Ezekiel 30:3
in Ezekiel 30For 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For the day is near, even the day of Jehovah is near; it shall be a day of clouds, a time of the nations.
KJV
For the day is near, even the day of the Lord is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen.
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This verse in Ezekiel 30
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA repetition of a former prophecy against Egypt, just before the desolation of it begun by their own bad conduct, which gradually weakened them and prepared the way for the king of Babylon,
This site's exposition
Again the word of the LORD came to me
on Ezekiel 30:1-4
The oracle opens with the day of the Lord formula, Woe worth the day!, the day is near, applied to Egypt's own hour of judgment. Keil notes the phrase works on two levels throughout the prophets, a specific historical catastrophe and the pattern every such catastrophe previews.
This site's exposition
a time of doom for the nations
Joel 2:2 and Zephaniah 1:15 also describe the Day of the LORD as a day of clouds and thick darkness. The cloud returns over Tahpanhes in verse 18. Egypt's hour opens a season of judgment on many nations.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Chapter 30, Verses 1 and following) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, prophesy and say: Thus saith the Lord God: Howl ye, woe, woe to the day: For the day is near, yea the day of the Lord is near, a day of cloud, the time of the nations shall be. And the sword shall come upon Egypt: and there shall be dread in Ethiopia, when the wounded shall fall in Egypt, and the multitude thereof shall be taken away, and the foundations thereof shall be destroyed.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
For the day is near; the day we have so long dreaded, so long deserved. It is the day of the Lord, the day in which he will manifest himself as a God of vengeance. You have your day now, when you carry all before you, and trample on all about you, but God will have his day shortly, the day of the revelation of his righteous judgment," Ps. xxxvii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
For the day is near,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the time of the heathen--namely, for taking vengeance on them. The judgment on Egypt is the beginning of a world-wide judgment on all the heathen enemies of God (Joe 1:15;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The time of the pagan - The time when the pagan (Egyptians) shall be judged.
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| קָר֣וֹב | karov | [is] near | H7138 → | 77 times |
| י֔וֹם | yom | a day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| וְקָר֥וֹב | vekarov | and [is] near | H7138 → | 77 times |
| י֖וֹם | yom | a day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| לַֽיהוָ֑ה | layahweh | of Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| י֣וֹם | yom | a day of | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| עָנָ֔ן | ʾanan | cloud[s] | H6051 → | 87 times |
| עֵ֥ת | ʾet | a time of | H6256 → | 296 times |
| גּוֹיִ֖ם | goyim | nations | H1471 → | 561 times |
| יִֽהְיֶֽה׃ | yihyeh | it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
קָר֣וֹב[is] near
karovH7138 →77 times
י֔וֹםa day
yomH3117 →2304 times
וְקָר֥וֹבand [is] near
vekarovH7138 →77 times
י֖וֹםa day
yomH3117 →2304 times
לַֽיהוָ֑הof Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 times
י֣וֹםa day of
yomH3117 →2304 times
עָנָ֔ןcloud[s]
ʾananH6051 →87 times
עֵ֥תa time of
ʾetH6256 →296 times
גּוֹיִ֖םnations
goyimH1471 →561 times
יִֽהְיֶֽה׃it will be
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Zephaniah 1:14The great Day of the LORD is near—near and coming quickly. Listen, the Day of the LORD! Then the cry of the mighty will be bitter.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 7:12
The time has come; the day has arrived. Let the buyer not rejoice and the seller not mourn, for wrath is upon the whole multitude.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Malachi 4:5
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the LORD.
- Zephaniah 1:7
Be silent in the presence of the Lord GOD, for the Day of the LORD is near. Indeed, the LORD has prepared a sacrifice; He has consecrated His guests.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:16
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to…
- Ezekiel 7:12
Through
Obadiah 1:15For the Day of the LORD is near for all the nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your recompense will return upon your own head.
it leads to
- James 2:13
For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
- Habakkuk 2:8
Because you have plundered many nations, the remnant of the people will plunder you—because of your bloodshed against man and your violence against the land, the city, and all their dwellers.
- Matthew 7:2
For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
- Psalms 137:8
O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, blessed is he who repays you as you have done to us.
- James 2:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Ezekiel

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Ezekiel; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
