Ezekiel 32:3

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

Translations

Modern
This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I will spread My net over you with a company of many peoples, and they will draw you up in My net.
Traditional
Thus saith the Lord God; I will therefore spread out my net over thee with a company of many people; and they shall bring thee up in my net.
Literal
Thus says the Lord YHWH: ‘And I will spread over you My net with a throng of many peoples, and they will draw you up in My net.
Latin
Propterea hæc dicit Dominus Deus: Expandam super te rete meum in multitudine populorum multorum, et extraham te in sagena mea.

Original

Hebrew
English
This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I will spread My net over you with a company of many peoples, and they will draw you up in My net.

Notes

  • 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.

  • 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).

  • 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

LORD: Names or title used to refer to God

Glossary

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