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Ezekiel 32

Ezekiel announces God’s judgment on Egypt through laments that bring its feared power down to the company of the dead.

Pharaoh king of Egypt is the subject of two laments that YHWH commands Ezekiel to speak. The first portrays Pharaoh as a sea monster caught in God’s net, then names Babylon’s king as the instrument of Egypt’s destruction. Darkness covers the land, and other rulers tremble at Egypt’s fall. The second follows Egypt down to the pit, where nations once feared for their strength lie slain. Their armies surround them in death, bearing the shame of the terror they caused.

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1In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, in the first day of the month, the LORD’s word came to me, saying,
2“Son of man, take up a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt, and tell him, ‘You were likened to a young lion of the nations; yet you are as a monster in the seas. You broke out with your rivers, and troubled the waters with your feet, and fouled their rivers.’”
3The Lord GOD says: “I will spread out my net on you with a company of many peoples. They will bring you up in my net.
4I will leave you on the land. I will cast you out on the open field, and will cause all the birds of the sky to settle on you. I will satisfy the animals of the whole earth with you.
6I will also water the land in which you swim with your blood, even to the mountains. The watercourses will be full of you.
7When I extinguish you, I will cover the heavens and make its stars dark. I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon won’t give its light.
8I will make all the bright lights of the sky dark over you, and set darkness on your land,” says the Lord GOD.
9“I will also trouble the hearts of many peoples, when I bring your destruction among the nations, into the countries which you have not known.
10Yes, I will make many peoples amazed at you, and their kings will be horribly afraid for you, when I brandish my sword before them. They will tremble at every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of your fall.”
11For the Lord GOD says: “The sword of the king of Babylon will come on you.
12I will cause your multitude to fall by the swords of the mighty. They are all the ruthless of the nations. They will bring the pride of Egypt to nothing, and all its multitude will be destroyed.
13I will destroy also all its animals from beside many waters. The foot of man won’t trouble them any more, nor will the hoofs of animals trouble them.
15“When I make the land of Egypt desolate and waste, a land destitute of that of which it was full, when I strike all those who dwell therein, then they will know that I am the LORD.
16“‘“This is the lamentation with which they will lament. The daughters of the nations will lament with this. They will lament with it over Egypt, and over all her multitude,” says the Lord GOD.’”
17Also in the twelfth year, in the fifteenth day of the month, the LORD’s word came to me, saying,
18“Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt, and cast them down, even her and the daughters of the famous nations, to the lower parts of the earth, with those who go down into the pit.
19Whom do you pass in beauty? Go down, and be laid with the uncircumcised.
20They will fall among those who are slain by the sword. She is delivered to the sword. Draw her away with all her multitudes.
21The strong among the mighty will speak to him out of the middle of Sheol with those who help him. They have gone down. The uncircumcised lie still, slain by the sword.
22“Asshur is there with all her company. Her graves are all around her. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword,
23whose graves are set in the uttermost parts of the pit, and her company is around her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who caused terror in the land of the living.
24“There is Elam and all her multitude around her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who have gone down uncircumcised into the lower parts of the earth, who caused their terror in the land of the living, and have borne their shame with those who go down to the pit.
25They have made Elam a bed among the slain with all her multitude. Her graves are around 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 those who go down to the pit. He is put among those who are slain.
26“There is Meshech, Tubal, and all their multitude. Their graves are around them, all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for they caused their terror in the land of the living.
27They will not lie with the mighty who are fallen of the uncircumcised, who have gone down to Sheol with their weapons of war and have laid their swords under their heads. Their iniquities are on their bones; for they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.
29“There is Edom, her kings, and all her princes, who in their might are laid with those who are slain by the sword. They will lie with the uncircumcised, and with those who go down to the pit.
30“There are the princes of the north, all of them, and all the Sidonians, who have gone down with the slain. They are put to shame in the terror which they caused by their might. They lie uncircumcised with those who are slain by the sword, and bear their shame with those who go down to the pit.
31“Pharaoh will see them and will be comforted over all his multitude, even Pharaoh and all his army, slain by the sword,” says the Lord GOD.
32“For I have put his terror in the land of the living. He will be laid among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword, even Pharaoh and all his multitude,” says the Lord GOD.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Ezekiel 32:7The darkened heavens give Egypt’s downfall a cosmic scale, showing the reach of God’s judgment over Pharaoh’s power.
Ezekiel 32:18The command to wail begins the second lament, placing Egypt among the nations descending into the pit.
Ezekiel 32:2The sea monster image portrays Pharaoh as a force that fouls the waters, setting up his capture by God.
Where this chapter reaches

Isaiah and Jeremiah share Ezekiel’s oracles of judgment against proud nations, including Egypt, and portray fallen powers brought down to death. Revelation shares the imagery of darkened heavenly lights and the terror that God’s judgment brings upon the earth’s rulers.

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After reading the whole chapter

What does the repeated phrase “who caused terror in the land of the living” reveal about these nations?

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How does the command to lament shape your response to Egypt’s judgment?

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Questions people ask about Ezekiel 32

Why is Pharaoh called a sea monster in Ezekiel 32?

Pharaoh is compared to a creature that thrashes through rivers and fouls their waters. The image portrays Egypt’s king as a disruptive, threatening power. God’s net, capture, and disposal of the creature show how helpless Pharaoh will become under judgment. Verse 11 names Babylon’s king as the attacking force.

What are Sheol and the pit in Ezekiel 32?

Sheol and the pit describe the realm of the dead, pictured here with graves and fallen armies. Ezekiel portrays Egypt joining other defeated nations there. The scene stresses death, disgrace, and the end of earthly terror. Its poetic details do not provide a complete map of life after death.

Why will Pharaoh be comforted in Ezekiel 32:31?

Pharaoh sees other fallen nations and their armies sharing his fate. His comfort appears to come from finding company in defeat and death. The text gives no promise of rescue or restored honor. The closing verse confirms that Pharaoh and his multitude remain among those slain by the sword.

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Ezekiel · 48 chapters

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).