Ezekiel 32:1-16

A Lament for Pharaoh, King of Egypt

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

2 "Son of man, raise a lament over Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and you must say to him, '[With] a fierce, strong lion among nations you compared yourself, and you [are] like the sea monster in the seas, and you thrash about in your rivers, and you make water turbid with your feet, and you make your rivers muddy.

3 Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Now I will spread my net over you in [the] assembly of many peoples, and I will bring you up in my dragnet.

4 And I will throw you on the ground; on the surface of the open field I will hurl you, and I will cause every bird of the heaven to dwell on you, and I will satisfy the animals of all of the world from you.

5 And I will put your flesh on the mountains, and I will fill the valleys [with] your carcass.

6 And I will water [the] land [with] your discharge from your blood on the mountains, and valleys will be filled from you.

7 And I will cover [you] at extinguishing your heavens, and I will make dark their stars, and I will cover [the] sun with the cloud, and [the] moon will not give its light.

8 All sources of light in the heavens, I will make them dark over you, and I will put darkness on your land,'" {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

9 "And I will disturb [the] hearts of many peoples at my bringing [about] your captivity among the nations, to countries that you do not know.

10 And I will cause many peoples to be awestruck over you, and their kings will shudder over you [in] horror, at my brandishing my sword before their faces, and they will tremble {continually}, each [person] for his life, on the day of your downfall."

11 For thus says the Lord Yahweh: "The sword of the king of Babylon, it will come to you.

12 By the swords of warriors I will cause to fall your hordes [by] [the most] ruthless of [the] nations, all of them, and they will devastate the majesty of Egypt, and all of its hordes will be destroyed.

13 And I will destroy all her domestic livestock {beside} many waters. [The] feet of humans will not make them turbid again, and [the] hooves of domestic livestock will not make them turbid.

14 Then I will make their waters settle, and their rivers as the olive oil I will let flow," {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

15 "Then I make the land of Egypt [a] desolation, so that the land will be stripped from its fullness when I strike all of [those] dwelling in it, and they will know that I [am] Yahweh.

16 {This is} a lament, and they will chant it as a lament; the daughters [of] the nations will chant it as a lament over Egypt, and over all of its hordes they will chant it as a lament," {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

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.

Footnotes

• [a] Literally "and it was/happened"
• [b] Literally "two of ten"
• [c] Literally "in two ten month"
• [d] Literally "was"
• [e] Literally "to say"
• [f] Or "mortal," or "son of humankind"
• [g] Hebrew "animal"
• [h] Or "with"
• [i] Or "by"
• [j] Or "every"
• [k] Or "give"
• [l] Hebrew "heart"
• [m] Or "when"
• [n] Literally "for moments/seconds"
• [o] Literally "from on"
• [p] Hebrew "human"
• [q] Literally "she [is]"
• [r] Literally "declaration of"