New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Ezekiel 32
1
It was the 12th year since King Jehoiachin had been brought to Babylon as a prisoner. On the first day of the 12th month, a message came to me from the Lord. He said,
Reference
2
"Son of man, sing a song of sadness about Pharaoh Hophra, the king of Egypt. Tell him, " 'You are like a lion among the nations. You are like a monster in the sea. You move around wildly in your rivers. You churn the water with your feet. You make the streams muddy.' "
Reference
Kingdom
Ezekiel 29:3
Ezekiel 28:12
Parallel theme
Ezekiel 27:2
Isaiah 27:1
Jeremiah 4:7
Ezekiel 34:18
Ezekiel 38:13
References Egypt
Ezekiel 32:16
3
The Lord and King says, "I will use a large crowd of people to throw my net over you. They will pull you up in it.
Reference
Parallel theme
Ezekiel 12:13
Ecclesiastes 9:12
Ezekiel 17:20
Hosea 7:12
Lamentations 1:13
References Lord
Jeremiah 16:16
4
Then I will throw you on the land. I will toss you into an open field. I will let all of the birds of the air settle on you. I will let all of the wild animals eat you up.
Reference
5
I will scatter the parts of your body all over the mountains. I will fill the valleys with your remains.
Reference
Parallel theme
Ezekiel 31:12
6
I will soak the land with your blood. It will flow all the way to the mountains. The valleys will be filled with the parts of your body.
Reference
7
When I wipe you out, I will put a cover over the heavens. I will darken the stars. I will cover the sun with a cloud. The moon will stop shining.
Reference
Darkness
Joel 2:31
Joel 2:2
Joel 3:15
Revelation 8:12
Light
Matthew 24:29
Isaiah 13:10
Proverbs 13:9
Jeremiah 13:16
Parallel theme
Isaiah 34:4
Ezekiel 30:3
8
I will darken all of the bright lights in the sky above you. I will bring darkness over your land," announces the Lord and King.
Reference
Light
Genesis 1:14
9
"The hearts of many people will be troubled. That is because I will destroy you among the nations. You had never known anything about those lands before.
10
Many nations will be shocked when they see what has happened to you. Their kings will tremble with fear when they find out about it. I will get ready to use Nebuchadnezzar as my sword against them. On the day you fall from power, each of the kings will tremble with fear. Each will be afraid he is the next to die."
Reference
11
The Lord and King says, "I will send against you the sword of the king of Babylonia.
12
I will destroy your huge army. They will be killed with the swords of Babylonia's mighty soldiers. The soldiers will not show them any pity. They will bring Egypt down in all of its pride. Its huge armies will be thrown down.
Reference
13
I will destroy all of its cattle from the places where they have plenty of water. Human feet will never stir the water up again. The hoofs of cattle will not make it muddy anymore.
Reference
14
I will let the waters of Egypt settle. I will make its streams flow like olive oil," announces the Lord and King.
15
"I will turn Egypt into an empty land. I will strip away everything in it. I will strike down everyone who lives there. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
Reference
References Egypt
Ezekiel 29:12
References Lord
Exodus 7:5
Ezekiel 6:7
Exodus 14:18
Exodus 14:4
Psalm 9:16
Ezekiel 30:26
16
"That is the song of sadness people will sing about Egypt. Women from other nations will sing it. They will sob over Egypt and its huge armies," announces the Lord and King.
Reference
Parallel theme
Ezekiel 26:17
2 Chronicles 35:25
2 Samuel 1:17
References Egypt
Ezekiel 32:2
References Lord
Jeremiah 9:17
17
It was the 15th day of a month near the end of the 12th year since King Jehoiachin had been brought to Babylon as a prisoner. A message came to me from the Lord. He said,
Reference
Word
Ezekiel 32:1
18
"Son of man, sob over the huge army of Egypt. Tell the Egyptians they will go down into the earth below. The women singers from the other mighty nations will go down into the grave along with them and others.
Reference
Parallel theme
Ezekiel 31:14
Jeremiah 1:10
Micah 1:8
Isaiah 16:9
Ezekiel 31:16
Ezekiel 26:20
Ezekiel 43:3
Hosea 6:5
References Egypt
Ezekiel 32:16
Ezekiel 32:2
19
"Tell them, 'Are you any better than others? Since you are not, go down there. Lie down with those who have not been circumcised.'
