Ezekiel32

Ezekiel is commanded to lament for Pharaoh and Egypt, prophesying their violent destruction by the sword of Babylon, leading to widespread desolation and darkness. The Lord declares that Egypt, once mighty, will be cast down and consumed, its fall serving as a terrifying spectacle to other nations. Furthermore, Egypt's multitude will descend into the pit of Sheol, joining other uncircumcised nations already slain by the sword, bearing their shame in the nether parts of the earth.

The First Dirge: God's Judgment on Pharaoh

On the first day of the twelfth month of the twelfth year, the word of ADONAI came to me:

"Human being, raise a lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt; say to him, 'You compared yourself to a lion among the nations; In fact, you are more like a crocodile in the lakes. You burst out of your streams, churn the water with your feet and foul their streams.'

"So here is what Adonai ELOHIM says: 'With many nations assembled, I will spread my net over you, and they will haul you up in my dragnet.

Then I will throw you on the shore, hurl you into an open field, make all the birds in the air settle on you and let the animals of the whole earth eat their fill of you.

I will leave your flesh on the mountains and fill the valleys with your rotting carcass.

I will drench the land in which you swim with your blood, as far as the mountains; the waterways will be full of you.

When I extinguish you, I will cover the sky and make its stars black; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not give its light.

All the shining lights in the sky I will darken above you; I will spread darkness over your land,' says Adonai ELOHIM.

"'I will anger many peoples when I bring your destroyed ones in among the nations, into countries you have not known.

I will make many peoples aghast at you; their kings will shudder in horror over you when I brandish my sword before them. On the day of your downfall they will tremble continuously, each man in fear of his life.'

"For Adonai ELOHIM says this: 'The sword of the king of Bavel will come against you.

With the swords of the warriors I will cause your hordes to fall. They are all the most barbarous of the nations, and they will shatter the glory of Egypt - all its hordes will be destroyed.

I will destroy all her cattle beside her plentiful waters. No human foot will trouble them again, nor the hoof of any animal.

Then I will make their water clear and cause their streams to flow like oil,' says Adonai ELOHIM.

'When I make the land of Egypt a ruined waste, a land stripped of all that filled it; when I strike all those who live there; they will know that I am ADONAI.

This is the lament that they will raise; the daughters of the nations will use it to mourn; they will chant it for Egypt and all its hordes,' says Adonai ELOHIM."

The Second Dirge: Egypt’s Descent into Sheol

On the fifteenth day of the month in the twelfth year, the word of ADONAI came to me:

"Human being, wail for the hordes of Egypt; send them with the daughters of mighty nations down to the underworld, with those who descend to the pit.

Are you more beautiful than the others? Go down, lie with the uncircumcised dead!

They will fall among those killed by the sword; she is given to the sword; pull her down with her hordes.

From the depths of Sh'ol the mightiest warriors will speak of him with those who helped him. They went down; they lie still, the uncircumcised, killed by the sword.

"Ashur is there with her hordes; their graves are all around them, all of them slain, killed by the sword.

Their graves are in the deepest parts of the pit, her hordes are all around her grave, all of them slain, killed by the sword, those who terrorized the land of the living.

"'Eilam is there, with her hordes around her grave, all of them slain, killed by the sword, descended uncircumcised to the underworld, those who terrorized the land of the living; they bear their shame together with those who descended to the pit.

They have given her a bed among the slain with her hordes; her graves are all around them, all of them uncircumcised, killed by the sword, because they terrorized the land of the living; they bear their shame with those who descended to the pit; they are put among those who were slain.

"Meshekh and Tuval with her horde is there, her graves are all around them, all of them uncircumcised, killed by the sword, because they terrorized the land of the living.

They do not lie with the fallen warriors of the uncircumcised who descended to Sh'ol with their weapons of war, their swords laid under their heads, and their crimes upon their bones; because these warriors terrorized the land of the living.

But you will lie broken among the uncircumcised, with those who were killed by the sword.

"There is Edom, her kings and all her princes, who, despite all their power, are laid with those who were killed by the sword, with the uncircumcised, with those who descended to the pit.

"There are all the princes of the north, all of them, and the Tzidoni, who descended with the slain, ashamed of all the terror they caused by their power; they lie uncircumcised with those killed by the sword, bearing their shame with those who descended to the pit.

