Ezekiel 30:21

21 "Son of man, the arm of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, I have broken. And look, it has not been bound up for giving of a remedy, or for [the] placing of a splint to bind it [up] to make it strong to take hold of the sword."

Ezekiel 30:21 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 30:21

Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt,
&c.] Not Pharaohnecho, king of Egypt, whose army was overthrown at Carchemish by the king of Babylon, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim; when the latter took from the former all that belonged to him between the river of Egypt and the river Euphrates; by which he was so weakened and dispirited, that he could not stir any more out of his own land, ( Jeremiah 46:2 ) ( 2 Kings 24:7 ) and of him Jarchi and Kimchi interpret it; but Pharaohhophra, or Apries, who was defeated by the Cyreneans, and saved himself by flight; (See Gill on Ezekiel 29:4): and, lo, it shall not be bound up to be healed, to put a roller to bind
it;
a metaphor taken from chirurgeons, who, having set broken bones, put on a bandage or rollers of linen, or such like stuff, to keep them tight; but nothing of this kind should be done; hereby suggesting that Egypt should receive such a blow or wound as would be incurable; see ( Jeremiah 46:11 ) : to make it strong to hold the sword;
which it should not be able to do, or to make war any more, at least with success, or to defend itself.

Ezekiel 30:21 In-Context

19 And I will execute judgments in Egypt, and they will know that I [am] Yahweh."

20 {And then} {in the eleventh} year, in the first [month], on the seventh [day] of the month, the word of Yahweh {came} to me, {saying},

21 "Son of man, the arm of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, I have broken. And look, it has not been bound up for giving of a remedy, or for [the] placing of a splint to bind it [up] to make it strong to take hold of the sword."

22 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Look! I [am] against Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and I will break his strong arm and the broken [arm], and I will let the sword fall from his hand.

23 And I will scatter Egypt among the nations, and I will disperse them among the countries.

Footnotes

• [a] Or "mortal," or "son of humankind"