Yechezkel 32:1-16

1 2 And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, in the first day of the month, that the Devar Hashem came unto me, saying,

2 Ben adam, take up a kinah (lamentation) for Pharaoh Melech Mitzrayim, and say unto him, Thou art like a lion of the Goyim, and thou art as a sea monster in the yamim (seas); and thou thrash about in thy rivers, and troubledst the mayim with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers.

3 Thus saith Adonoi Hashem: I will therefore spread out My net over thee with a kahal of amim rabbim; and they shall draw thee up in My net.

4 Then will I throw thee upon ha’aretz, I will cast thee forth upon the open sadeh, and will cause all the oph HaShomayim to settle upon thee, and I will fill the beasts of kol ha’aretz (the whole earth) with thee.

5 And I will lay thy basar upon the harim, and fill the ge’ayot (valleys) with thy height.

6 I will also water with thy flowing dahm eretz even up to the harim; and the ravines shall be full of thee.

7 And when I shall put out thy light, I will cover the Shomayim, and make the kokhavim thereof dark; I will cover the shemesh with an anan (cloud), and the yarei’ach (moon) shall not give her light.

8 All the bright lights of Shomayim will I make dark over thee, and set choshech upon thy land, saith Adonoi Hashem.

9 I will also trouble the hearts of amim rabbim (many peoples), when I shall bring thy destruction among the Goyim, into the countries which thou hast not known.

10 Indeed, I will make amim rabbim (many peoples) appalled at thee, and their melachim shall be horribly afraid because of thee when I brandish My cherev before them; and they shall tremble at every moment, every ish for his own nefesh, in the day of thy downfall.

11 For thus saith Adonoi Hashem: Cherev of Melech Bavel shall come upon thee.

12 By the charavot (swords) of the gibborim (mighty) will I cause thy multitude to fall, the most terrible of the Goyim, all of them; and they shall plunder the ga’on (pomp) of Mitzrayim, and all the multitude thereof shall be made shmad.

13 I will destroy also all the behemah thereof from beside the mayim rabbim; neither shall the regel adam muddy them any more, nor the hooves of beasts muddy them.

14 Then will I make their mayim clear, and cause their rivers to run like shemen, saith Adonoi Hashem.

15 When I shall make Eretz Mitzrayim desolate, and the country shall be destitute of that whereof it was full, when I shall strike all them that dwell therein, then shall they know that I am Hashem.

16 This is the kinah (lamentation) wherewith they shall lament her; the banot of the Goyim shall lament her; they shall lament for her, even for Mitzrayim, and for all her multitude, saith Adonoi Hashem.

Yechezkel 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.