EzekielChapter 32

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In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me:

Son of man, raise a lament over Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him: You thought yourself a lion among the nations, but you are like a monster in the seas. You thrashed about in your streams, muddied the water with your feet, and fouled their channels.

Thus says the Lord GOD: I will spread my net over you before an assembly of many peoples, and they will haul you up in my dragnet.

I will fling you down on the land, hurl you out on the open field. I will make every bird of the sky settle on you, and I will glut the beasts of the whole earth with you.

I will strew your flesh on the mountains and fill the valleys with your remains.

I will drench the land with your flowing blood, all the way to the mountains, and the ravines will be filled with you.

When you are snuffed out, I will cover the heavens and darken their stars. I will veil the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not give its light.

All the shining lights of the heavens I will darken over you, and I will bring darkness upon your land, declares the Lord GOD.

I will trouble the hearts of many peoples when I carry the news of your ruin among the nations, into lands you have never known.

I will make many peoples appalled at you, and their kings will shudder with horror because of you when I brandish my sword before their faces. Again and again they will tremble, each for his own life, on the day of your downfall.

For thus says the Lord GOD: The sword of the king of Babylon will come upon you.

By the swords of warriors—the most ruthless of nations, all of them—I will bring down your hordes. They will ravage the pride of Egypt, and all her hordes will be destroyed.

I will wipe out all her cattle beside the abundant waters. No human foot will stir them again, and no hoof of cattle will muddy them.

Then I will let their waters settle and make their streams flow like oil, declares the Lord GOD.

When I make the land of Egypt a desolation, a land stripped of all that filled it, when I strike down all who live in it, then they will know that I am the LORD.

This is a lament, and it shall be chanted; the daughters of the nations shall chant it. Over Egypt and all her hordes they shall chant it, declares the Lord GOD.

In the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me:

Son of man, wail over the hordes of Egypt and send them down—her and the daughters of mighty nations—to the world below, to those who have gone down to the pit.

Whom do you surpass in splendor? Go down and be laid among the uncircumcised!

They will fall among those slain by the sword. The sword is drawn; she and all her hordes are dragged away.

From the depths of Sheol the mighty chiefs will speak to him and his allies: They have come down; they lie there, the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.

Assyria is there with all her company, her graves all around her—all of them slain, fallen by the sword.

Her graves are set in the far reaches of the pit, and her company lies around her grave—all of them slain, fallen by the sword, they who once spread terror through the land of the living.

Elam is there with all her hordes around her grave—all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who went down uncircumcised to the world below, who spread their terror through the land of the living and now bear their disgrace with those who go down to the pit.

Among the slain they made her a bed with all her hordes, her graves all around her—all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword. Because their terror was spread through the land of the living, they bear their disgrace with those who go down to the pit; they are laid among the slain.

Meshech and Tubal are there with all their hordes, their graves all around them—all of them uncircumcised, pierced by the sword, because they spread their terror through the land of the living.

They do not lie with the warriors who fell in ages past, who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war, their swords laid beneath their heads and their guilt resting on their bones—for the terror of these warriors once filled the land of the living.

And you too will be broken among the uncircumcised and will lie with those slain by the sword.

Edom is there, her kings and all her princes, who for all their might are laid with those slain by the sword. They lie with the uncircumcised, with those who go down to the pit.

There are the princes of the north, all of them, and all the Sidonians, who went down with the slain, disgraced for all the terror of their strength. They lie uncircumcised with those slain by the sword and bear their disgrace with those who go down to the pit.

Pharaoh will see them and be consoled over all his hordes—Pharaoh and all his army, slain by the sword, declares the Lord GOD.

For I spread my terror through the land of the living, and Pharaoh with all his hordes will be laid among the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword, declares the Lord GOD.

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Summary2

Chapter 32

Main Theme: A double lament over Pharaoh and Egypt announcing their fall and descent to the realm of the dead.

Content: God commands Ezekiel to deliver a lament over Pharaoh, who is compared to a lion and a sea monster that will be caught and cast ashore as food for birds and beasts. The king of Babylon is the instrument of God's judgment, and cosmic signs such as the darkening of the sun, moon, and stars will accompany Egypt's fall. Egypt will descend into the realm of the dead where they meet other fallen powers—Assyria, Elam, Meshech-Tubal, Edom, and Sidon—all lying uncircumcised, slain by the sword.

