ; And I will put fear in the land of Egypt . ¹⁴ "I will make Pathros desolate , Set a fire in Zoan And execute judgments on Thebes . ¹⁵ "I will pour out My wrath on Sin , The stronghold of Egypt ; I will also cut off the hordes of Thebes . ¹⁶ "I will set a fire in Egypt ; Sin will writhe in anguish , Thebes will be breached And Memphis will have distresses daily . ¹⁷ "The young men of On and of Pi-beseth Will fall by the sword , And the women will go into captivity . ¹⁸ "In Tehaphnehes the day will be dark When I break there the yoke bars of Egypt . Then the pride of her power will cease in her; A cloud will cover her, And her daughters will go into captivity . ¹⁹ "Thus I will execute judgments on Egypt , And they will know that I am the Lord .""'

²⁰ In the eleventh e year , in the first month, on the seventh of the month , the word of the Lord came to me saying , ²¹ "Son of man , I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt ; and, behold , it has not been bound up for healing or wrapped with a bandage , that it may be strong to hold the sword . ²² "Therefore thus says the Lord GOD , 'Behold , I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt and will break his arms , both the strong and the broken ; and I will make the sword fall from his hand . ²³ 'I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands . ²⁴ 'For I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put My sword in his hand ; and I will break the arms of Pharaoh , so that he will groan before him with the groanings of a wounded man . ²⁵ 'Thus I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon , but the arms of Pharaoh will fall . Then they will 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 . ²⁶ 'When I scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands , then they will know that I am the Lord .' "

31¹ In the eleventh e year , in the third month, on the first of the month , the word of the Lord came to me saying , ² "Son of man , say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his hordes , 'Whom e are you like in your greatness ? ³ 'Behold , Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon With beautiful branches and forest shade , And very high , And its top was among the clouds . ⁴ 'The waters made it grow , the deep made it high . With its rivers it continually extended all around its planting place , And sent out its channels to all the trees of the field . ⁵ 'Therefore e its height was loftier than all the trees of the field And its boughs became many and its branches long Because of many waters as it spread them out. ⁶ 'All the birds of the heavens nested in its boughs , And under its branches all the beasts of the field gave birth , And all great nations lived under its shade . ⁷ 'So it was beautiful in its greatness , in the length of its branches ; For its roots extended to many waters . ⁸ 'The cedars in God's garden could not match it; The cypresses could not compare with its boughs , And the plane trees could not match its branches . No e tree in God's garden could compare with it in its beauty . ⁹ 'I made it beautiful with the multitude of its branches , And all the trees of Eden , which were in the garden of God , were jealous of it.

¹⁰ 'Therefore thus says the Lord GOD , "Because e it is high in stature and has set its top among the clouds , and its heart is haughty in its loftiness , ¹¹ therefore I will give it into the hand of a despot of the nations ; he will thoroughly deal with it. According to its wickedness I have driven it away . ¹² " Alien tyrants of the 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 down from its shade and left it. ¹³ "On its ruin all the birds of the heavens will dwell , and all the beasts of the field will be on its fallen branches ¹⁴ so that all the trees by the waters may not be exalted in their stature , nor set their top among the clouds , nor their well-watered mighty ones stand erect in their height . For they have all been given over to death , to the earth beneath , among the sons of men , with those who go down to the pit ." ¹⁵ 'Thus says the Lord GOD , "On the day when it went down to Sheol I caused lamentations ; I closed the deep over it and held back its rivers . And its many waters were stopped up, and I made Lebanon mourn for it, and all the trees of the field wilted away on account of it. ¹⁶ "I made the nations quake at the sound of its fall when I made it go down to Sheol with those who go down to the pit ; and all the well-watered trees of Eden , the choicest and best of Lebanon , were comforted in the earth beneath . ¹⁷ "They also went down with it to Sheol to those who were slain by the sword ; and those who were its strength lived under its shade among the nations . ¹⁸ "To which among the trees of Eden are you thus equal in glory and greatness ? Yet you will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the earth beneath ; you will lie in the midst of the uncircumcised , with those who were slain by the sword . So is Pharaoh and all his hordes !"' declares the Lord GOD ."

32¹ In the twelfth e year , in the twelfth e month, on the first of the month , the word of the Lord came to me saying , ² "Son of man , take up a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him, 'You compared yourself to a young lion of the nations , Yet you are like the monster in the seas ; And you burst forth in your rivers And muddied the waters with your feet And fouled their rivers .' " ³ Thus says the Lord GOD , "Now I will spread My net over you With a company of many peoples , And they shall lift you up in My net . ⁴ "I will leave you on the land ; I will cast you on the open field . And I will cause all the birds of the heavens to dwell on you, And I will satisfy the beasts of the whole earth with you. ⁵ "I will lay your flesh on the mountains And fill the valleys with your refuse . ⁶ "I will also make the land drink the discharge of your blood As far as the mountains , And the ravines will be full of you. ⁷ "And when I extinguish you, I will cover the heavens and darken their stars ; I will cover the sun with a cloud And the moon will not give its light . ⁸ "All the shining lights in the heavens I will darken over you And will set darkness on your land ," Declares the Lord GOD . ⁹ "I will also trouble the hearts of many peoples when I bring your destruction among the nations , into lands which you have not known . ¹⁰ "I will make many peoples appalled at you, and their kings will be horribly afraid of you when I brandish My sword before e them; and they will tremble every moment , every man for his own life , on the day of your fall ." ¹¹ For thus says the Lord GOD , "The sword of the king of Babylon will come upon you. ¹² "By the swords of the mighty ones I will cause your hordes to fall ; all of them are tyrants of the nations , And they will devastate the pride of Egypt , And all its hordes will be destroyed . ¹³ "I will also destroy all its cattle from beside many waters ; And the foot of man will not muddy them anymore And the hoofs of beasts will not muddy them. ¹⁴ "Then I will make their waters settle And will cause their rivers to run like oil ," Declares the Lord GOD . ¹⁵ "When I make the land of Egypt a desolation , And the land is destitute of that which filled it, When I smite all those who live in it, Then they shall know that I am the Lord . ¹⁶ "This is a lamentation and they shall chant it. The daughters of the nations shall chant it. Over Egypt and over all her hordes they shall chant it," declares the Lord GOD .

