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Ezekiel 30

Ezekiel 30:12

A Lament for Egypt · Ezekiel 30:1–19
Read Ezekiel 30

Translations

Modern
I will make the streams dry up and sell the land to the wicked. By the hands of foreigners I will bring desolation upon the land and everything in it. I, the LORD, have spoken.
Traditional
And I will make the rivers dry, and sell the land into the hand of the wicked: and I will make the land waste, and all that is therein, by the hand of strangers: I the Lord have spoken it.
Literal
I will make the rivers into dry ground, and will sell the land into the hand of the wicked; I will make desolate the land and its fullness by the hand of strangers. I, YHWH, have spoken.
Latin
Et faciam alveos fluminum aridos, et tradam terram in manus pessimorum: et dissipabo terram et plenitudinem ejus manu alienorum: ego Dominus locutus sum.

Original

Hebrew
English
I will make the streams dry up and sell the land to the wicked. By the hands of foreigners I will bring desolation upon the land and everything in it. I, the LORD, have spoken.

Notes

Ezekiel 30:12

I will make the streams dry up: God said he would dry up the Nile River. Egypt depended on the Nile for water, farming, and trade. If the river dried up, the people could not survive or prosper.

Ezekiel 30:1–19

This third message against Egypt is written as a lament (a poem of sorrow). It repeats much of the earlier message in Ezekiel 29:1–16.

God would judge Egypt and its allies. The nation would fall under his judgment.

Ezekiel 29:1–32:32

  • The seventh and final message of judgment against the nations targets Egypt, an old enemy and ally of Israel. This message is the longest and, like the one against Tyre, it addresses both Egypt and its ruler.

  • Egypt often tempted Israel and Judah to turn away from their loyalty to the Lord. Soon after leaving Egypt, Israel fell into the trap of Egypt's idolatry. Egypt led Judah to rely on chariots and horses instead of the Lord, but Egypt was unreliable when it mattered most. The Lord judged Egypt for leading his people astray (compare Luke 17:1–2).

Ezekiel 25:1–32:32

  • This section contains a series of messages of judgment against nearby nations. There are six shorter messages against Judah's immediate neighbors, arranged in a clockwise order, followed by a final message against Egypt (Ezekiel 30–32). Through experiencing God's judgment, the nations would recognize God's control over everything. The nations might be used to carry out God's judgment on his people, but they would not avoid judgment themselves.

  • One of the main purposes of these messages was to show that the negative part of God's promise to Abraham ("I will … curse those who curse you," Genesis 12:3) was still active. No one can harm God's people and avoid consequences, even when God's people are under his judgment.

Theme notes and profiles

Messages Against the Nations

Events

Places

Nile: The major river of Egypt, mentioned in various contexts

Glossary

Book of Jeremiah Ezekiel, Book of Fullness Hophra Lord Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadrezzar

Topics

Egypt: Prophecies Respecting: Utter Desolation of, for Forty Years The Nile River