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Ezekiel Chapter 32

Old Testament Major Prophet 32 Verses

What is Ezekiel 32 about?

Dramatic visions of God's glory, Israel's corporate restoration, and the eschatological Temple given to the exiled priest-prophet. The complete chapter text below provides the immediate literary context for study.

Text — American Standard Version (1901)

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. For original Hebrew/Greek interlinear text, open in BibleWord.ai.
1And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, in the first [day] of the month, that the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
2Son of man, take up a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou wast likened unto a young lion of the nations: yet art thou as a monster in the seas; and thou didst break forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers.
3Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will spread out my net upon thee with a company of many peoples; and they shall bring thee up in my net.
4And I will leave thee upon the land, I will cast thee forth upon the open field, and will cause all the birds of the heavens to settle upon thee, and I will satisfy the beasts of the whole earth with thee.
5And I will lay thy flesh upon the mountains, and fill the valleys with thy height.
6I will also water with thy blood the land wherein thou swimmest, even to the mountains; and the watercourses shall be full of thee.
7And when I shall extinguish thee, I will cover the heavens, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give its light.
8All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord Jehovah.
9I will also vex the hearts of many peoples, when I shall bring thy destruction among the nations, into the countries which thou hast not known.
10Yea, I will make many peoples amazed at thee, and their kings shall be horribly afraid for thee, when I shall brandish my sword before them; and they shall tremble at every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of thy fall.
11For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon thee.
12By the swords of the mighty will I cause thy multitude to fall; the terrible of the nations are they all: and they shall bring to nought the pride of Egypt, and all the multitude thereof shall be destroyed.
13I will destroy also all the beasts thereof from beside many waters; neither shall the foot of man trouble them any more, nor the hoofs of beasts trouble them.
14Then will I make their waters clear, and cause their rivers to run like oil, saith the Lord Jehovah.
15When I shall make the land of Egypt desolate and waste, a land destitute of that whereof it was full, when I shall smite all them that dwell therein, then shall they know that I am Jehovah.
16This is the lamentation wherewith they shall lament; the daughters of the nations shall lament therewith; over Egypt, and over all her multitude, shall they lament therewith, saith the Lord Jehovah.
17It came to pass also in the twelfth year, in the fifteenth [day] of the month, that the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
18Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt, and cast them down, even her, and the daughters of the famous nations, unto the nether parts of the earth, with them that go down into the pit.
19Whom dost thou pass in beauty? go down, and be thou laid with the uncircumcised.
20They shall fall in the midst of them that are slain by the sword: she is delivered to the sword; draw her away and all her multitudes.
21The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of Sheol with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie still, even the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.
22Asshur is there and all her company; her graves are round about her; all of them slain, fallen by the sword;
23whose graves are set in the uttermost parts of the pit, and her company is round about her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who caused terror in the land of the living.
24There is Elam and all her multitude round about her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who are gone down uncircumcised into the nether parts of the earth, who caused their terror in the land of the living, and have borne their shame with them that go down to the pit.
25They have set her a bed in the midst of the slain with all her multitude; her graves are round about her; all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for their terror was caused in the land of the living, and they have borne their shame with them that go down to the pit: he is put in the midst of them that are slain.
26There is Meshech, Tubal, and all their multitude; their graves are round about them; all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for they caused their terror in the land of the living.
27And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised, that are gone down to Sheol with their weapons of war, and have laid their swords under their heads, and their iniquities are upon their bones; for [they were] the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.
28But thou shalt be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised, and shalt lie with them that are slain by the sword.
29There is Edom, her kings and all her princes, who in their might are laid with them that are slain by the sword: they shall lie with the uncircumcised, and with them that go down to the pit.
30There are the princes of the north, all of them, and all the Sidonians, who are gone down with the slain; in the terror which they caused by their might they are put to shame; and they lie uncircumcised with them that are slain by the sword, and bear their shame with them that go down to the pit.
31Pharaoh shall see them, and shall be comforted over all his multitude, even Pharaoh and all his army, slain by the sword, saith the Lord Jehovah.
32For I have put his terror in the land of the living; and he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised, with them that are slain by the sword, even Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord Jehovah.
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What do historical commentaries say about this chapter?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · on verse 1
“And it came to pass in the twelfth year, &c.] Of Jeconiah’s captivity, above a year and a half after the taking of Jerusalem; the Syriac version reads in the eleventh year: in the twelfth month, in the first day of the month; the month Adar, which answers to part of our February, and part of March; the Septuagint version reads it the tenth month: according to Bishop Usherf567, this was on the twenty second of March, on the fourth day of the week (Wednesday), 3417 A.M.or 587 years before Christ: that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying; as follows:”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · on verse 1
“TWO ELEGIES OVER PHARAOH, ONE DELIVERED ON THE FIRST DAY (Eze 32:1), THE OTHER ON THE FIFTEENTH DAY OF THE SAME MONTH, THE TWELFTH OF THE TWELFTH YEAR. (Eze. 32:1-32) The twelfth year from the carrying away of Jehoiachin; Jerusalem was by this time overthrown, and Amasis was beginning his revolt against Pharaoh-hophra.”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · on verse 1
“In the twelfth month - About one year and seven months after the destruction of Jerusalem. In the meantime had occurred the murder of Gedaliah and the flight into Egypt of the Jews left behind by the Chaldaeans Jer. 41–43. Jeremiah, who had accompanied them, foretold their ruin Jeremiah 44:0 in a prophecy probably contemporaneous with the present - the sixth against Egypt, delivered in the form of a dirge Ezekiel 44:2-16. return to 'Top of Page'”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · on verse 1
“Twelfth year - Of the captivity of Jeconiah. Ezekiel 32:2”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · on verse 1
“32:1 On March 3: This event occurred two months after the exiles in Babylon received word of Jerusalem’s fall (see 33:21).”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · on verse 1
“am 3417, bc 587 in the twelfth: On Wednesday, March 22, am 3417, the twelfth year of Jeconiah's captivity, about a year and half after the destruction of Jerusalem, and at a time when Pharaoh was in power and prosperity. Eze 32:17, Eze 1:2, Eze 29:1, Eze 29:17, Eze 30:20 Ezekiel 32:2”
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Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · on verse 1
“Lamentation over the King of Egypt Pharaoh, a sea-monster, is drawn by the nations out of his waters with the net of God, and cast out upon the earth. His flesh is given to the birds and beasts of prey to devour, and the earth is saturated with his blood ( Eze 32:2-6). At his destruction the lights of heaven lose their brightness, and all the nations will be amazed thereat ( Eze 32:7-10). The king of Babel will come upon Egypt, will destroy both man and beast, and will make the land a desert ( Eze 32:11-16). \- The date given in Eze 32:1 \- "In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first of the month,…”
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