Ezekiel 32:1-16

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.
7 "And when I 10extinguish you, I will 11cover the heavens and darken their 12stars; I will cover the 13sun with a cloud And the moon will not give its light.
8 "All the shining 14lights in the heavens I will darken over you And will set darkness on your land," Declares the Lord GOD.
9 "I will also 15trouble the hearts of many peoples when I 16bring your destruction among the nations, into lands which you have not known.
10 "I will make many peoples 17appalled at you, and their kings will be horribly afraid of you when I brandish My sword before * them; and 18they will tremble every moment, every man for his own life, on the day of your fall."
11 For 19thus says the Lord GOD, "The sword of the king of Babylon will come upon you.
12 "By the swords of the mighty ones I will cause your hordes to fall; all of them are 20tyrants of the nations, And they will 21devastate the pride of Egypt, And all its hordes will be destroyed.
13 "I will also destroy all its cattle from beside many waters; And 22the foot of man will not muddy them anymore And the hoofs of beasts will not muddy them.
14 "Then I will make their waters settle And will cause their rivers to run like oil," Declares the Lord GOD.
15 "When I make the land of Egypt a 23desolation, And the land is destitute of that which filled it, When I smite all those who live in it, Then they shall 24know that I am the LORD.
16 "This is a 25lamentation and they shall chant it. The daughters of the nations shall chant it. Over Egypt and over all her hordes they shall chant it," declares the Lord GOD.

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.

Cross References 25

  • 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
  • 10. Job 18:5, 6; Proverbs 13:9
  • 11. Exodus 10:21-23; Isaiah 34:4; Ezekiel 30:3, 18; Ezekiel 34:12
  • 12. Isaiah 13:10
  • 13. Joel 2:2, 31; Joel 3:15; Amos 8:9; Matthew 24:29; Mark 13:24; Luke 21:25; Revelation 6:12; Revelation 8:12
  • 14. Genesis 1:14
  • 15. Ezekiel 27:29-32; Ezekiel 28:19; Revelation 18:10-15
  • 16. Exodus 15:14-16
  • 17. Ezekiel 27:35
  • 18. Ezekiel 26:16
  • 19. Jeremiah 46:26
  • 20. Ezekiel 28:7
  • 21. Ezekiel 28:19
  • 22. Ezekiel 29:11
  • 23. Psalms 107:33, 34; Ezek 29:12, 19, 20
  • 24. Exodus 7:5; Exodus 14:4, 18; Psalms 9:16; Psalms 83:17, 18; Ezekiel 6:7; Ezekiel 30:19, 26
  • 25. 2 Samuel 1:17; 2 Samuel 3:33, 34; 2 Chronicles 35:25; Jeremiah 9:17; Ezekiel 26:17; Ezekiel 32:2

Footnotes 8

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