Amplified Bible
Ezekiel 32:2
2“Son of man, take up a dirge (funeral poem to be sung) over Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him, ‘You have compared yourself to a young lion among the nations, But you are like a monster in the seas; You burst into your rivers And disturbed and muddied the waters with your feet And fouled their rivers [the source of their prosperity].’ ”
Ezekiel 32:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou art like a young lion of the nations, and thou art as a whale in the seas: and thou camest forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers.
- New International Version (NIV)“Son of man, take up a lament concerning Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him: “ ‘You are like a lion among the nations; you are like a monster in the seas thrashing about in your streams, churning the water with your feet and muddying the streams.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"Son of man, raise a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him: "You consider yourself a lion of the nations, but you are like a dragon in the seas; you burst forth in your rivers, trouble the waters with your feet, and foul their rivers.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him: ‘You are like a young lion among the nations, And you are like a monster in the seas, Bursting forth in your rivers, Troubling the waters with your feet, And fouling their rivers.
Context of Ezekiel 32:2
1In the twelfth year [after King Jehoiachin of Judah was taken into exile by the king of Babylon], in the twelfth month, on the first of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Son of man, take up a dirge (funeral poem to be sung) over Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him, ‘You have compared yourself to a young lion among the nations, But you are like a monster in the seas; You burst into your rivers And disturbed and muddied the waters with your feet And fouled their rivers [the source of their prosperity].’ ” 3Thus says the Lord God, “I will spread out My net over you With a company of many nations, And they will bring you up in My net. 4Then I will leave you (Egypt) on the land; I will hurl you on the open field. And I will make all the birds of the sky dwell on you, And I will satisfy the animals of all the earth with you.
Read all of Ezekiel 32Ezekiel 32:2 word by word
בֶּן־אָדָ֗ם שָׂ֤א קִינָה֙ עַל־פַּרְעֹ֣ה מֶֽלֶךְ־מִצְרַ֔יִם וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֵלָ֔יו כְּפִ֥יר גּוֹיִ֖ם נִדְמֵ֑יתָ וְאַתָּה֙ כַּתַּנִּ֣ים בַּיַּמִּ֔ים וַתָּ֣גַח בְּנַהֲרוֹתֶ֗יךָ וַתִּדְלַח־מַ֙יִם֙ בְּרַגְלֶ֔יךָ וַתִּרְפֹּ֖ס נַהֲרוֹתָֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Sonבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
- of manאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
- take upנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: raiseH5375
- a lamentationקִינָהqîynâh · dirgeH7015
- for Pharaohפַּרְעֹהpar‛ôh · PharaohH6547
- kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- of Egyptמִצְרַ֫יִםmitsrayim · EgyptH4714
- and sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- unto him, Thou art likeדָּמָהdâmâh · to resembleH1819
- a young lionכְּפִירkephîyr · lionH3715
- of the nationsגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
- as a whaleתַּןtan · dragonH8565
- as a whaleתַּןtannîyn tannîym · jackalH8577
- in the seasיָםyâm · seaH3220
- and thou camest forthגִּיחַgîyach gôach · to burst/come outH1518
- with thy riversנָהָרnâhâr · riverH5104
- and troubledstדָּלַחdâlach · to troubleH1804
- the watersמַיmayim · waterH4325
- with thy feetרֶ֫גֶלregel · footH7272
- and fouledstרָפַשׂrâphaώ · to foulH7515
Cross-references for Ezekiel 32:2
- Ezekiel 32:16This is the dirge (funeral poem to be sung) and they shall sing it [for her]. The daughters of the nations shall sing it; for Egypt and for all her hordes they shall sing it,” says the Lord God.
- Ezekiel 19:1“As for you, take up a dirge (funeral poem to be sung) for the princes of Israel
- Ezekiel 27:2“Now you, son of man, take up a dirge (funeral poem to be sung) for Tyre,
- Ezekiel 28:12“Son of man, take up a dirge (funeral poem to be sung) for the king of Tyre and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “You had the full measure of perfection and the finishing touch [of completeness], Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
- Jeremiah 9:18Let them hurry and take up a wailing for us, That our eyes may shed tears And our eyelids flow with water.