¹⁷ In the twelfth e year , on the fifteenth e of the month , the word of the Lord came to me saying , ¹⁸ "Son of man , wail for the hordes of Egypt and bring it down , her and the daughters of the powerful nations , to the nether world , with those who go down to the pit ; ¹⁹ 'Whom do you surpass in beauty ? Go down and make your bed with the uncircumcised .' ²⁰ "They shall fall in the midst of those who are slain by the sword . She is given over to the sword ; they have drawn her and all her hordes away . ²¹ "The strong among the mighty ones shall speak of him and his helpers from the midst of Sheol , 'They have gone down , they lie still , the uncircumcised , slain by the sword .' ²² " Assyria is there and all her company ; her graves are round about her. All of them are slain , fallen by the sword , ²³ whose graves are set in the remotest parts of the pit and her company is round about her grave . All of them are slain , fallen by the sword , who spread terror in the land of the living . ²⁴ " Elam is there and all her hordes around her grave ; all of them slain , fallen by the sword , who went down uncircumcised to the lower parts of the earth , who instilled their terror in the land of the living and bore their disgrace with those who went down to the pit . ²⁵ "They have made a bed for her among the slain with all her hordes . Her graves are around it, they are all uncircumcised , slain by the sword (although their terror was instilled in the land of the living ), and they bore their disgrace with those who go down to the pit ; they were put in the midst of the slain . ²⁶ " Meshech , Tubal and all their hordes are there ; their graves surround them. All of them were slain by the sword uncircumcised , though they instilled their terror in the land of the living . ²⁷ " Nor do they lie beside the fallen heroes of the uncircumcised , who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war and whose swords were laid under their heads ; but the punishment for their iniquity rested on their bones , though the terror of these heroes was once in the land of the living . ²⁸ "But in the midst of the uncircumcised you will be broken and lie with those slain by the sword . ²⁹ "There also is Edom , its kings and all its princes , who for all their might are laid with those slain by the sword ; they will lie with the uncircumcised and with those who go down to the pit . ³⁰ "There also are the chiefs of the north , all of them, and all the Sidonians , who in spite of the terror resulting from their might , in shame went down with the slain . So they lay down uncircumcised with those slain by the sword and bore their disgrace with those who go down to the pit . ³¹ "These Pharaoh will see , and he will be comforted for all his hordes slain by the sword , even Pharaoh and all his army ," declares the Lord GOD . ³² "Though I instilled a terror of him in the land of the living , yet he will be made to lie down among the uncircumcised along with those slain by the sword , even Pharaoh and all his hordes ," declares the Lord GOD .

Good Stewards of God's Grace

4¹ Therefore , since Christ has suffered in the flesh , arm yourselves also with the same purpose , because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin , ² so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men , but for the will of God . ³ For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles , having pursued a course of sensuality , lusts , drunkenness , carousing , drinking parties and abominable idolatries .

⁴ In all this , they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation , and they malign you; ⁵ but they will give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead . ⁶ For the gospel has for this purpose been preached even to those who are dead , that though they are judged in the flesh as men , they may live in the spirit according to the will of God .

⁷ The end of all things is near ; therefore , be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer . ⁸ Above all , keep fervent in your love for one another , because love covers a multitude of sins . ⁹ Be hospitable to one another without complaint . ¹⁰ As each one has received a special gift , employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God . ¹¹ Whoever e speaks , is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God ; whoever e serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies ; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ , to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever . Amen .

Suffering as a Christian

¹² Beloved , do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing , as though some strange thing were happening to you; ¹³ but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ , keep on rejoicing , so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation . ¹⁴ If you are reviled for the name of Christ , you are blessed , because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. ¹⁵ Make sure that none e of you suffers as a murderer , or thief , or evildoer , or a troublesome meddler ; ¹⁶ but if anyone suffers as a Christian , he is not to be ashamed , but is to glorify God in this name . ¹⁷ For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God ; and if it begins with us first , what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God ? ¹⁸ AND IF IT IS WITH DIFFICULTY THAT THE RIGHTEOUS IS SAVED , WHAT WILL BECOME OF THE GODLESS MAN AND THE SINNER ? ¹⁹ Therefore , those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right .