Introduction
This chapter has two judgment announcements: the judgment on Egypt (verses 1-19) and the judgment on Pharaoh (verses 20-26). The first section can be divided into two sections: verses 1-12 deal with the judgment day for all of Egypt; verses 13-19 deal with the judgment on the individual cities of Egypt.
1 - 12 The Judgment Day Upon Egypt
1 The word of the LORD came again to me saying,
2 “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,
“Wail, ‘Alas for the day!’
3 “For the day is near,
Even the day of the LORD is near;
It will be a day of clouds,
A time [of doom] for the nations.
4 “A sword will come upon Egypt,
And anguish will be in Ethiopia;
When the slain fall in Egypt,
They take away her wealth,
And her foundations are torn down.
5 Ethiopia, Put, Lud, all Arabia, Libya and the people of the land that is in league will fall with them by the sword.”
6 ‘Thus says the LORD,
“Indeed, those who support Egypt will fall
And the pride of her power will come down;
From Migdol [to] Syene
They will fall within her by the sword,”
Declares the Lord GOD.
7 “They will be desolate
In the midst of the desolated lands;
And her cities will be
In the midst of the devastated cities.
8 “And they will know that I am the LORD,
When I set a fire in Egypt
And all her helpers are broken.
9 On that day messengers will go forth from Me in ships to frighten secure Ethiopia; and anguish will be on them as on the day of Egypt; for behold, it comes!”
10 ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,
“I will also make the hordes of Egypt cease
By the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
11 “He and his people with him,
The most ruthless of the nations,
Will be brought in to destroy the land;
And they will draw their swords against Egypt
And fill the land with the slain.
12 “Moreover, I will make the Nile canals dry
And sell the land into the hands of evil men.
And I will make the land desolate
And all that is in it,
By the hand of strangers; I the LORD have spoken.”
The word of the LORD comes to Ezekiel (verse 1). He is commanded to wail because of the judgment day that is coming upon Egypt on behalf of the LORD (verse 2). That judgment day is called “the day of the LORD” (verse 3) and is seen as “near”. This expression is usually used to refer to the period beginning with the Lord Jesus taking His public authority into His hands and culminating in the realm of peace. In a narrower sense, the day of the LORD refers to the first time of that period when He begins to judge the world, which is after the rapture of the church and specifically the time of the great tribulation.
The judgment on Egypt is reminiscent of that day and points forward to it. The clouds indicate heavy thunderstorms and symbolize the time of the coming judgments on the nations.
The sword of the king of Babylon will come upon Egypt when Nebuchadnezzar’s armies invade Egypt (verse 4). He will kill many with the sword. The slaughter will be so fierce that Ethiopia south of Egypt will be seized with anguish when the message reaches them. Nebuchadnezzar will rob Egypt of its abundance and tear down its foundations, making reconstruction of the land impossible.
Nebuchadnezzar will also deal with people from all kinds of countries who support Egypt (verse 5). Probably we can think of mercenaries from those countries that Egypt has hired to be stronger against the king of Babylon. By “the people of the land that is in league [literally “of the covenant”] may be meant the Judeans who fled to Egypt. But all “those who support Egypt will fall” (verse 6). The pride of Egypt will sink and disappear. The land and cities of Egypt will be devastated (verse 7).
The LORD will give up Egypt to the fire of destruction (verse 8). All who help Egypt will be crushed. This is how they will know that He is the LORD. He deals with them, using Nebuchadnezzar as His tool. The fleeing Egyptians, as true emissaries of the LORD, will go out in ships to neighboring countries to tell them what has happened to them from the LORD (verse 9). The news of “the day of Egypt”, that is, the day when judgment comes on Egypt – and “behold, it comes!”, that day will surely come! –, will cause terror and paralyzing pain to all who hear of it.
The instrument the LORD will use to judge Egypt is Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon (verse 10). He will put an end to the hordes of Egypt. Nebuchadnezzar’s armies are made up of the most violent people from the nations he has conquered (verse 11). The composition of his army guarantees a ruthless slaughter, which will bring the land to ruin and be filled with the slain.
By “evil men” and “strangers” are meant the Babylonians (verse 12). The LORD uses their “hand” to bring devastation upon Egypt. They will drain the canals, the Nile arms. These canals provide fertility for the land. When the water can no longer be brought over the land, it will wither and become a wilderness. They “will make the land desolate and all that is in it”. That is how it will happen, for He, the LORD, has spoken.
13 - 19 Judgment on the Cities of Egypt
13 ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,
“I will also destroy the idols
And make the images cease from Memphis.
And there will no longer be a prince in the land of Egypt;
And I will put fear in the land of Egypt.
