Ezekiel 30:14

14 I'll demolish Pathros, burn Zoan to the ground, and punish Thebes,

Ezekiel 30:14 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 30:14

And I will make Pathros desolate
A country in Egypt; (See Gill on Ezekiel 29:14), perhaps it was the first place that Nebuchadnezzar entered, and so went from place to place in the order hereafter mentioned: and I will set fire in Zoan;
or Tunis, a famous city in Egypt in the times of Moses, ( Numbers 13:22 ) ( Psalms 78:12 Psalms 78:43 ) . The Targum and Septuagint version call it Tanis here; and from hence a nome in Egypt was called the Tanitic nome. This city was burnt down by the king of Babylon: the place now built on the spot is called Mansourah, as Dr. Shaw F23 says: and I will execute judgment in No.
The Vulgate Latin version renders it Alexandria; and so does the Targum; of which place Jarchi, Kimchi, and Ben Melech interpret it; and so does Jerom; which, though built after these times by Alexander, and called so after his name, yet is supposed to be built on or near the place where ancient No stood. The city is now called Scanderoon, or Scanderea; the Turks calling Alexander Scander: here the judgments of God were executed in the destruction of it by the Chaldean army; and great devastations have been made in it since it was rebuilt by Alexander, by the Saracens, who destroyed all places where they came; so that, as Dr. Shaw F24 observes, it is somewhat extraordinary that the greatest part of the ancient walls, together with their respective turrets, should have continued entire quite down to this time. The Septuagint version calls it Diospolis, or the city of Jupiter, as does the Arabic version, that is, of Jupiter Hammon; the city of Thebes, where he was worshipped; as it is in a following verse called Hammon No; though Hillerus F25 thinks neither of these places are meant, neither Alexandria nor Diospolis; but Memphis, as it is rendered by the Septuagint in the next verse; (See Gill on Nahum 3:8).


FOOTNOTES:

F23 Travels, p. 304. Ed. 2.
F24 Ib. p. 292.
F25 Onomastic. Sacr. p. 571

Ezekiel 30:14 In-Context

12 I'll dry up the Nile and sell off the land to a bunch of crooks. I'll hire outsiders to come in and waste the country, strip it clean. I, God, have said so.
13 "'And now this is what God, the Master, says: "'I'll smash all the no-god idols; I'll topple all those huge statues in Memphis. The prince of Egypt will be gone for good, and in his place I'll put fear - fear throughout Egypt!
14 I'll demolish Pathros, burn Zoan to the ground, and punish Thebes,
15 Pour my wrath on Pelusium, Egypt's fort, and knock Thebes off its proud pedestal.
16 I'll set Egypt on fire: Pelusium will writhe in pain, Thebes blown away, Memphis raped.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.