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Friday, June 13th, 2025
the Week of Proper 5 / Ordinary 10
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Easy-to-Read Version

Ezekiel 32:2

"Son of man, sing this sad song about Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Say to him: "‘You thought you were like a powerful young lion walking proud among the nations. But really, you are like a dragon in the lakes. You push your way through the streams. You make the water muddy with your feet and stir up the rivers of Egypt.'"

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Dragon;   Thompson Chain Reference - Whales;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Whale;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Babylon;   Egypt;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Antichrist;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Heart;   Repentance;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Lamentation;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Leviathan;   Whale;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Animals;   Chaos;   Poetry;   Whale;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Dragon;   Ezekiel;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Whale;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Egypt;   Sea;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Feet;   Whale;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Dragon;   Foul;   Jackal;   Whale;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Poetry;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“Son of man, lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him,
Hebrew Names Version
Son of man, take up a lamentation over Par`oh king of Mitzrayim, and tell him, You were likened to a young lion of the nations: yet are you as a monster in the seas; and you did break forth with your rivers, and troubled the waters with your feet, and fouled their rivers.
King James Version
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.
English Standard Version
"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 American Standard Bible
"Son of man, take up a song of mourning over Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him, 'You compared yourself to a young lion of the nations, Yet you are like the monster in the seas; And you burst forth in your rivers And muddied the waters with your feet And fouled their rivers.'"
New Century Version
"Human, sing a funeral song about the king of Egypt. Say to him: ‘You are like a young lion among the nations. You are like a crocodile in the seas. You splash around in your streams and stir up the water with your feet, making the rivers muddy.
Amplified Bible
"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].'"
World English Bible
Son of man, take up a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt, and tell him, You were likened to a young lion of the nations: yet are you as a monster in the seas; and you did break forth with your rivers, and troubled the waters with your feet, and fouled their rivers.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Sonne of man, take vp a lamentation for Pharaoh King of Egypt, and say vnto him, Thou art like a lyon of the nations and art as a dragon in the sea: thou castedst out thy riuers and troubledst the waters with thy feete, and stampedst in their riuers.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Son of man, take up a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him, 'You compared yourself to a young lion of the nations, Yet you are like the monster in the seas; And you burst forth in your rivers And muddied the waters with your feet And fouled their rivers.'"
Legacy Standard Bible
"Son of man, take up a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him,‘You liken yourself to a young lion of the nations,Yet you are like the monster in the seas;And you burst forth in your riversAnd muddied the waters with your feetAnd fouled their rivers.'"
Berean Standard Bible
"Son of man, take up a lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him: 'You are like a lion among the nations; you are like a monster in the seas. You thrash about in your rivers, churning up the waters with your feet and muddying the streams.'
Contemporary English Version
Ezekiel, son of man, condemn the king of Egypt and tell him I am saying: You act like a lion roaming the earth; but you are nothing more than a crocodile in a river, churning up muddy water with your feet.
Complete Jewish Bible
"Human being, raise a lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt; say to him, ‘You compared yourself to a lion among the nations; In fact, you are more like a crocodile in the lakes. You burst out of your streams, churn the water with your feet and foul their streams.'
Darby Translation
Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou wast like a young lion among the nations, and thou wast as a monster in the seas; and thou didst break forth in thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers.
George Lamsa Translation
Son of man, make a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him, You are like a lion among the nations and you are like a sea monster; you come forth in your rivers, and trouble the waters with your feet and foul their rivers.
Good News Translation
"Mortal man," he said, "give a solemn warning to the king of Egypt. Give him this message from me: You act like a lion among the nations, but you are more like a crocodile splashing through a river. You muddy the water with your feet and pollute the rivers.
Lexham English Bible
"Son of man, raise a lament over Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and you must say to him, ‘With a fierce, strong lion among nations you compared yourself, and you are like the sea monster in the seas, and you thrash about in your rivers, and you make water turbid with your feet, and you make your rivers muddy.
Literal Translation
Son of man, lift up a lament over Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and say to him, You were like a young lion of the nations, and you were like the monster in the seas. And you burst forth in your rivers and stirred up the waters with your feet andfouled their rivers.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Thou sonne of man, take vp a lamentacion vpo Pharao the kynge of Egipte, & saye vnto him: Thou art reputed as a Lyon of the Heithen, & as a whalfish in the see. Thou castest yi waters aboute the, thou troublest the waters wt thy fete, and stampest in their floudes.
American Standard Version
Son of man, take up a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou wast likened unto a young lion of the nations: yet art thou as a monster in the seas; and thou didst break forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers.
Bible in Basic English
Son of man, make a song of grief for Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and say to him, Young lion of the nations, destruction has come on you; and you were like a sea-beast in the seas, sending out bursts of water, troubling the waters with your feet, making their streams dirty.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
'Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him: thou didst liken thyself unto a young lion of the nations; whereas thou art as a dragon in the seas; and thou didst gush forth with thy rivers, and didst trouble the waters with thy feet, and foul their rivers.
King James Version (1611)
Sonne of man, take vp a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say vnto him; Thou art like a young lyon of the nations, & thou art as a whale in the seas: and thou camest forth with thy riuers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their riuers.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Thou sonne of man, take vp a lamentation vpon Pharao the king of Egypt, and say vnto him, thou art lyke a lion of the heathen, and as a whale fishe in the sea: thou drawest out thy riuers, thou troublest the waters with thy feete, and stampest in their riuers.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharao king of Egypt, and say to him,
English Revised Version
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.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and he seide, Thou, sone of man, take weilyng on Farao, kyng of Egipt, and thou schalt seie to hym, Thou were maad lijk to a lioun of hethene men, and to a dragoun whiche is in the see. And thou wyndewist with horn in thi floodis, and thou disturblidist watris with thi feet, and defoulidist the floodis of tho.
Update Bible Version
Son of man, take up a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him, You were likened to a young lion of the nations: yet are you as a crocodile in the seas; and you broke forth with your rivers, and troubled the waters with your feet, and fouled their rivers.
Webster's Bible Translation
Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him, Thou art like a young lion of the nations, and thou [art] as a whale in the seas: and thou didst come forth with thy rivers, and disturb the waters with thy feet, and render their rivers foul.
New English Translation
"Son of man, sing a lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him: "‘You were like a lion among the nations, but you are a monster in the seas; you thrash about in your streams, stir up the water with your feet, and muddy your streams.
New King James Version
"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
"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.
New Life Bible
"Son of man, sing a song of sorrow for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him, ‘You compared yourself to a young lion among the nations, yet you are like the big dragon in the seas. You go through your rivers, troubling the water with your feet and making the rivers muddy.'"
New Revised Standard
Mortal, raise a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him: You consider yourself a lion among the nations, but you are like a dragon in the seas; you thrash about in your streams, trouble the water with your feet, and foul your streams.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Son of man Take up a dirge over Pharaoh king of Egypt, and thou shalt say unto him. The young lion of the nations, thou didst deem thyself,- Whereas thou, wast like the crocodile in the seas, And didst cause thy streams to burst forth And didst trouble the waters with thy feet, And foul their rivers.
Douay-Rheims Bible
Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharao the king of Egypt, and say to him: Thou art like the lion of the nations, and the dragon that is in the sea: and thou didst push with the horn in thy rivers, and didst trouble the waters with thy feet, and didst trample upon their streams.
Revised Standard Version
"Son of man, raise a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him: "You consider yourself a lion among 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.
Young's Literal Translation
`Son of man, lift up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and thou hast said unto him: A young lion of nations thou hast been like, And thou [art] as a dragon in the seas, And thou comest forth with thy flowings, And dost trouble the waters with thy feet, And thou dost foul their flowings.

