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Atomic Bible
Ezekiel

Chapter 32

A Lament for Pharaoh King of Egypt and Egypt Cast into the Pit

Ezekiel 32 closes the Egyptian oracles with two laments over Pharaoh and his multitude. First, Pharaoh is portrayed as a monster of the waters who once troubled the nations but will be dragged out, slain, and displayed under cosmic darkness as many peoples recoil at his collapse. Then a second oracle consigns Egypt to the pit, where Pharaoh joins Assyria, Elam, Meshech, Tubal, Edom, and other fallen powers already lying among the slain. Egypt's end is therefore not exceptional glory but shared humiliation among the nations judged by God.

This chapter gathers the themes of the Egypt oracles into a final picture of irreversible humiliation. Pharaoh's grandeur is stripped away in language that reaches from the heavens to Sheol, showing that divine judgment extends over history, creation, and the afterlife imagery of the nations. By placing Egypt among the already-fallen empires, Ezekiel reinforces that no political greatness can resist the LORD's rule, and that terror once spread by the nations returns upon them in judgment.

2 sections·291 words·~1 min read

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Ezekiel 32

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vv. 1-16

A Lament for Pharaoh King of Egypt

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I1n the twelfth year, on the first day of the twelfth month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2“Son of man, take up a lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him: 3This is what the Lord GOD says: 4I will abandon you on the land 5I will put your flesh on the mountains 6I will drench the land 7When I extinguish you, 8All the shining lights in the heavens 9‘I will trouble the hearts of many peoples, 10I will cause many peoples 11For this is what the Lord GOD says: 12I will make your hordes fall 13I will slaughter all her cattle 14Then I will let her waters settle 15‘When I make the land of Egypt a desolation 16This is the lament they will chant for her; the daughters of the nations will chant it. Over Egypt and all her multitudes they will chant it, declares the Lord GOD.”

vv. 17-32

Egypt Cast into the Pit

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I17n the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 18“Son of man, wail for the multitudes of Egypt, and consign her and the daughters of the mighty nations to the depths of the earth with those who descend to the Pit: 19Whom do you surpass in beauty? 20They will fall among those slain by the sword. 21Mighty chiefs will speak from the midst of Sheol 22Assyria is there with her whole company; 23Her graves are set in the depths of the Pit, 24Elam is there 25Among the slain they prepare 26Meshech and Tubal are there 27They do not lie down 28But you too will be shattered 29Edom is there, 30All the leaders of the north 31Pharaoh will see them 32For I will spread My terror

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  1. 01vv. 1-16A Lament for Pharaoh King of EgyptThe LORD tells Ezekiel to raise a lament over Pharaoh, who is compared to a lion among nations and a sea monster stirring the waters. God will cast a net over him, drag him onto the land, and leave his carcass for birds and beasts. His fall will stain the land, darken the heavens, and terrify many peoples as Babylon's sword cuts down Egypt's multitude. The lament ends with Egypt desolated so that the land, waters, and peoples know that the LORD has done it.
  2. 02vv. 17-32Egypt Cast into the PitIn a second oracle Ezekiel is told to wail for Egypt and send her down to the pit with the daughters of mighty nations. There Pharaoh joins other fallen empires already in Sheol: Assyria, Elam, Meshech, Tubal, Edom, the princes of the north, and the Sidonians. All once inspired terror in the land of the living, yet now lie among the slain and uncircumcised. Pharaoh will see this company and be consoled only in the grim sense that he is not alone in judgment, for Egypt too has been handed over to the sword.
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