321 In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month on the first day, the word of the Lord came to me: 2 "Son of man, take up a lament concerning Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him: " 'You are like a lion among the nations; you are like a monster in the seas thrashing about in your streams, churning the water with your feet and muddying the streams. 3 " 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: " 'With a great throng of people I will cast my net over you, and they will haul you up in my net. 4 I will throw you on the land and hurl you on the open field. I will let all the birds of the sky settle on you and all the animals of the wild gorge themselves on you. 5 I will spread your flesh on the mountains and fill the valleys with your remains. 6 I will drench the land with your flowing blood all the way to the mountains, and the ravines will be filled with your flesh. 7 When I snuff you out, I will cover the heavens and darken their stars; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not give its light. 8 All the shining lights in the heavens I will darken over you; I will bring darkness over your land, declares the Sovereign Lord. 9 I will trouble the hearts of many peoples when I bring about your destruction among the nations, among[1] lands you have not known. 10 I will cause many peoples to be appalled at you, and their kings will shudder with horror because of you when I brandish my sword before them. On the day of your downfall each of them will tremble every moment for his life. 11 " 'For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: " 'The sword of the king of Babylon will come against you. 12 I will cause your hordes to fall by the swords of mighty men- the most ruthless of all nations. They will shatter the pride of Egypt, and all her hordes will be overthrown. 13 I will destroy all her cattle from beside abundant waters no longer to be stirred by the foot of man or muddied by the hooves of cattle. 14 Then I will let her waters settle and make her streams flow like oil, declares the Sovereign Lord. 15 When I make Egypt desolate and strip the land of everything in it, when I strike down all who live there, then they will know that I am the Lord.' 16 "This is the lament they will chant for her. The daughters of the nations will chant it; for Egypt and all her hordes they will chant it, declares the Sovereign Lord."
321 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
321 In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 2 "Son of man, raise a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him: "You consider yourself a lion of the nations, but you are like a dragon in the seas; you burst forth in your rivers, trouble the waters with your feet, and foul their rivers. 3 Thus says the Lord GOD: I will throw my net over you with a host of many peoples, and they will haul you up in my dragnet. 4 And I will cast you on the ground; on the open field I will fling you, and will cause all the birds of the heavens to settle on you, and I will gorge the beasts of the whole earth with you. 5 I will strew your flesh upon the mountains and fill the valleys with your carcass.
321 In the twelfth year, on the first day of the twelfth month, God's Message came to me: 2 "Son of man, sing a funeral lament over Pharaoh king of Egypt. Tell him: "'You think you're a young lion prowling through the nations. You're more like a dragon in the ocean, snorting and thrashing about. 3 "'God, the Master, says: "'I'm going to throw my net over you - many nations will get in on this operation - and haul you out with my dragnet. 4 'll dump you on the ground out in an open field And bring in all the crows and vultures for a sumptuous carrion lunch. I'll invite wild animals from all over the world to gorge on your guts. 5 I'll scatter hunks of your meat in the mountains and strew your bones in the valleys. 6 The country, right up to the mountains, will be drenched with your blood, your blood filling every ditch and channel. 7 When I blot you out, I'll pull the curtain on the skies and shut out the stars. I'll throw a cloud across the sun and turn off the moonlight. 8 I'll turn out every light in the sky above you and put your land in the dark. Decree of God, the Master. 9 I'll shake up everyone worldwide when I take you off captive to strange and far-off countries. 10 I'll shock people with you. Kings will take one look and shudder. I'll shake my sword and they'll shake in their boots. On the day you crash, they'll tremble, thinking, "That could be me!" To Lay Your Pride Low 11 "'God, the Master, says: "'The sword of the king of Babylon is coming against you. 12 I'll use the swords of champions to lay your pride low, Use the most brutal of nations to knock Egypt off her high horse, to puncture that hot-air pomposity. 13 I'll destroy all their livestock that graze along the river. Neither human foot nor animal hoof will muddy those waters anymore. 14 I'll clear their springs and streams, make their rivers flow clean and smooth. Decree of God, the Master. 15 When I turn Egypt back to the wild and strip her clean of all her abundant produce, When I strike dead all who live there, then they'll realize that I am God.' 16 "This is a funeral song. Chant it. Daughters of the nations, chant it. Chant it over Egypt for the death of its pomp." Decree of God, the Master.
