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Ezekiel 30

Ezekiel announces God’s judgment on Egypt, whose armies, allies, and idols cannot preserve its power against him.

Ezekiel receives two messages from YHWH announcing Egypt’s downfall. The first calls for wailing as a day of judgment approaches Egypt and its allies. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is named as the agent of destruction, and Egypt’s cities, idols, and strongholds face ruin. The second message, dated to the eleventh year, pictures Pharaoh’s power as a broken arm. God will strengthen Babylon’s king, disarm Pharaoh, and scatter the Egyptians among the nations.

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2“Son of man, prophesy, and say, ‘The Lord GOD says: “Wail, ‘Alas for the day!’
3For the day is near, even the LORD’s day is near. It will be a day of clouds, a time of the nations.
4A sword will come on Egypt, and anguish will be in Ethiopia, when the slain fall in Egypt. They take away her multitude, and her foundations are broken down.
5“‘“Ethiopia, Put, Lud, all the mixed people, Cub, and the children of the land that is allied with them, will fall with them by the sword.”
6“‘The LORD says: “They also who uphold Egypt will fall. The pride of her power will come down. They will fall by the sword in it from the tower of Seveneh,” says the Lord GOD.
7“They will be desolate in the middle of the countries that are desolate. Her cities will be among the cities that are wasted.
8They will know that I am the LORD when I have set a fire in Egypt, and all her helpers are destroyed.
9“‘“In that day messengers will go out from before me in ships to make the careless Ethiopians afraid. There will be anguish on them, as in the day of Egypt; for, behold, it comes.”
10“‘The Lord GOD says: “I will also make the multitude of Egypt to cease, by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
11He and his people with him, the terrible of the nations, will be brought in to destroy the land. They will draw their swords against Egypt, and fill the land with the slain.
12I will make the rivers dry, and will sell the land into the hand of evil men. I will make the land desolate, and all that is therein, by the hand of foreigners. I, the LORD, have spoken it.”
13“‘The Lord GOD says: “I will also destroy the idols, and I will cause the images to cease from Memphis. There will be no more a prince from the land of Egypt. I will put a fear in the land of Egypt.
14I will make Pathros desolate, and will set a fire in Zoan, and will execute judgments on No.
15I will pour my wrath on Sin, the stronghold of Egypt. I will cut off the multitude of No.
16I will set a fire in Egypt Sin will be in great anguish. No will be broken up. Memphis will have adversaries in the daytime.
18At Tehaphnehes also the day will withdraw itself, when I break the yokes of Egypt there. The pride of her power will cease in her. As for her, a cloud will cover her, and her daughters will go into captivity.
19Thus I will execute judgments on Egypt. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”’”
20In the eleventh year, in the first month, in the seventh day of the month, the LORD’s word came to me, saying,
21“Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Behold, it has not been bound up, to apply medicines, to put a bandage to bind it, that it may become strong to hold the sword.
22Therefore the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms, the strong arm, and that which was broken. I will cause the sword to fall out of his hand.
23I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries.
24I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and put my sword in his hand; but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before the king of Babylon with the groaning of a mortally wounded man.
25I will hold up the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fall down. Then they will know that I am the LORD when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he stretches it out on the land of Egypt.
26I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them through the countries. Then they will know that I am the LORD.’”
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Ezekiel 30:3The approaching day belongs to YHWH, placing Egypt’s collapse within his judgment on the nations.
Ezekiel 30:13Judgment reaches Egypt’s idols and rulers, showing how far the loss of its power will extend.
Ezekiel 30:21Pharaoh’s broken arm pictures a loss of military strength that leaves him unable to hold his sword.
Where this chapter reaches

Jeremiah shares the announcement of Nebuchadnezzar’s attack on Egypt, while Isaiah also describes judgment on Egypt’s idols and waters. Zephaniah and Amos share the imagery of darkness surrounding YHWH’s day, linking that day with judgment and fear.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

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Questions people ask about Ezekiel 30

What does Pharaoh’s broken arm mean in Ezekiel 30?

The broken arm is an image of Pharaoh’s damaged military power. An arm too weak to hold a sword cannot defend Egypt. God says he will break both arms while strengthening Babylon’s king. The dated message does not identify the earlier battle or defeat pictured by the first broken arm.

What is YHWH’s day in Ezekiel 30?

Here YHWH’s day is the approaching time of judgment on Egypt and its allies. Clouds, fear, and the sword mark that day. The passage names Nebuchadnezzar as the agent of destruction, so its immediate focus is God’s judgment through a historical invasion, with consequences reaching other nations.

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Ezekiel · 48 chapters
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).