14 “I will make Pathros desolate,
Set a fire in Zoan
And execute judgments on Thebes.
15 “I will pour out My wrath on Sin,
The stronghold of Egypt;
I will also cut off the hordes of Thebes.
16 “I will set a fire in Egypt;
Sin will writhe in anguish,
Thebes will be breached
And Memphis [will have] distresses daily.
17 “The young men of On and of Pi-beseth
Will fall by the sword,
And the women will go into captivity.
18 “In Tehaphnehes the day will be dark
When I break there the yoke bars of Egypt.
Then the pride of her power will cease in her;
A cloud will cover her,
And her daughters will go into captivity.
19 “Thus I will execute judgments on Egypt,
And they will know that I am the LORD.”‘“
Starting in verse 13, it is about the judgment on the cities of Egypt. Each city has its own gods and temples. The LORD shows that no god in Egypt is powerful enough to stand against Him. He also shows that He is different from the other gods because Jerusalem has been destroyed and He nevertheless has the power to destroy Egypt.
He begins with a word about the destruction of “the stink gods” and “the images” (verse 13). The Egyptians rely on these gods, as did God’s people. The worthlessness of these gods is apparent. The folly of relying on them is demonstrated. When the idols are gone, the Egyptians will no longer consult demons. There will also be no more human leadership, “prince”, for the princes have also been killed. That situation will cause fear in Egypt, a fear that God will place on that people, giving His exaltation over them even more emphasis.
Verses 14-18 list several Egyptian cities that are special objects of God’s judgment. God uses a wide variety of words to express what He will do and what it will cause. There is talk in these verses of:
1. desolate (cf. Lev 26:32; Hos 2:12),
2. set a fire (Eze 30:14,16),
3. execute judgments (Eze 30:14,19),
4. pour out wrath (Eze 14:19; 30:15),
5. cut off (Eze 14:13,17; 21:3; 25:13,16; 29:8; 30:15; 35:7),
6. writhe in anguish (Isa 26:17; Eze 30:16),
7. breached,
8. daily distresses,
9. fall by the sword (Eze 5:12; 17:21; 30:17; 33:27),
10. go into captivity (Eze 30:17-18).
“Sin”, the stronghold of Egypt (verse 15), does not impress Nebuchadnezzar, nor does a crowd or youthful strength or youthful beauty (verse 17). He will break the yoke of power with which Egypt has subjugated other nations (verse 18). Nothing will remain of “the pride of her power”. A cloud of disaster and misery will have descended over Egypt, leaving nothing recognizable of its original attractiveness. This is emphasized by the going into captivity of his daughters, with which the prospect of a restoration also disappears.
All these judgments, which come as punishments on Egypt, are done by the LORD (verse 19). By this they will know that He is the LORD.
20 - 26 Judgment on Pharaoh
20 In the eleventh year, in the first [month], on the seventh of the month, the word of the LORD came to me saying, 21 “Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, behold, it has not been bound up for healing or wrapped with a bandage, that it may be strong to hold the sword. 22 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt and will break his arms, both the strong and the broken; and I will make the sword fall from his hand. 23 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands. 24 For I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put My sword in his hand; and I will break the arms of Pharaoh, so that he will groan before him with the groanings of a wounded man. 25 Thus I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fall. 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 against the land of Egypt. 26 When I scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands, then they will know that I am the LORD.’”
In the eleventh year, which is the year of the fall of Jerusalem, the word of the LORD comes to Ezekiel (verse 20). The LORD tells him that He has broken Pharaoh’s arm – arm is a picture of strength (verse 21). Pharaoh no longer has strength in his arm to wield the sword. That strength will not come back either, because his arm will not be bound to heal. Because that break will not heal, he will not be able to become strong enough to develop any strength at all.
The LORD will also break up what remained of his power (verse 22). Both arms will be broken so that he cannot even hold the sword, let alone use it. Regrouping will not be possible either, for the LORD will scatter the Egyptians among the nations (verse 23).
In contrast, the LORD will make strong the arms of the king of Babylon (verse 24). He will also give him His sword in his hand. Pharaoh’s arms are broken by Him, made powerless, so that he cannot stand against the king of Babylon. He will groan before the king of Babylon like a mortally wounded man.
Once again the LORD says He will make the arms of the king of Babylon strong and Pharaoh’s arms will fall down powerless (verse 25). When Nebuchadnezzar will strike Egypt with the sword the LORD has given him, they will know that He is the LORD. They will also know that He is the LORD when He scatters them among the nations and disperses them among the lands (verse 26). It is also important for Israel to know this, so that they will never again rely on Egypt.