Reference
20
"They will fall dead among those who were killed with swords. Nebuchadnezzar is ready to use his sword against them. Let Egypt be dragged off together with its huge armies.
Reference
Parallel theme
Psalm 28:3
21
"The mighty leaders who are already in the grave will talk about Egypt. They will also speak about the nations that were going to help it. They will say, 'They have come down here. They are lying down with those who had not been circumcised. They are here with those who were killed with swords.'
Reference
Word
Ezekiel 32:27
22
"Assyria is there with its whole army. Its king is surrounded by the graves of all of its people who were killed with swords.
Reference
23
Their graves are deep down in the pit. Assyria's army lies around the grave of its king. All those who spread terror while they were alive are now dead. They were killed with swords.
Reference
24
"Elam is also there. Its huge armies lie around the grave of its king. All those who spread terror while they were alive are now dead. They were killed with swords. They had not been circumcised. They went down into the earth below. Their shame is like the shame of others who go down into the grave.
Reference
25
"A bed is made for Elam's king among the dead. His huge armies lie around his grave. They had not been circumcised. They were killed with swords. They had spread terror while they were alive. So now their shame is like the shame of others who go down into the grave. They lie down among the dead.
Reference
Parallel theme
Psalm 139:8
26
"Meshech and Tubal are also there. Their huge armies lie around the graves of their kings. They had not been circumcised. They had spread their terror while they were alive. So they were killed with swords.
Reference
📍 Meshech-Tubal
27
"They lie down with the other dead soldiers who had not been circumcised. They and their weapons had gone down into the grave. Their swords had been placed under their heads. They had spread their terror while they were alive. But now the shame of their sin covers their bones.
Reference
28
"Pharaoh Hophra, you too will be broken. You will lie down among those who had not been circumcised. You will be there with those who were killed with swords.
29
"Edom is also there. So are its kings and all of its princes. In spite of their power, they lie down with those who were killed with swords. They lie down with those who had not been circumcised. They are there with others who went down into the grave.
30
"All of the princes of the north are there too. So are all of the people of Sidon. They went down into the grave in dishonor. While they were alive, they used their power to spread terror. They had never been circumcised. But now they lie down there with those who were killed with swords. Their shame is like the shame of others who go down into the grave.
Reference
31
"Pharaoh and his whole army will see all of them. That will comfort him in spite of the fact that his huge armies were killed with swords," announces the Lord and King.
Reference
32
"I let Pharaoh spread terror while he was alive. But now he and his huge armies will be buried with those who had not been circumcised. They will lie down there with those who were killed with swords," announces the Lord and King.
Reference
Word
Ezekiel 32:27
Summary of Ezekiel 32
Ezekiel 32 brings the extended series of prophecies against Egypt and Pharaoh toward its conclusion by portraying Pharaoh as a powerful but doomed creature whose apparent strength cannot protect him from God's judgment, while the chapter combines images of military defeat, cosmic darkness, devastated waterways, scattered bodies, and the realm of the dead to demonstrate that Egypt's international influence will eventually become another example of fallen human power.
The first part of the chapter compares Pharaoh to a great sea creature, a fitting image for an Egyptian ruler whose kingdom depended so heavily upon the Nile and its waterways.
Pharaoh appears dangerous and impressive, but God declares that He will capture him with a net and drag him from his position of power.
The image reverses Pharaoh's confidence because the ruler who believes himself capable of controlling his environment discovers that he is himself under God's control.
His defeat will be so complete that his body is symbolically scattered across the land, where birds and animals consume it, representing the removal of royal dignity and the destruction of the power that once surrounded him.
The prophecy then uses blood filling the waterways to reverse one of the most important symbols of Egypt's prosperity.
The Nile normally represents life, fertility, agriculture, transportation, and national stability, but under judgment its waters become associated with death.
This reversal communicates that the very environment that helped Egypt become powerful cannot protect it when God brings judgment.
The imagery then expands from the land and rivers to the heavens themselves.
