CLARITY EDITION · OLD TESTAMENT
Ezekiel 30
Chapter 30 of 48
Chapter Overview
What happens in Ezekiel 30
God pronounces further judgment on Egypt. A day of darkness and doom is coming for Egypt and its allies. God will use Nebuchadnezzar to break Egypt's power, destroy its idols, and scatter its people.
Scripture
Ezekiel 30
A Day of Doom for Egypt
Study note
God called for mourning because a day of doom was near for Egypt. This was not the ultimate 'Day of the Lord,' but a day of cloudy judgment that would come on Egypt and its African allies: Ethiopia, Libya, Lydia, and others. The sword would come against Egypt, and its allies would fall alongside it. Messengers in ships would go out to warn the Ethiopians, and terror would grip them.
1 The Lord's message came to me again. The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
2 "Son of man, prophesy: The Lord God says -- Cry out, 'What a dreadful day is coming!'" Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Howl ye, Woe worth the day!
3 "That day is almost here -- the day of the Lord approaches. It will be a day of heavy clouds, a day of doom for the nations." For the day is near, even the day of the LORD is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen.
4 "War will come to Egypt, and Ethiopia will writhe in anguish. When people fall dead in Egypt, its wealth will be hauled away, and its very foundations will be ripped apart." And the sword shall come upon Egypt, and great pain shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt, and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be broken down.
5 "Ethiopia, Libya, Lydia, and all of Arabia will fall too. So will Kub and every allied nation. They will die by the sword with Egypt." Ethiopia, and Libya, and Lydia, and all the mingled people, and Chub, and the men of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword.
6 "The Lord declares: Everyone who props up Egypt will collapse. The pride of Egypt's power will crumble. From Migdol to Aswan, people will fall by the sword, says the Lord God." Thus saith the LORD; They also that uphold Egypt shall fall; and the pride of her power shall come down: from the tower of Syene shall they fall in it by the sword, saith the Lord GOD.
7 "Egypt will become the most empty of empty lands. Its cities will lie among the worst ruins anywhere." And they shall be desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are wasted.
8 "Then they will know I am the Lord, when I set Egypt ablaze and all its supporters are crushed." And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I have set a fire in Egypt, and when all her helpers shall be destroyed.
9 "On that day, messengers will sail out from me to panic the confident Ethiopians. Terror will grip them on the day Egypt falls. It is definitely coming!" In that day shall messengers go forth from me in ships to make the careless Ethiopians afraid, and great pain shall come upon them, as in the day of Egypt: for, lo, it cometh.
Nebuchadnezzar Destroys Egypt
Study note
Nebuchadnezzar and his army, described as the most ruthless of nations, would be brought in to destroy Egypt. God would dry up the Nile's canals, destroy the idols in Memphis, and spread fear throughout the land. He listed specific Egyptian cities that would face destruction: Thebes, Memphis, Pelusium, Heliopolis, and Bubastis. A dark cloud would cover Egypt on that day, representing God's judgment.
10 The Lord God says: "I will put an end to Egypt's teeming masses through King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon." Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also make the multitude of Egypt to cease by the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon.
11 "He and his army -- the most ruthless nation on earth -- will be sent in to devastate the land. They will draw their swords against Egypt and carpet the ground with the dead." He and his people with him, the terrible of the nations, shall be brought to destroy the land: and they shall draw their swords against Egypt, and fill the land with the slain.
12 "I will dry up the Nile's waters and hand the land over to wicked men. I will use foreigners to make the entire country a wasteland. I, the Lord, have decreed it." And I will make the rivers dry, and sell the land into the hand of the wicked: and I will make the land waste, and all that is therein, by the hand of strangers: I the LORD have spoken it.
13 The Lord God says: "I will smash the idols and eliminate the false gods of Memphis. Egypt will never again have a homegrown ruler, and I will spread terror throughout the land." Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also destroy the idols, and I will cause their images to cease out of Noph; and there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt: and I will put a fear in the land of Egypt.
14 "I will leave Pathros desolate, set the city of Zoan on fire, and bring judgment on Thebes." And I will make Pathros desolate, and will set fire in Zoan, and will execute judgments in No.
15 "I will unleash my fury on Pelusium, Egypt's fortress city, and cut down the masses of Thebes." And I will pour my fury upon Sin, the strength of Egypt; and I will cut off the multitude of No.
16 "I will set Egypt ablaze. Pelusium will twist in agony, Thebes will be torn wide open, and Memphis will face attackers every day." And I will set fire in Egypt: Sin shall have great pain, and No shall be rent asunder, and Noph shall have distresses daily.
17 "The young men of Heliopolis and Bubastis will die in battle. The people of those cities will be taken away as prisoners." The young men of Aven and of Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword: and these cities shall go into captivity.
18 "When I shatter Egypt's power in Tahpanhes, the sky will darken over that city. A heavy cloud will cover it, and its people will be carried away as captives." At Tehaphnehes also the day shall be darkened, when I shall break there the yokes of Egypt: and the pomp of her strength shall cease in her: as for her, a cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall go into captivity.
19 "I will execute my judgments on Egypt. Then they will know that I am the Lord." Thus will I execute judgments in Egypt: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
Pharaoh's Broken Arms
Study note
In a prophecy dated to shortly before Jerusalem's fall, God said he had already broken one of Pharaoh's arms, referring to Egypt's defeat when it tried to help Jerusalem. Now God would break both arms so that the sword would fall from Pharaoh's hand. In contrast, God would strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put his own sword in Babylon's hand. The Egyptians would be scattered among the nations.
20 During the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day, the Lord spoke to me. And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first month, in the seventh day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
21 "Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt. No one has bandaged it or put it in a splint so it could heal and be strong enough to grip a sword again." Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, lo, it shall not be bound up to be healed, to put a roller to bind it, to make it strong to hold the sword.
22 So the Lord God says: "I am coming against Pharaoh king of Egypt. I will break both his arms -- the strong one and the already-broken one -- and knock the sword out of his grasp." Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms, the strong, and that which was broken; and I will cause the sword to fall out of his hand.
23 "I will scatter the Egyptians among foreign nations and spread them through distant countries." And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries.
24 "I will make the king of Babylon's arms strong and place my own sword in his hand. But I will shatter Pharaoh's arms so he groans before Babylon's king like a man dying from his wounds." And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and put my sword in his hand: but I will break Pharaoh's arms, and he shall groan before him with the groanings of a deadly wounded man.
25 "I will strengthen the king of Babylon's arms while Pharaoh's arms fall limp at his sides. Then everyone will acknowledge that I am the Lord -- when I put my sword in the Babylonian king's hand and he wields it against Egypt." But I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall stretch it out upon the land of Egypt.
26 "I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them across foreign countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord." And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them among the countries; and they shall know that I am the LORD.
Key Themes
Themes in Ezekiel 30
The day of the Lord for EgyptGod's judgment reaches all nationsBabylon as God's instrumentNo ally can save from God's judgment
Apply This Today
Living Ezekiel 30
No nation or power is beyond God's reach. The day of reckoning comes for everyone. This chapter encourages us to place our ultimate security in God alone, because every earthly power will eventually face its own day of accounting.
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