321 In the twelfth e year , in the twelfth e month, on the first of the month , the word of the Lord came to me saying , 2 "Son of man , take up a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him, 'You compared yourself to a young lion of the nations , Yet you are like the monster in the seas ; And you burst forth in your rivers And muddied the waters with your feet And fouled their rivers .' " 3 Thus says the Lord GOD , "Now I will spread 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 birds 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 on the mountains And fill the valleys with your refuse . 6 "I will also make the land drink the discharge of your blood As far as the mountains , And the ravines will be full of you. 7 "And when I extinguish you, 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 And will set darkness on your land ," Declares the Lord GOD . 9 "I will also trouble the hearts of many peoples when I bring your destruction among the nations , into lands which you have not known . 10 "I will make many peoples appalled at you, and their kings will be horribly afraid of you when I brandish My sword before e them; and they will tremble every moment , every man for his own life , on the day of your fall ." 11 For thus 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 tyrants of the nations , And they will devastate the pride of Egypt , And all its hordes will be destroyed . 13 "I will also destroy all its cattle from beside many waters ; And the 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 desolation , And the land is destitute of that which filled it, When I smite all those who live in it, Then they shall know that I am the Lord . 16 "This is a lamentation 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 .
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.