The sun, moon, and stars are darkened, and clouds cover the sky, creating a picture of cosmic darkness surrounding Egypt's downfall.
Ezekiel is not simply describing an astronomical event; rather, this symbolic language communicates that Egypt's political world is collapsing so completely that it is as though the lights of the entire world have been extinguished.
The downfall of such a powerful kingdom will also frighten other nations because they will realize that if Egypt can fall, their own power is not secure either.
The prophecy specifically identifies the king of Babylon as the instrument of Egypt's military defeat.
Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian army will destroy Egypt's pride, population, wealth, and military strength.
The chapter therefore continues one of Ezekiel's major themes: God can use one nation to judge another, and the apparent political decisions of human rulers ultimately remain within the larger sovereignty of God.
Egypt's defeat is then described through another striking image: its once-busy waters become quiet and undisturbed.
There are no longer people and animals moving around the riverbanks, and the land that was once filled with life becomes desolate.
The silence of the waterways represents the silencing of Egypt's former political and economic activity.
The second half of the chapter becomes a funeral scene among the nations of the dead.
Ezekiel describes Egypt descending into the depths and joining a long list of powerful nations that have already fallen.
Assyria, Elam, Meshech, Tubal, Edom, and Sidon are among those mentioned, creating a symbolic gathering of former powers whose military reputations once caused fear but whose greatness has ultimately ended.
The reference to Assyria is especially significant because Ezekiel had already used Assyria as an example of imperial greatness and downfall.
Assyria had once dominated much of the Near East, yet its empire collapsed after the fall of Nineveh in 612 BC.
Egypt is now placed alongside that fallen empire, receiving the message that no nation can assume that its present strength guarantees its future existence.
The chapter's description of the fallen warriors is deliberately ironic.
These nations once possessed powerful armies, weapons, rulers, cities, and reputations that inspired fear, but now their weapons lie beside them while their bodies rest in graves.
Their former military strength cannot help them.
Their political titles cannot save them.
Their reputation cannot restore them.
Their wealth cannot bring them back.
The image therefore reduces all the great distinctions between powerful nations to the same final reality of death and defeat.
Pharaoh is finally placed among these fallen powers.
The ruler who once spread terror among the living will now become one of the dead, demonstrating the complete reversal of his position.
The central lesson is not simply that Egypt will lose a particular battle; rather, Ezekiel presents Egypt's fall as the collapse of an entire system of confidence built upon military strength, national pride, economic prosperity, political influence, and the fear of other nations.
Historically, Egypt remained an important civilization for centuries after Ezekiel's time, so the prophecy should not be understood as meaning that Egyptian civilization simply ceased to exist immediately.
Instead, the chapter emphasizes the destruction or severe reduction of Egypt's imperial ambitions and regional dominance, particularly in the context of Babylonian expansion during the sixth century BC.
The central message is that Ezekiel 32 portrays Pharaoh and Egypt as a powerful but ultimately doomed kingdom whose ruler believes himself to be like a mighty creature controlling the waters, yet God captures him, brings his pride down, turns the life-giving imagery of the Nile into a picture of death, darkens the symbolic heavens above Egypt, and allows Babylon to destroy the nation's military and political strength, while the second half of the chapter places Egypt among the fallen nations of the past—including Assyria, Elam, Meshech, Tubal, Edom, and Sidon—showing that kingdoms which once terrified others eventually become powerless among the dead, and the chapter therefore presents a sweeping warning that military strength, wealth, national reputation, natural resources, political alliances, and imperial ambition cannot guarantee permanence, because every earthly power remains subject to God's judgment and the proud ruler who believes his kingdom is secure can eventually discover that the same forces that once made others fear him cannot prevent his own downfall.
The first part of the chapter compares Pharaoh to a great sea creature, a fitting image for an Egyptian ruler whose kingdom depended so heavily upon the Nile and its waterways.
Pharaoh appears dangerous and impressive, but God declares that He will capture him with a net and drag him from his position of power.
The image reverses Pharaoh's confidence because the ruler who believes himself capable of controlling his environment discovers that he is himself under God's control.
