Ezekiel 32:13-23

13 And I will destroy all the beasts thereof, from beside the great waters; and the foot of man shall not trouble them any more, nor shall the cloven hoofs of beasts trouble them.

14 Then will I make their waters clear, and cause their rivers to run like oil, saith the Lord Jehovah.

15 When I shall make the land of Egypt a desolation, and the country shall be left desolate of all that was in it, when I have smitten all them that dwell therein, then shall they know that I [am] Jehovah.

16 It is a lamentation, and [thus] they shall lament her: the daughters of the nations shall say it in lamenting; they shall say it in lamenting over Egypt and over all her multitude, saith the Lord Jehovah.

17 And it came to pass in the twelfth year, on the fifteenth of the month, the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

18 Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt, and cast them down, her and the daughters of the famous nations, unto the lower parts of the earth, with them that go down into the pit.

19 Whom dost thou surpass in beauty? Go down, and be thou laid with the uncircumcised.

20 They shall fall in the midst of them that are slain by the sword. The sword hath been given: draw her out, and all her multitudes.

21 The strong among the mighty, with them that helped him, shall speak to him out of the midst of Sheol: they are gone down, they lie still, the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.

22 There is Asshur and all his assemblage, his graves round about him: all of them slain, fallen by the sword;

23 their graves are set in the sides of the pit, and his assemblage is round about his grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, -- who caused terror in the land of the living.

Ezekiel 32:13-23 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]. Lit. 'settle' or 'sink down.'
• [b]. Lit. 'of its fulness.'
• [c]. Or 'speak of him.' 'Strong' in this verse is el.
• [d]. Lit. 'her;' so ver. 23, &c.
• [e]. Alluding to the niches in sepulchral vaults.