321 And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 "Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him: 'You are like a young lion among the nations, And you are like a monster in the seas, Bursting forth in your rivers, Troubling the waters with your feet, And fouling their rivers.' 3 "Thus says the Lord God: 'I will therefore spread My net over you with a company of many people, And they will draw you up in My net. 4 Then I will leave you on the land; I will cast you out on the open fields, And cause to settle on you all the birds of the heavens. And with you I will fill the beasts of the whole earth. 5 I will lay your flesh on the mountains, And fill the valleys with your carcass. 6 'I will also water the land with the flow of your blood, Even to the mountains; And the riverbeds will be full of you. 7 When I put out your light, I will cover the heavens, and make its stars dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, And the moon shall not give her light. 8 All the bright lights of the heavens I will make dark over you, And bring darkness upon your land,' Says the Lord God. 9 'I will also trouble the hearts of many peoples, when I bring your destruction among the nations, into the countries which you have not known. 10 Yes, I will make many peoples astonished at you, and their kings shall be horribly afraid of you when I brandish My sword before them; and they shall tremble every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of your fall.' 11 "For thus says the Lord God: 'The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon you. 12 By the swords of the mighty warriors, all of them the most terrible of the nations, I will cause your multitude to fall. 'They shall plunder the pomp of Egypt, And all its multitude shall be destroyed. 13 Also I will destroy all its animals From beside its great waters; The foot of man shall muddy them no more, Nor shall the hooves of animals muddy them. 14 Then I will make their waters clear, And make their rivers run like oil,' Says the Lord God. 15 'When I make the land of Egypt desolate, And the country is destitute of all that once filled it, When I strike all who dwell in it, Then they shall know that I am the Lord. 16 'This is the lamentation With which they shall lament her; The daughters of the nations shall lament her; They shall lament for her, for Egypt, And for all her multitude,' Says the Lord God."
321 On March 3, during the twelfth year of King Jehoiachin's captivity, this message came to me from the Lord : 2 "Son of man, mourn for Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and give him this message: "You think of yourself as a strong young lion among the nations, but you are really just a sea monster, heaving around in your own rivers, stirring up mud with your feet. 3 Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will send many people to catch you in my net and haul you out of the water. 4 I will leave you stranded on the land to die. All the birds of the heavens will land on you, and the wild animals of the whole earth will gorge themselves on you. 5 I will scatter your flesh on the hills and fill the valleys with your bones. 6 I will drench the earth with your gushing blood all the way to the mountains, filling the ravines to the brim. 7 When I blot you out, I will veil the heavens and darken the stars. I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not give you its light. 8 I will darken the bright stars overhead and cover your land in darkness. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken! 9 "I will disturb many hearts when I bring news of your downfall to distant nations you have never seen. 10 Yes, I will shock many lands, and their kings will be terrified at your fate. They will shudder in fear for their lives as I brandish my sword before them on the day of your fall. 11 For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: "The sword of the king of Babylon will come against you. 12 I will destroy your hordes with the swords of mighty warriors- the terror of the nations. They will shatter the pride of Egypt, and all its hordes will be destroyed. 13 I will destroy all your flocks and herds that graze beside the streams. Never again will people or animals muddy those waters with their feet. 14 Then I will let the waters of Egypt become calm again, and they will flow as smoothly as olive oil, says the Sovereign Lord . 15 And when I destroy Egypt and strip you of everything you own and strike down all your people, then you will know that I am the Lord . 16 Yes, this is the funeral song they will sing for Egypt. Let all the nations mourn. Let them mourn for Egypt and its hordes. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!"
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Ezekiel 32:1-16
Commentary on Ezekiel 32:1-16
(Read Ezekiel 32:1-16)
It becomes us to weep and tremble for those who will not weep and tremble for themselves. Great oppressors are, in God's account, no better than beasts of prey. Those who admire the pomp of this world, will wonder at the ruin of that pomp; which to those who know the vanity of all things here below, is no surprise. When others are ruined by sin, we have to fear, knowing ourselves guilty. The instruments of the desolation are formidable. And the instances of the desolation are frightful. The waters of Egypt shall run like oil, which signifies there should be universal sadness and heaviness upon the whole nation. God can soon empty those of this world's goods who have the greatest fulness of them. By enlarging the matters of our joy, we increase the occasions of our sorrow. How weak and helpless, as to God, are the most powerful of mankind! The destruction of Egypt was a type of the destruction of the enemies of Christ.