Ezekiel 30:4
in Ezekiel 30A 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And a sword shall come upon Egypt, and anguish shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt; and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be broken down.
KJV
And the sword shall come upon Egypt, and great pain shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt, and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be broken down.
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This verse in Ezekiel 30
Commentary
6 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
there will be anguish in Cush
Cush lay up the Nile south of Egypt, in what is now Sudan. Its kings had ruled Egypt as pharaohs for most of a century, and one of them, Tirhakah, marched against Sennacherib in 2 Kings 19:9. The two lands shared one fate.
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
When the slain fall so thickly in Egypt great pain shall be in Ethiopia, both that in Africa, which is in the neighbourhood of Egypt on one side, and that in Asia, which is near to it on the other side. When their neighbour's house was on fire they could not but apprehend their own in danger; nor were their fears groundless, for they shall all fall with them by the sword,
And the sword shall come upon Egypt,....
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּבָאָ֥ה | uvaah | and it will come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| חֶ֙רֶב֙ | cherev | a sword | H2719 → | 413 times |
| בְּמִצְרַ֔יִם | bemitzrayim | on Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| וְהָיְתָ֤ה | vehayetah | and it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| חַלְחָלָה֙ | chalchalah | anguish | H2479 → | |
| בְּכ֔וּשׁ | bekhush | on Cush | H3568 → | 29 times |
| בִּנְפֹ֥ל | binfol | when fall | H5307 → | 435 times |
| חָלָ֖ל | chalal | [the] slain | H2491 → | 94 times |
| בְּמִצְרָ֑יִם | bemitzrayim | in Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| וְלָקְח֣וּ | velakechu | and people will take away | H3947 → | 966 times |
| הֲמוֹנָ֔הּ | hamonah | wealth its | H1995 → | 83 times |
| וְנֶהֶרְס֖וּ | venehersu | and they will be torn down | H2040 → | 43 times |
| יְסוֹדֹתֶֽיהָ׃ | yesodoteiha | foundations its | H3247 → |
וּבָאָ֥הand it will come
uvaahH935 →2568 times
חֶ֙רֶב֙a sword
cherevH2719 →413 times
בְּמִצְרַ֔יִםon Egypt
bemitzrayimH4714 →641 times
וְהָיְתָ֤הand it will be
vehayetahH1961 →3559 times
חַלְחָלָה֙anguish
chalchalahH2479 →
בְּכ֔וּשׁon Cush
bekhushH3568 →29 times
בִּנְפֹ֥לwhen fall
binfolH5307 →435 times
חָלָ֖ל[the] slain
chalalH2491 →94 times
בְּמִצְרָ֑יִםin Egypt
bemitzrayimH4714 →641 times
וְלָקְח֣וּand people will take away
velakechuH3947 →966 times
הֲמוֹנָ֔הּwealth its
hamonahH1995 →83 times
וְנֶהֶרְס֖וּand they will be torn down
venehersuH2040 →43 times
יְסוֹדֹתֶֽיהָ׃foundations its
yesodoteihaH3247 →
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
Isaiah 19:2“So I will incite Egyptian against Egyptian; brother will fight against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.
it leads to
- Judges 7:22
And when the three hundred rams’ horns sounded, the LORD set all the men in the camp against one another with their swords. The army fled to Beth-shittah toward Zererah as far as the…
- 1 Samuel 14:20
Then Saul and all his troops assembled and marched to the battle, and they found the Philistines in total confusion, with each man wielding the sword against his neighbor.
- Matthew 10:36
A man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’
- Matthew 12:25
Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.
- Revelation 17:12–17
The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but will receive one hour of authority as kings, along with the beast.
- Judges 7:22
Through
Ezekiel 29:8Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: I will bring a sword against you and cut off from you man and beast.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 14:17
Or if I bring a sword against that land and say, ‘Let a sword pass through it,’ so that I cut off from it both man and beast,
- Ezekiel 14:17
Through
Ezekiel 29:19Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who will carry off its wealth, seize its spoil, and remove its plunder. This…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 30:24–25
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.
- Jeremiah 43:10–13
Then tell them that this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I will set his throne over these…
- Ezekiel 30:24–25
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Ezekiel

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Ezekiel; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible.