His defeat will be so complete that his body is symbolically scattered across the land, where birds and animals consume it, representing the removal of royal dignity and the destruction of the power that once surrounded him.
The prophecy then uses blood filling the waterways to reverse one of the most important symbols of Egypt's prosperity.
The Nile normally represents life, fertility, agriculture, transportation, and national stability, but under judgment its waters become associated with death.
This reversal communicates that the very environment that helped Egypt become powerful cannot protect it when God brings judgment.
The imagery then expands from the land and rivers to the heavens themselves.
The sun, moon, and stars are darkened, and clouds cover the sky, creating a picture of cosmic darkness surrounding Egypt's downfall.
Ezekiel is not simply describing an astronomical event; rather, this symbolic language communicates that Egypt's political world is collapsing so completely that it is as though the lights of the entire world have been extinguished.
The downfall of such a powerful kingdom will also frighten other nations because they will realize that if Egypt can fall, their own power is not secure either.
The prophecy specifically identifies the king of Babylon as the instrument of Egypt's military defeat.
Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian army will destroy Egypt's pride, population, wealth, and military strength.
The chapter therefore continues one of Ezekiel's major themes: God can use one nation to judge another, and the apparent political decisions of human rulers ultimately remain within the larger sovereignty of God.
Egypt's defeat is then described through another striking image: its once-busy waters become quiet and undisturbed.
There are no longer people and animals moving around the riverbanks, and the land that was once filled with life becomes desolate.
The silence of the waterways represents the silencing of Egypt's former political and economic activity.
The second half of the chapter becomes a funeral scene among the nations of the dead.
Ezekiel describes Egypt descending into the depths and joining a long list of powerful nations that have already fallen.
Assyria, Elam, Meshech, Tubal, Edom, and Sidon are among those mentioned, creating a symbolic gathering of former powers whose military reputations once caused fear but whose greatness has ultimately ended.
The reference to Assyria is especially significant because Ezekiel had already used Assyria as an example of imperial greatness and downfall.
Assyria had once dominated much of the Near East, yet its empire collapsed after the fall of Nineveh in 612 BC.
Egypt is now placed alongside that fallen empire, receiving the message that no nation can assume that its present strength guarantees its future existence.
The chapter's description of the fallen warriors is deliberately ironic.
These nations once possessed powerful armies, weapons, rulers, cities, and reputations that inspired fear, but now their weapons lie beside them while their bodies rest in graves.
Their former military strength cannot help them.
Their political titles cannot save them.
Their reputation cannot restore them.
Their wealth cannot bring them back.
The image therefore reduces all the great distinctions between powerful nations to the same final reality of death and defeat.
Pharaoh is finally placed among these fallen powers.
The ruler who once spread terror among the living will now become one of the dead, demonstrating the complete reversal of his position.
The central lesson is not simply that Egypt will lose a particular battle; rather, Ezekiel presents Egypt's fall as the collapse of an entire system of confidence built upon military strength, national pride, economic prosperity, political influence, and the fear of other nations.
Historically, Egypt remained an important civilization for centuries after Ezekiel's time, so the prophecy should not be understood as meaning that Egyptian civilization simply ceased to exist immediately.
Instead, the chapter emphasizes the destruction or severe reduction of Egypt's imperial ambitions and regional dominance, particularly in the context of Babylonian expansion during the sixth century BC.
The central message is that Ezekiel 32 portrays Pharaoh and Egypt as a powerful but ultimately doomed kingdom whose ruler believes himself to be like a mighty creature controlling the waters, yet God captures him, brings his pride down, turns the life-giving imagery of the Nile into a picture of death, darkens the symbolic heavens above Egypt, and allows Babylon to destroy the nation's military and political strength, while the second half of the chapter places Egypt among the fallen nations of the past—including Assyria, Elam, Meshech, Tubal, Edom, and Sidon—showing that kingdoms which once terrified others eventually become powerless among the dead, and the chapter therefore presents a sweeping warning that military strength, wealth, national reputation, natural resources, political alliances, and imperial ambition cannot guarantee permanence, because every earthly power remains subject to God's judgment and the proud ruler who believes his kingdom is secure can eventually discover that the same forces that once made others fear him cannot prevent his own downfall.