Ezekiel 32:1-16

A Lament over Pharaoh and Egypt

1 1In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me:
2 2"Son of man, 3raise a lamentation over 4Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him: "You consider yourself 5a lion of the nations, but you are like 6a dragon 7in the seas; 8you burst forth in your rivers, trouble the waters with your feet, and foul their rivers.
3 Thus says the Lord GOD: 9I will throw my net over you with a host of 10many peoples, and 11they will haul you up in my dragnet.
4 And 12I 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.
5 I will strew your flesh 13upon the mountains and fill the valleys with your carcass.[a]
6 I will drench the land even to the mountains with your flowing blood, and the ravines will be full of you.
7 14When I blot you out, 15I 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.
8 All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over you, and 16put darkness on your land, declares the Lord GOD.
9 "I will trouble the hearts of many peoples, when I bring your destruction among the nations, into the countries that you have not known.
10 17I will make many peoples appalled at you, and the hair of their kings shall bristle with horror because of you, when 18I brandish my sword before them. 19They shall tremble every moment, every one for his own life, on the day of your downfall.
11 "For thus says the Lord GOD: 20The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon you.
12 I will cause 21your multitude to fall by the swords of mighty ones, all of them 22most ruthless of nations. 23"They shall bring to ruin the pride of Egypt, and all its multitude[b] shall perish.
13 I will destroy all its beasts from beside many waters; 24and no foot of man shall trouble them anymore, nor shall the hoofs of beasts trouble them.
14 Then 25I will make their waters clear, and cause their rivers to run like oil, declares the Lord GOD.
15 When I make the land of Egypt desolate, and when the land 26is desolate of all that fills it, when I strike down all who dwell in it, then 27they will know that I am the LORD.
16 28This is a lamentation that shall be chanted; the daughters of the nations shall chant it; over Egypt, and over 29all her multitude, shall they chant it, declares the Lord GOD."

Ezekiel 32:1-16 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 32

This chapter contains two more prophecies concerning the destruction of Egypt. The date of the first is given, Eze 22:1, in which the king of Egypt is compared to a large fish taken in a net, and brought to land, and left on it, to be the prey of the fowls of the air and beasts of the field, Eze 32:2-4, and the ruin of that kingdom is further amplified by the casting of it on the mountains and valleys; by the land flowing with its blood; by the darkness of the heavens; by the vexation in the hearts of many people; and by the amazement of kings and nations, Eze 32:5-10, the means and instruments of all which will be the king of Babylon and his army, Eze 32:11,12, the devastation made by him, which would be such as would cause lamentation in other nations, is described, Eze 32:13-16, then follows the other prophecy, whose date is given, Eze 32:17, the prophet is bid to lament the fall of Egypt, which is represented under the funeral of a corpse, Eze 32:18-20, saluted by those gone down to the grave before, or were become desolate; which are mentioned, to assure Egypt of its destruction, Eze 32:21 as the Assyrian empire, and all its provinces, Eze 32:22,23, the Persians and Medes, with all their dominions, Eze 32:24,25, the posterity of Meshech and Tubal, or the Scythians, those warlike people, Eze 32:26-28, the Edomites, the princes of the north, and all the Zidonians, Eze 32:29,30 which would be a comfort, though a poor one to the king of Egypt and his subjects, to have such company with them, Eze 32:31,32.

Cross References 29

  • 1. See Ezekiel 20:1
  • 2. See Ezekiel 2:1
  • 3. See Ezekiel 19:1
  • 4. Ezekiel 29:2
  • 5. Ezekiel 19:3, 5, 6; Ezekiel 38:13
  • 6. Ezekiel 29:3
  • 7. [Isaiah 18:2]
  • 8. [ver. 14; Jeremiah 46:8]
  • 9. See Ezekiel 12:13
  • 10. [Ezekiel 26:3]
  • 11. [Ezekiel 29:4]
  • 12. [Ezekiel 29:5]
  • 13. [Ezekiel 31:12]
  • 14. [Isaiah 14:12]
  • 15. [Isaiah 13:10; Joel 2:31; Matthew 24:29; Mark 13:24, 25]
  • 16. [Exodus 10:21; Isaiah 5:30]
  • 17. [Ezekiel 27:35]
  • 18. [1 Chronicles 21:16]
  • 19. Ezekiel 26:16; [Deuteronomy 28:66]
  • 20. [Ezekiel 29:8, 19]; See Jeremiah 46:26
  • 21. See Ezekiel 31:2
  • 22. See Ezekiel 28:7
  • 23. Ezekiel 29:19
  • 24. Ezekiel 29:11
  • 25. [ver. 2]
  • 26. [Ezekiel 12:19]
  • 27. [Exodus 7:5]; See Ezekiel 6:7
  • 28. [ver. 2]
  • 29. See Ezekiel 31:2

Footnotes 2

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.