Contextual Overview

1 On the first day of the twelfth month in the twelfth year of exile, the word of the Lord came to me. He said, 2 "Son of man, sing this sad song about Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Say to him: "‘You thought you were like a powerful young lion walking proud among the nations. But really, you are like a dragon in the lakes. You push your way through the streams. You make the water muddy with your feet and stir up the rivers of Egypt.'" 3 This is what the Lord God says: "I have gathered many people together. Now I will throw my net over you. Then those people will pull you in. 4 Then I will drop you on the dry ground. I will throw you down in the field. I will let all the birds come and eat you. I will let wild animals from every place come and eat you until they are full. 5 I will scatter your body on the mountains. I will fill the valleys with your dead body. 6 I will pour your blood on the mountains, and it will soak down into the ground. The rivers will be full of you. 7 I will make you disappear. I will cover the sky and make the stars dark. I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not shine. 8 I will darken the lights in the sky over you. I will make your whole country dark." This is what the Lord God said. 9 "I will make many people sad and upset when I bring an enemy to destroy you. Nations you don't even know will be upset. 10 I will make many people shocked about you. Their kings will be terrified of you, when I swing my sword before them. They will shake with fear on the day you fall. Each king will be afraid for his own life."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

take up: Ezekiel 32:16, Ezekiel 32:18, Ezekiel 19:1, Ezekiel 27:2, Ezekiel 27:32, Ezekiel 28:12, Jeremiah 9:18