Key Words/Images:

Sea monster (תַּנִּים): Pharaoh is portrayed as a mighty creature in the rivers that stirs up the waters, but whom God will catch in His net.
Cosmic darkening: The sun, moon, and stars will be darkened as signs of God's judgment and Egypt's fall.
Realm of the dead (שְׁאוֹל): The underworld where Egypt will lie together with other fallen nations, uncircumcised.
Uncircumcised (עֲרֵלִים): A term for the dishonored dead who lie in shame, without honor in death.

Historical context

People

The chapter is directed at Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Although no specific pharaoh is named by name, the dating in verse 1 (twelfth year, twelfth month, first day – about March 585 B.C.) points to Hophra (Hebrew: Khofra; Egyptian: Wahibre; Greek: Apries), who reigned from 589–570 B.C.

Places

The chapter mentions several nations and peoples already in the realm of the dead: Assyria (v. 22–23), Elam (v. 24–25), Meshech and Tubal (v. 26–27), Edom (v. 29), and princes from the north and Sidonians (v. 30). Assyria represents the Neo-Assyrian Empire, which fell between 612–609 B.C. Elam was an ancient kingdom east of the Tigris with its capital at Susa. Meshech and Tubal were Anatolian peoples in what is now Turkey, known from Assyrian sources as Muški and Tabal. Sidon was a Phoenician coastal city north of Tyre. All these represent powerful nations that once spread fear but now lie in the realm of the dead.

Events and Customs

The chapter contains two laments (qinah) over Egypt (v. 2–16 and v. 17–32). The lament genre was an established literary form in the ancient Near East, used at deaths and national disasters. The second lament describes descent to Sheol (sheol) and burial among "the uncircumcised" (arelim). In Israelite and Egyptian thought, this was a shameful fate. Egyptians placed great emphasis on proper burial and mummification to ensure a dignified afterlife. To be laid among the uncircumcised war dead was therefore a special humiliation for the Egyptian pharaoh, who was regarded as divine. Verse 27 mentions the custom of placing swords under the heads of fallen warriors, a burial practice known from archaeological finds in the region.

Key Terms

Tannim (תַּנִּים, v. 2) is often translated "sea monster" or "crocodile" and represents chaotic forces. The Nile was home to crocodiles, and the image links Pharaoh with the dangerous animal that stirs up the water – a metaphor for Egypt’s destabilizing influence. Sheol (שְׁאוֹל) is the realm of the dead or the dwelling place of the deceased, described as a place deep under the earth ("the depths of the earth", erets tachtit). Bor (בּוֹר, "pit/grave") is used parallel to Sheol and denotes the grave as a descent into the realm of the dead. Arelim (עֲרֵלִים, "the uncircumcised") was a derogatory term for pagan peoples; lying among them was a shame that stripped the deceased of honor even in death.

Chapter-Specific Findings

Babylonian chronicles document Nebuchadnezzar’s campaign against Egypt in 568/567 B.C., confirming the historical framework for this prophecy. Assyrian inscriptions record Ashurbanipal’s plundering of Susa in 646 B.C., explaining why Elam is mentioned among the fallen nations in the realm of the dead. Archaeological excavations in Anatolia have uncovered Bronze Age burial sites where warriors were buried with weapons, including swords placed beside the body – a parallel to the description in verse 27 of heroes who "went down to Sheol with their weapons of war and laid their swords under their heads".

People2

Meshech1 Tubal (Son of Japheth)1

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Key words9

Ezekiel — A prophet in the Old Testament who conveys God's message to the people of Israel.
Book 32 — A chapter in the book of Ezekiel containing a lament over Egypt and its king, as well as prophecies concerning judgment upon fallen nations.
Lament — A poetic text expressing grief, repentance, or regret, often used in biblical contexts to describe God's view of human sins.
Egypt — A powerful ancient nation in North Africa, frequently in conflict with the people of Israel.
Pharaoh — The title for the Egyptian king, regarded as a divine ruler and a symbol of the nation's power and prosperity.
The Deep — A term referring to the depths of the sea or the underworld, used here as an image of the death and destruction awaiting Egypt and its king.
Sword — A weapon representing God's judgment and punishment upon sinful nations and their leaders.
Allies — Nations or peoples who stand with Egypt and share their fate as a result of God's judgment.
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