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Ezekiel 30:9

in Ezekiel 30

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.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

In that day shall messengers go forth from before me in ships to make the careless Ethiopians afraid; and there shall be anguish upon them, as in the day of Egypt; for, lo, it cometh.

KJV

In that day shall messengers go forth from me in ships to make the careless Ethiopians afraid, and great pain shall come upon them, as in the day of Egypt: for, lo, it cometh.

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This verse in Ezekiel 30

Commentary

9 notes on this verse
In that day shall messengers go forth from me in ships,.... Either by the river Nile, or by the Red sea, to Arabia Felix, which some think is meant by Ethiopia.

This site's exposition

desolate among desolate lands

on Ezekiel 30:7-9

Egypt joins a roster already familiar to Ezekiel's hearers, the same fate announced for Tyre and her neighbors. The recognition formula lands again, they shall know that I am the Lord. Messengers carry the alarm, and the careless Ethiopians learn that no distance keeps a nation safe from the news.

This site's exposition

messengers will go out from Me

Isaiah 18:2 pictures Cush sending envoys by sea in papyrus boats. Here the traffic runs the other way, with messengers from the LORD going out in ships to carry the news of Egypt's doom south. Complacent Cush learns anguish.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Ezekiel · Written before 420.

proposed

(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

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

A 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,

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Note, God can strike a terror upon those that are most secure; fearfulness shall, when he pleases, surprise the most presumptuous hypocrites. The close of this prediction leaves, 1. The land of Egypt mortified: Thus will I execute judgments on Egypt,

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

Messengers go forth from me in ships - Ships can ascend the Nile up to Syene or Essuan, by the cataracts; and when Nebuchadnezzar’s vessels went up, they struck terror into the Ethiopians. They are represented here as the “messengers of God.”

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

The cataracts interposing between them and Egypt should not save them. Egyptians "fleeing from before Me" in My execution of judgment, as "messengers" in "skiffs" ("vessels of bulrushes," Isa 18:2) shall go up the Nile as far as navigable, to announce the advance of the Chaldeans. as in the day of Egypt--The day of Ethiopia's "pain" shall come shortly, as Egypt's day came.
1 more voice on this verse

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Careless Ethiopians - The Ethiopians, who were dwelling in fancied security Zep 2:15, shall tremble at Egypt’s ruin.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

On the verses either side of this one

Thus said Hashem Elokim: I will cause the crowd of Mitzrayim to cease by the hand of Nevuchadretzar king of Bavel.
Targum · Targum Jonathan on Ezekiel 30:10, via Sefaria, Sefaria Community Translation

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

18 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • בַּיּ֣וֹםon the day

    baiyomH3117 →2304 times

  • הַה֗וּא<the> that

    hahu'H1931 →1879 times

  • יֵצְא֨וּthey will go out

    yetzeuH3318 →1067 times

  • מַלְאָכִ֤יםmessengers

    malakhimH4397 →213 times

  • מִלְּפָנַי֙from to before me

    milefanaiH6440 →2123 times

  • בַּצִּ֔יםin the ships

    batzimH6716 →

  • לְהַחֲרִ֖ידto make tremble

    lehacharidH2729 →39 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • כּ֣וּשׁCush

    kushH3568 →29 times

  • בֶּ֑טַחsecurity

    betachH983 →42 times

  • וְהָיְתָ֨הand it will be

    vehayetahH1961 →3559 times

  • חַלְחָלָ֤הanguish

    chalchalahH2479 →

  • בָהֶם֙on them

    vahem

  • בְּי֣וֹםon [the] day of

    beyomH3117 →2304 times

  • מִצְרַ֔יִםEgypt

    mitzrayimH4714 →641 times

  • כִּ֥יfor

    kiH3588 →4482 times

  • הִנֵּ֖הthere!

    hinehH2009 →843 times

  • בָּאָֽה׃ ס[it is] coming

    baahH935 →2568 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Isaiah 18:1–2Woe to the land of whirring wings, along the rivers of Cush,6 worksIsaiah 23:5When the report reaches Egypt, they will writhe in agony over the news of Tyre.3 worksEzekiel 32:9–10‘I will trouble the hearts of many peoples, when I bring about your destruction among the nations, in countries you do not know.3 worksIsaiah 32:9–11Stand up, you complacent women; listen to me. Give ear to my word, you overconfident daughters.2 worksEzekiel 33:33So when it comes to pass—and surely it will come—then they will know that a prophet has been among them.”2 worksIsaiah 20:3Then the LORD said, “Just as My servant Isaiah has gone naked and barefoot for three years as a sign and omen against Egypt and Cush,2 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Isaiah 20:5Those who made Cush their hope and Egypt their boast will be dismayed and ashamed.2 worksEzekiel 26:16All the princes of the sea will descend from their thrones, remove their robes, and strip off their embroidered garments. Clothed with terror, they will sit on the ground, trembling every moment, appalled over you.2 worksJeremiah 49:31Rise up, advance against a nation at ease, one that dwells securely,” declares the LORD. “They have no gates or bars; they live alone.2 worksEzekiel 30:4–6A 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.2 worksEzekiel 27:35All the people of the coastlands are appalled over you. Their kings shudder with fear; their faces are contorted.2 worksIsaiah 19:17The land of Judah will bring terror to Egypt; whenever Judah is mentioned, Egypt will tremble over what the LORD of Hosts has planned against it.2 worksEzekiel 38:11You will say, ‘I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will come against a tranquil people who dwell securely, all of them living without walls or bars or gates—2 worksAmos 4:2The Lord GOD has sworn by His holiness: “Behold, the days are coming when you will be taken away with hooks, and your posterity with fishhooks.2 worksIsaiah 47:8So now hear this, O lover of luxury who sits securely, who says to herself, ‘I am, and there is none besides me. I will never be a widow or know the loss of children.’2 worksZechariah 11:2–3Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen; the majestic trees are ruined! Wail, O oaks of Bashan, for the dense forest has been cut down!2 worksZephaniah 2:12“You too, O Cushites, will be slain by My sword.”2 worksJeremiah 49:21At the sound of their fall the earth will quake; their cry will resound to the Red Sea.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Ezekiel 33:33

    So when it comes to pass—and surely it will come—then they will know that a prophet has been among them.”

    it leads to

    • Jeremiah 28:9

      As for the prophet who prophesies peace, only if the word of the prophet comes true will the prophet be recognized as one the LORD has truly sent.”

    • Ezekiel 2:5

      And whether they listen or refuse to listen—for they are a rebellious house—they will know that a prophet has been among them.

    • 1 Samuel 3:19–20

      And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and He let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground.

    • Ezekiel 33:29

      Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I have made the land a desolate waste because of all the abominations they have committed.’

    • 2 Kings 5:8

      Now when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent a message to the king: “Why have you torn your clothes? Please let the man…

  • Through

    Isaiah 23:5

    When the report reaches Egypt, they will writhe in agony over the news of Tyre.

    it leads to

    • Exodus 15:14–16

      The nations will hear and tremble; anguish will grip the dwellers of Philistia.

    • Joshua 2:9–11

      and said to them, “I know that the LORD has given you this land and that the fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who dwell in the land are melting…

    • Ezekiel 27:29–36

      All who handle the oars will abandon their ships. The sailors and all the captains of the sea will stand on the shore.

Where this verse is studied

About Ezekiel

Ezekiel’s Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Ezekiel’s Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Ezekiel: the study guide →Read Ezekiel 30 →
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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 (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.

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