Thou art like: Ezekiel 19:2-6, Ezekiel 38:13, Genesis 49:9, Numbers 24:9, Proverbs 28:15, Jeremiah 4:7, Nahum 2:11-13

and thou art as: Ezekiel 29:3, Psalms 74:13, Psalms 74:14, Isaiah 27:1, Isaiah 51:9

whale: or, dragon

and troubledst: Ezekiel 34:18

Reciprocal: Genesis 1:21 - great Genesis 12:15 - princes Deuteronomy 22:8 - thou bring Jeremiah 46:8 - riseth Ezekiel 26:17 - take Ezekiel 29:15 - rule Ezekiel 32:13 - neither Amos 5:1 - I take

Cross-References

Genesis 32:26
Then the man said to Jacob, "Let me go. The sun is coming up." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go. You must bless me."
Genesis 32:27
And the man said to him, "What is your name?" And Jacob said, "My name is Jacob."
Joshua 5:14
The man answered, "I am not an enemy. I am the commander of the Lord 's army. I have just now come to you." Then Joshua bowed his face to the ground to show respect and said, "I am your servant. Does my master have a command for me?"
2 Samuel 2:8
Abner son of Ner was the captain of Saul's army. Abner took Ish Bosheth son of Saul to Mahanaim
2 Samuel 2:12
Abner son of Ner and the officers of Ish Bosheth son of Saul left Mahanaim and went to Gibeon.
2 Samuel 17:24
David arrived at Mahanaim just as Absalom and the Israelites who were with him crossed over the Jordan River.
1 Kings 2:8
"And remember, Shimei son of Gera is still around. He is the Benjamite from Bahurim who cursed me when I ran away to Mahanaim. But when he came down to meet me at the Jordan River, I made a promise to him before the Lord that I would not kill him.
1 Kings 4:14
Ahinadab son of Iddo was governor of Mahanaim.
2 Kings 6:17
Then Elisha prayed and said, " Lord , I ask you, open my servant's eyes so that he can see." The Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and the servant saw the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire. They were all around Elisha.
Psalms 34:7
The Lord 's angel builds a camp around his followers, and he protects them.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt,.... Pharaohhophra, or Apries; say a funeral dirge for him; this is ordered, not out of honour and respect to him, or in compassion for his misery and ruin, but to assure him of it:

and say unto him, thou art like a young lion of the nations; for strength and fierceness, for cruelty and tyranny, which he exercised, not in one nation only, but in many; a lively emblem of the beast of Rome, spiritually called Egypt and Sodom, compared to a leopard, bear, and lion, Revelation 11:8:

and thou art as a whale in the seas; or rather "like a crocodile" u, which was common in the rivers of Egypt, but not the whale; which also has not scales, nor does it go upon land, nor is it taken in a net; all which is said of this creature here, and in Ezekiel 29:3 and to the crocodile there is an allusion in the name of Pharaoh, in the Arabic language, as Noldius from Camius observes w; see Ezekiel 29:3:

and thou camest forth with thy rivers; or, "by thy rivers" x; as the crocodile in the river Nile, by the arms of it, or canals made out of it, sometimes went out from thence to other parts: or, "out of thy rivers" y upon the land, as the crocodile does; so the king of Egypt went forth with his armies out of his own land, into other countries, to disturb them, as follows: or rather, "camest forth in thy rivers" z; as the crocodile puts forth its head out of the water for respiration:

and thou troublest the waters with thy feet, and foulest their rivers; just as the feet of men or beasts, in shallow waters, raise up the mud or clay at the bottom, and so foul them; this best agrees with the crocodile, which has feet; Grotius thinks, for this reason, the sea horse is intended; the meaning is, that Pharaoh with his soldiers entered other nations, made war upon them, and disturbed their peace and tranquillity. The Targum is,

"thou hast been strong among the people, as a whale in the seas, thou hast fought with thine army; and thou hast moved the people with thine auxiliaries, and thou hast wasted their provinces.''

u כתנים "similis es crocodile", Noldius, Ebr. Concord. Part. p. 375. w Ibid. No. 1306. x בנהרותיך "per flumina tua", Vatablus, Junius Tremellius, Polanus. y "Ex fluminibus tuis", Starckius. z "In fluviis tuis", V. L. Piscator "in fluminibus tuis", Cocceius

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Thou 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 great river, like the Nile.

Thou camest forth with thy rivers - Rather, thou didst burst forth in “thy rivers” as the crocodile does from the water into which he has plunged.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Ezekiel 32:2. Thou 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 tannin, (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 his feet, and feeding on the plants, &c., that grow at the bottom. Thus he fouls the water with his feet.


 
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