Tree of Life Version
Ezekiel 32:2
2“Son of man, lift up a lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him: ‘You compare yourself to a young lion of the nations, but you are a crocodile in the waters. You thrash about in your rivers and muddy the water with your feet and foul their streams.’”
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
1On the first day of the twelfth month of the twelfth year, the word of Adonai came to me saying: “Son of man, lift up a lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him: ‘You compare yourself to a young lion of the nations, but you are a crocodile in the waters. You thrash about in your rivers and muddy the water with your feet and foul their streams.’” 3Thus says Adonai Elohim: “I will throw My net over you with a host of many peoples. They will haul you up in My net. 4I will leave you on the land. I will hurl you on an open field. I will cause all the birds of the sky to settle upon you. 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 the funeral song —chant it, daughters of the nations, chant for Egypt. All her multitude will chant it.” It is a declaration of Adonai.
- Ezekiel 19:1“As for you, raise a lamentation for the princes of Israel,
- Ezekiel 27:2“You, son of man, lift up a lament for Tyre.
- Ezekiel 28:12“Son of man, lift up a lament for the king of Tyre. Say to him, thus says Adonai Elohim: ‘You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
- Jeremiah 9:18For a wailing voice is heard from Zion: “How we are ruined! We are utterly ashamed— we have forsaken the land, for they tore down our dwellings.”
- Ezekiel 19:2and say: ‘What was your mother? A lioness! Among lions she couched, among young lions she reared her cubs.
- Ezekiel 38:13“Sheba, Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish with all its young lions will say to you: ‘Have you come to seize spoil? Have you assembled your company to plunder? To carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and property, to make off with immense spoils?’
- Genesis 49:9A lion’s cub is Judah— from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He crouches, lies down like a lion, or like a lioness— who would rouse him?
- Numbers 24:9He crouches like a lion or a lioness— who would rouse him? He who blesses you will be blessed, and he who curses you will be cursed.”
- Proverbs 28:15Like a roaring lion or a prowling bear is a wicked ruler over helpless people.
- Jeremiah 4:7A lion has come up from his thicket— a destroyer of nations has set out. He has left his place to make your land a wasteland. Your cities will lie in ruins, without inhabitant.
- Nahum 2:11Emptiness, desolation, waste! Heart melting, knees buckling, anguish in all the loins, all their faces grown pale!
- Ezekiel 29:3speak and say, thus says Adonai Elohim: ‘Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh King of Egypt, the great crocodile lying in his rivers, who says: “My Nile is my own —I made it for myself.”
- Psalms 74:13You split the sea with Your power. You smashed the monsters’ heads in the waters.
- Isaiah 27:1In that day Adonai will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent with His fierce, great, strong sword, Leviathan the twisted serpent! He will slay the dragon in the sea.
- Isaiah 51:9Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of Adonai, 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
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