- Ezekiel 19:2and say, ‘What was your mother [Jerusalem and Judah]? A lioness among lions! She lay down among young lions, She reared her cubs.
- Ezekiel 38:13Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish (southern Spain), with all its young lions (villages) will say to you, ‘Have you come to take spoil? Have you assembled your hordes [of fighting men] to seize plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take great spoil?’ ” ’
- Genesis 49:9Judah, a lion’s cub; With the prey, my son, you have gone high up [the mountain]. He stooped down, he crouched like a lion, And like a lion—who dares rouse him?
- Numbers 24:9He bowed down [to rest], he lies down as a lion; And as a lioness, who dares to rouse him? Blessed [of God] is he who blesses you, And cursed [of God] is he who curses you.”
- Proverbs 28:15Like a roaring lion and a charging bear Is a wicked ruler over a poor people.
- Jeremiah 4:7A lion has left his lair, And a destroyer of nations is on his way. He has gone out from his place To desolate your land; Your cities will be in ruins Without an inhabitant.
- Nahum 2:11Where is the den of the lions (Assyria) And the feeding place of the young lions, Where the lion, lioness, and lion’s cub prowled With nothing to fear?
- Ezekiel 29:3Speak and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, The great monster that lies in the midst of his rivers, [Boastfully] declaring, ‘My Nile is my own, and I have made it for myself.’
- Psalms 74:13You divided the [Red] Sea by Your strength; You broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters.
- Isaiah 27:1In that day the Lord will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent With His fierce and great and mighty sword [rescuing Israel from her enemy], Even Leviathan the twisted serpent; And He will kill the dragon who lives in the sea.
- Isaiah 51:9Awake, awake, put on strength and might, O arm of the Lord; Awake as in the ancient days, as in the generations of long ago. Was it not You who cut Rahab (Egypt) in pieces, Who pierced the dragon [of Egypt]?
Commentaries on Ezekiel 32:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Thou art like a young lion - and thou art as a whale in the seas - Thou mayest be likened to two of the fiercest animals in the creation; to a lion, the fiercest on the land; to a crocodile, תנים tannim, (see Ezekiel 29:3;), the fiercest in the waters. It may, however, point out the hippopotamus, as there seems to be a reference to his mode of feeding. He walks deliberately into the water over head, and pursues his way in the same manner; still keeping on…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2Thou art like - Rather, Thou wouldest be like to (others, “wast likened unto”) a young lion. And thou art - In contrast to what thou wouldest be. A whale - Rather, crocodile (marginal reference note). Pharaoh should have been like the king of beasts, but he is a mere sea-monster. There is strong irony here, because the Egyptian king was proud of the comparison between himself and the mighty crocodile. Seas - The word is often used of the waters of a…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2-3Ezekiel compares Pharaoh to a powerful beast (Ezekiel 29:3). Egypt's pharaohs used the lion and a monster in the seas (or crocodile) as symbols of strength. These animals represented power and control. However, both lions and crocodiles can be hunted and killed. The same would happen to Pharaoh. God would act through his chosen agents (Ezekiel 32:11–12). They would hunt Pharaoh, capture him, and drag him away.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. Pharaoh--"Phra" in Burmah, signifies the king, high priest, and idol. whale--rather, any monster of the waters; here, the crocodile of the Nile. Pharaoh is as a lion on dry land, a crocodile in the waters; that is, an object of terror everywhere. camest forth with thy rivers--"breakest forth" [Fairbairn]. The antithesis of "seas" and "rivers" favors Grotius rendering, "Thou camest forth from the sea into the rivers"; that is, from thy own empire into…Read the comment
Topics related to Ezekiel 32:2
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ezekiel 32
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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