Ezekiel 32:1-6

Lament over Pharaoh and Egypt

1 In the ¹twelfth * year, in the twelfth * month, on the first of the month, the word of the LORD came to me saying,

2 "Son of man, take up a ²lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him, 'You compared yourself to a young ³lion of the nations, Yet you are like the ⁴monster in the seas; And you ⁵burst forth in your rivers And muddied the waters with your feet And fouled their rivers.' "

3 Thus says the Lord GOD, "Now I will ⁶spread 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 ⁷birds 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 ⁸on the mountains And fill the valleys with your refuse.

6 "I will also make the land drink the discharge of your ⁹blood As far as the mountains, And the ravines will be full of you.

Ezekiel 32:1-6 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

• 1. Ezekiel 30:20; Ezekiel 31:1; Ezekiel 32:17; Ezekiel 33:21
• 2. Ezekiel 19:1; Ezekiel 27:2; Ezekiel 28:12; Ezekiel 32:16
• 3. Jeremiah 4:7; Ezekiel 19:2-6; Nahum 2:11-13
• 4. Isaiah 27:1; Ezekiel 29:3
• 5. Jeremiah 46:7, 8
• 6. Ezekiel 12:13
• 7. Isaiah 18:6
• 8. Ezekiel 31:12
• 9. Exodus 7:17; Isaiah 34:3, 7; Ezekiel 35:6; Revelation 14:20

Footnotes

• [a] Or "were like"
• [b] Lit "fouled by stamping"
• [c] Heb "YHWH," usually rendered LORD, and so throughout the ch
• [d] Lit "surface of the field"
• [e] Lit "from"