English Standard Version
Ezekiel 32:2
2"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.
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)“Son of man, mourn for Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and give him this message: “You think of yourself as a strong young lion among the nations, but you are really just a sea monster, heaving around in your own rivers, stirring up mud with your feet.
Context of Ezekiel 32:2
1In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: "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. 3Thus says the Lord God: I will throw my net over you with a host of many peoples, and they will haul you up in my dragnet. 4And I will cast you on the ground; on the open field I will fling you, and will cause all the birds of the heavens to settle on you, and I will gorge the beasts of the whole 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 a lamentation that shall be chanted; the daughters of the nations shall chant it; over Egypt, and over all her multitude, shall they chant it, declares the Lord God."
- Ezekiel 19:1And you, take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,
- Ezekiel 27:2"Now you, son of man, raise a lamentation over Tyre,
- Ezekiel 28:12"Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord God: "You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
- Jeremiah 9:18let them make haste and raise a wailing over us, that our eyes may run down with tears and our eyelids flow with water.
- Ezekiel 19:2and say: What was your mother? A lioness! Among lions she crouched; in the midst of young lions she reared her cubs.
- Ezekiel 38:13Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all its leaders will say to you, 'Have you come to seize spoil? Have you assembled your hosts to carry off plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to seize great spoil?'
- Genesis 49:9Judah is a lion's cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him?
- Numbers 24:9He crouched, he lay down like a lion and like a lioness; who will rouse him up? Blessed are those who bless you, and cursed are those who curse you."
- Proverbs 28:15Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a poor people.
- Jeremiah 4:7A lion has gone up from his thicket, a destroyer of nations has set out; he has gone out from his place to make your land a waste; your cities will be ruins without inhabitant.
- Nahum 2:11Where is the lions' den, the feeding place of the young lions, where the lion and lioness went, where his cubs were, with none to disturb?
- Ezekiel 29:3speak, and say, Thus says the Lord God: "Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lies in the midst of his streams, that says, 'My Nile is my own; I made it for myself.'
- Psalms 74:13You divided the sea by your might; you broke the heads of the sea monsters on the waters.
- Isaiah 27:1In that day the Lord with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea.
- Isaiah 51:9Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake, as in days of old, the generations of long ago. Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces, who pierced the dragon?
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries