Ezekiel 32:1-8

1 And it came to pass in the twelfth* year, in the twelfth month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou art like a young lion of the nations, and thou art as a whale[a]* in the seas: and thou camest forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers.
3 Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will therefore spread out my net over thee with a company of many people; and they shall bring thee up in my net.
4 Then will I leave thee upon the land, I will cast thee forth upon the open field, and will cause all the fowls of the heaven to remain upon thee, and I will fill the beasts of the whole earth with thee.
5 And I will lay thy flesh upon the mountains, and fill the valleys with thy height.
6 I will also water with thy blood the land wherein thou swimmest, even to the mountains; and the rivers shall be full of thee.
7 And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light.
8 All the bright[b] lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord GOD.

Ezekiel 32:1-8 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 2

  • [a]. whale: or, dragon
  • [b]. bright...: Heb. lights of the light in heaven
The King James Version is in the public domain.