Revised Version 1895
Ezekiel 32:2
2Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou wast likened unto a young lion of the nations: yet art thou as a dragon in the seas; and thou brakest forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst 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.
- 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
1And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou wast likened unto a young lion of the nations: yet art thou as a dragon in the seas; and thou brakest forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers. 3Thus saith the Lord GOD: I will spread out my net over thee with a company of many peoples; and they shall bring thee up in my net. 4And I will leave thee upon the land, I will cast thee forth upon the open field, and will cause all the fowls of the heaven to settle upon thee, and I will satisfy the beasts of the whole earth with thee.
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
- Sonבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
- manאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
- takeנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: raiseH5375
- upנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: raiseH5375
- lamentationקִינָהqîynâh · dirgeH7015
- Pharaohפַּרְעֹהpar‛ôh · PharaohH6547
- kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- Egyptמִצְרַ֫יִםmitsrayim · EgyptH4714
- sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- youngבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
- lionכְּפִירkephîyr · lionH3715
- nationsגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
- seasיָםyâm · seaH3220
- forthגִּיחַgîyach gôach · to burst/come outH1518
- riversנָהָרnâhâr · riverH5104
- watersמַיmayim · waterH4325
- feetרֶ֫גֶלregel · footH7272
Cross-references for Ezekiel 32:2
- Ezekiel 32:16This is the lamentation wherewith they shall lament; the daughters of the nations shall lament therewith: for Egypt, and for all her multitude, shall they lament therewith, saith the Lord GOD.
- Ezekiel 19:1Moreover, take thou up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,
- Ezekiel 27:2And thou, son of man, take up a lamentation for Tyre;
- Ezekiel 28:12Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD: Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
- Jeremiah 9:18and let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters.
- Ezekiel 19:2and say, What was thy mother? A lioness: she couched among lions, in the midst of the young lions she nourished her whelps.
- Ezekiel 38:13Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish; with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take the spoil? hast thou assembled thy company to take the prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take great spoil?
- Genesis 49:9Judah is a lion’s whelp; From the prey, my son, thou art gone up: He stooped down, he couched as a lion, And as a lioness; who shall rouse him up?
- Numbers 24:9He couched, he lay down as a lion, And as a lioness; who shall rouse him up? Blessed be every one that blesseth thee, And cursed be every one that curseth thee.
- Proverbs 28:15As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear; so is a wicked ruler over a poor people.
- Jeremiah 4:7A lion is gone up from his thicket, and a destroyer of nations; he is on his way, he is gone forth from his place; to make thy land desolate, that thy cities be laid waste, without inhabitant.
- Nahum 2:11Where is the den of the lions, and the feeding place of the young lions, where the lion and the lioness walked, the lion’s whelp, and none made them afraid?
- Ezekiel 29:3speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself.
- Psalms 74:13Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.
- Isaiah 27:1In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the swift serpent, and leviathan the crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.
- Isaiah 51:9Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in the days of old, the generations of ancient times. Art thou not it that cut Rahab in pieces, that 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
Revised Version 1895 — 1895 — Public Domain
Commentaries