Keraia
Ezekiel 32

Ezekiel 32:2

A Lament for Pharaoh King of Egypt · Ezekiel 32:1–16
Read Ezekiel 32

Translations

Modern
“Son of man, take up a lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him: ‘You are like a lion among the nations; you are like a monster in the seas. You thrash about in your rivers, churning up the waters with your feet and muddying the streams.’
Traditional
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 in the seas: and thou camest forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers.
Literal
“Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him: ‘To a young lion of the nations you may be compared, and you are like the monster in the seas. You burst forth in your rivers and you stir up the waters with your feet, and you muddy their rivers.’
Latin
Fili hominis, assume lamentum super Pharaonem regem Ægypti, et dices ad eum: Leoni gentium assimilatus es, et draconi qui est in mari: et ventilabas cornu in fluminibus tuis, et conturbabas aquas pedibus tuis, et conculcabas flumina earum.

Original

Hebrew
English
“Son of man, take up a lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him: ‘You are like a lion among the nations; you are like a monster in the seas. You thrash about in your rivers, churning up the waters with your feet and muddying the streams.’

Notes

Ezekiel 32:2–3

  • Ezekiel compares Pharaoh to a powerful beast (Ezekiel 29:3).

  • Egypt's pharaohs used the lion and a monster in the seas (or crocodile) as symbols of strength. These animals represented power and control. However, both lions and crocodiles can be hunted and killed. The same would happen to Pharaoh.

    God would act through his chosen agents (Ezekiel 32:11–12). They would hunt Pharaoh, capture him, and drag him away.

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

People

Hophra: Pharaoh during Jeremiah's time

Places

Egypt: Ancient nation; Israelites enslaved there; plagues and Exodus

Glossary

Book of Jeremiah Dragon Ezekiel (Person) Ezekiel, Book of Lord Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadrezzar

Topics

Dragon: Symbolical