Ezekiel · chapter 32 of 48
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Ezekiel 32 contains two final laments over Pharaoh. In the first he is compared to a lion among the nations and to a sea monster caught in a net, while the heavens grow dark. In the second, Egypt goes down to Sheol, where other peoples who spread terror, such as Assyria, Elam and Edom, already lie among those killed by the sword.
This is the last and grimmest of the seven oracles against Egypt, and it closes the section on the nations. It consists of two laments dated to the twelfth year of the exile, some months after Jerusalem's fall. Chapter 33 will step back a little to tell how that news reached the exiles and how Ezekiel recovered his speech.
In the twelfth year, the twelfth month, on the first day, the Lord tells Ezekiel to raise a lament over Pharaoh. He thought himself a young lion among the nations, but he is really a monster in the seas, churning the waters with his feet. The Lord will spread his net over him with a company of many peoples, throw him on dry land and leave him as food for birds and beasts. The monster's blood will soak the land up to the mountains.
When the Lord puts out Pharaoh, he will cover the heavens, darken the stars and the moon, and dim the lights of the sky over Egypt. Many peoples will be appalled, and their kings will shudder because of him. The sword of the king of Babylon will come on Egypt, and Egypt's pride will be shattered. The beasts of the Nile will vanish, and the land will be desolate, so that they will know that he is the Lord.
In the second lament, the Lord tells Ezekiel to wail over the multitude of Egypt and send it down to the depths of the earth with those who go down to the pit. There the uncircumcised lie beside those killed by the sword. Assyria, Elam, Meshech and Tubal, Edom, the princes of the north and the Sidonians are there, peoples who spread terror in life and now lie in shame. Pharaoh will see them and be comforted, but he too will lie among the uncircumcised with those killed by the sword.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Pharaoh thinks himself a young lion among the nations, but the Lord sees him as a monster in the seas churning the waters with his feet. The monster image recalls the creatures of chaos that God subdues, pride reduced to smallness before his power.
When Pharaoh is snuffed out, the heavens will grow dark and the stars and moon will give no light. It is cosmic language announcing that the fall of a power is an event that shakes the world, even though the king is passing.
Egypt will fall among those killed by the sword and be handed over to it. Egypt's fate was already marked, and the verse presents its destiny as something God has decided.
Pharaoh will see the other peoples in Sheol and be comforted that others shared the same fate. It is a bitter comfort: no privilege spares from death anyone who exalts himself against God.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: He saw himself as a young lion among the nations; the Lord sees him as a monster in the seas. — Ezekiel 32:2
Answer: Spread his net over him, haul him out and throw him on the land. — Ezekiel 32:3-4
Answer: It will be covered, the stars will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. — Ezekiel 32:7
Answer: The king of Babylon. — Ezekiel 32:11
Answer: In Sheol, among the uncircumcised and those killed by the sword. — Ezekiel 32:22-24
Answer: He will be comforted at the sight of them, but he too will lie among those killed by the sword. — Ezekiel 32:31
Ezekiel 32 is a somber chapter, but it leaves a question that is still current: what happens to the great ones when the final day comes? Peoples who spread terror in life end up, one after another, in the same place. In a class or small group you can ask what mark we want to leave. Greatness measured by the fear we inspire does not survive death.
The text also reminds us that God's justice is real. Those who suffer violence or abuse of power can trust that the Lord does not overlook what happens and will judge fairly in his time.
Ezekiel 32 closes the oracles against the nations with the descent of Egypt and its peers to Sheol. In chapter 33 Ezekiel turns back to his own people: he is named watchman, and word arrives that Jerusalem has fallen.
In this context, uncircumcised refers to those outside the people of Israel, who for ancient readers represented those outside the covenant. Egypt, which practiced circumcision, does not fit exactly, so the expression works mostly as a label of dishonor: Pharaoh, proud of his glory, will lie with those who have no honor.
Sheol appears as the place of the dead, a picture of shadow and silence where fallen powerful ones lie. The passage is poetic and does not describe the afterlife in detail; its purpose is to show that no human greatness escapes death. The clearest teaching about eternal life is developed later in Scripture.