Noon in the Nile delta under a heavy dark bank of cloud: flat fields, palms and papyrus, a small dim mud-brick town, and above it a smooth, even, dark gray overcast.

The nations judged

Ezekiel 30

What day are you not ready for?

26 verses≈ 5 minBSB

Images are artistic interpretations.

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Where we are

1–3Visions of gloryBy the Kebar, about 593 BC: the throne, the scroll, the watchman
4–7Signs of the siegeA brick, a ration, a razor: the end has come
8–11The glory departsAbout 592 BC: the temple’s abominations, the mark, the glory goes east
12–15False hopesExile acted out, false prophets, a useless vine
16–19Parables and lamentsAn unfaithful bride, two eagles, the one who sins
20–24The sword drawnRebellion retold; the siege begins, about 588 BC
25–32The nations judgedAmmon to Egypt: the LORD is Judge of all the earthChapter 30
33–36A new heartThe city falls; the Good Shepherd; cleansed and made new
37–39Dry bones liveOne people raised up, and Gog of Magog defeated
40–48The LORD is thereAbout 573 BC: the new temple, the river, the land

A Lament for Egypt

God

Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, prophesy and declare that this is what the Lord GOD says:

Wail, ‘Alas

for that day!’

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God

For the day is near,

the Day of the LORD is near.

It will be a day of clouds,

a time of doom for the nations.

Ezekiel 30:3

God

A sword will come against Egypt,

and there will be anguish in Cush

when the slain fall in Egypt,

its wealth is taken away,

and its foundations are torn down.

Cush, Put, and Lud,

and all the various peoples,

as well as Libya and the men of the covenant land,

will fall with Egypt by the sword.

God

Hard afternoon light on an Egyptian temple gateway: one plain pylon cracked, its top tumbled in great blocks across the entrance, sand drifting into an empty court, palms beyond.

For this is what the LORD says:

The allies of Egypt will fall,

and her proud strength will collapse.

From Migdol to Syene

they will fall by the sword within her,

declares the Lord GOD.

They will be desolate among desolate lands,

and their cities will lie among ruined cities.

God

Then they will know that I am the LORD

when I set fire to Egypt

and all her helpers are shattered.

God

God

On that day messengers will go out from Me in ships to frighten Cush out of complacency. Anguish will come upon them on the day of Egypt’s doom. For it is indeed coming.

Stylised map · locations approximate

On the map

From Migdol to Syene

Every city the oracle names, from the delta forts in the north to Syene on the southern border: none escapes.

God

This is what the Lord GOD says:

I will put an end to the hordes of Egypt

by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.

He and his people with him,

the most ruthless of the nations,

will be brought in to destroy the land.

They will draw their swords against Egypt

and fill the land with the slain.

God

Harsh afternoon: the Nile shrunk to a thin channel between wide cracked mudflats, reed boats stranded on the dry mud, the reed beds withered brown, palms beyond.

I will make the streams dry up

and sell the land to the wicked.

By the hands of foreigners I will bring desolation

upon the land and everything in it.

I, the LORD, have spoken.

God

Gray morning in a palm grove at Memphis: a small stone shrine broken open, its carved stone figures of gods tumbled into the mud, one lying face down, no one there.

This is what the Lord GOD says:

I will destroy the idols

and put an end to the images in Memphis.

There will no longer be a prince in Egypt,

and I will instill fear in that land.

God

Morning on the Nile at Thebes: a great stone temple with plain pylons on the east bank, the broad brown river and a canal around it, palms, flat fields and small mud-brick houses.

I will lay waste Pathros,

set fire to Zoan,

and execute judgment on Thebes.

I will pour out My wrath on Pelusium,

the stronghold of Egypt,

and cut off the crowds of Thebes.

I will set fire to Egypt,

Pelusium will writhe in anguish,

Thebes will be split open,

and Memphis will face daily distress.

God

God

The young men of On and Pi-beseth

will fall by the sword,

and those cities will go into captivity.

The day will be darkened in Tahpanhes

when I break the yoke of Egypt

and her proud strength comes to an end.

A cloud will cover her,

and her daughters will go into captivity.

God

So I will execute judgment on Egypt,

and they will know that I am the LORD.”

Question

Quick question

The LORD names the one who will carry out His judgment.

By whose hand did the LORD say He would end the hordes of Egypt?

Pharaoh’s Power Broken

God

Evening on pale sand: an Egyptian curved bronze sword lying where it fell, beside it a rolled linen bandage and two wooden splints never used, and a broken chariot wheel half buried beyond.

In the eleventh year, on the seventh day of the first month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt. See, it has not been bound up for healing, or splinted for strength to hold the sword.

God

Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt. I will break his arms, both the strong one and the one already broken, and will make the sword fall from his hand. I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them throughout the lands.

God

I will strengthen the arms of Babylon’s king and place My sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, who will groan before him like a mortally wounded man. I will strengthen the arms of Babylon’s king, but Pharaoh’s arms will fall limp.

God

Dawn at the doorway of a Babylonian army tent: a long iron sword in its leather sheath laid on a dark woven cloth, a plain wooden standard pole beside it, the flat plain beyond.

Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I place My sword in the hand of Babylon’s king, and he wields it against the land of Egypt.

God

Dusk on an empty dusty road leading away from a delta town, footprints and dropped straw in the dust, palms dark against a calm, darkening sky.

I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them throughout the lands. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”

0:09

Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain

Pray

Lord, the day of Your judgment is near, and no strength of mine can stand in it. Break my pride before that day, and keep me close to You. Amen.

You’ve experienced

Ezekiel 30

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A verse to carry with you

For the day is near, the Day of the LORD is near. It will be a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations.

Ezekiel 30:3

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