"All of these Pharaoh will see, and he will be consoled about his hordes, Pharaoh and all his army, slain by the sword," says Adonai ELOHIM.

"For I have put my terror in the land of the living, and he will lie among the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword, Pharaoh and all his hordes," says Adonai ELOHIM.

Study Notes for Ezekiel 32

Verse 1

This prophecy is dated approximately one month after the previous oracle (30:20) and marks the final word against Egypt in the book of Ezekiel. The timing, late in 585 B.C., places it shortly after the fall of Jerusalem, demonstrating God's consistent judgment on all nations.

Verse 2

Pharaoh is compared both to a 'young lion' (a symbol of aggressive power) and a 'whale' (Hebrew: *tannin*, a sea monster or dragon). This imagery links Pharaoh to primeval chaos, often associated with Egypt, whose aggressive foreign policy 'troubled the waters' of the nations.

Verse 3

The metaphor shifts from Pharaoh as a chaotic sea creature to God, the divine fisherman, using a 'net' to capture the monster. The 'company of many people' refers to the invading Babylonian forces used by God as his instrument of judgment.

Verse 4

The image of the monstrous carcass being cast onto the land and devoured by scavengers emphasizes the utter humiliation and dishonor of Pharaoh’s death, denying him a proper burial.

Verse 7

The judgment on Egypt is depicted using 'cosmic catastrophe' language (darkening the sun, moon, and stars). This hyperbole is common in prophetic literature and signifies a historical event so momentous that it overturns the established order of the world.

Verse 11

Ezekiel explicitly identifies the agent of God's judgment: Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. This clarifies that the preceding cosmic imagery describes the devastating impact of the Babylonian invasion.

Verse 14

The violent imagery gives way to profound stillness, where the waters of the Nile (Egypt’s lifeblood) flow 'like oil'—slowly and undisturbed. This signifies the total cessation of human and animal activity and the end of Egypt’s economic vitality.

Verse 16

The lamentation itself is decreed by God to be sung by the 'daughters of the nations.' This ensures that Egypt’s humiliation will be widely known and remembered by its former allies and rivals.

Verse 17

This second oracle, given only two weeks after the first, shifts the focus from the physical destruction of Egypt to its fate in the afterlife. It describes a dramatic vision of the underworld (Sheol, 'the pit').

Verse 18

Ezekiel is commanded to 'wail' and 'cast them down' to Sheol, the common grave of humanity. The focus is on the vast 'multitude' of Egypt, reflecting the great size of its army and population.

Verse 19

The question 'Whom dost thou pass in beauty?' is a taunt, mocking Egypt’s former glory and self-perception. Being laid 'with the uncircumcised' is a critical insult, as circumcision was a mark distinguishing Israel from pagan nations, emphasizing Egypt's pagan disgrace.

Verse 21

The 'strong among the mighty' are the deceased kings and warriors of other nations already residing in Sheol. They greet Pharaoh with bitter irony, acknowledging him as a new, equally disgraced member of their company.

Verse 22

The description shifts to a roll call of nations already humbled in death. Assyria, the great imperial power of the previous century, is listed first, showing that no earthly might can escape the judgment of the grave.

Verse 24

Elam (a strong kingdom east of Babylon) is listed as another former terror now bearing 'shame' in the pit. The vision emphasizes that all nations, regardless of their past military might, share the same fate of humiliation.

Verse 26

Meshech and Tubal (peoples in modern Turkey, often associated with Gog in Ezekiel 38-39) are included, demonstrating the universal scope of God’s judgment extending even to nations on the periphery.

Verse 27

This verse may describe an elite section of Sheol reserved for honored pagan warriors who died bravely (implied by 'weapons of war' and 'swords under their heads'). However, even this honor is negated by the mention of their 'iniquities' and ultimate shame.

Verse 31

The comfort Pharaoh receives is purely ironic and hollow: he is comforted only because he sees that his great empire has fallen no further than all the other once-mighty nations. His fate is universal humiliation.

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Ezekiel32

The First Dirge: God's Judgment on Pharaoh

The Second Dirge: Egypt’s Descent into Sheol

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