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Ezekiel

About this book
Chapter 32

1 In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first of the month, the Lord’s message came to me: 2 “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.⁠ 3 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “‘I will throw my net over you in the assembly of many peoples; and they will haul you up in my dragnet. 4 I will leave you on the ground, I will fling you on the open field, I will allow all the birds of the sky to settle on you, and I will permit all the wild animals to gorge themselves on you. 5 I will put your flesh on the mountains, and fill the valleys with your maggot-infested carcass.⁠ 6 I will drench the land with the flow of your blood up to the mountains, and the ravines will be full of your blood. 7 When I extinguish you, I will cover the sky; I will darken its stars. I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not shine.⁠ 8 I will darken all the lights in the sky over you, and I will darken your land, declares the Sovereign Lord. 9 I will disturb many peoples when I bring about your destruction among the nations, among countries you do not know. 10 I will shock many peoples with you, and their kings will shiver with horror because of you. When I brandish my sword before them, every moment each one will tremble for his life, on the day of your fall. 11 “‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “‘The sword of the king of Babylon will attack you. 12 By the swords of the mighty warriors I will cause your hordes to fall—all of them are the most terrifying among the nations. They will devastate the pride of Egypt, and all its hordes will be destroyed. 13 I will destroy all its cattle beside the plentiful waters; and no human foot will disturb the waters again, nor will the hooves of cattle disturb them. 14 Then I will make their waters calm and will make their streams flow like olive oil, declares the Sovereign Lord. 15 When I turn the land of Egypt into desolation and the land is destitute of everything that fills it, when I strike all those who live in it, then they will know that I am the Lord.’ 16 This is a lament; they will chant it. The daughters of the nations will chant it. They will chant it over Egypt and over all her hordes, declares the Sovereign Lord.” 17 In the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the month, the Lord’s message came to me: 18 “Son of man, wail over the horde of Egypt. Bring it down; bring her and the daughters of powerful nations down to the lower parts of the earth, along with those who descend to the Pit. 19 Say to them, ‘Whom do you surpass in beauty? Go down and be laid to rest with the uncircumcised!’ 20 They will fall among those killed by the sword. The sword is drawn; they carry her and all her hordes away. 21 The bravest of the warriors will speak to him from the midst of Sheol along with his allies, saying: ‘The uncircumcised have come down; they lie still, killed by the sword.’ 22 “Assyria is there with all her assembly around her grave, all of them struck down by the sword. 23 Their graves are located in the remote slopes of the Pit. Her assembly is around her grave, all of them struck down by the sword, those who spread terror in the land of the living. 24 “Elam is there with all her hordes around her grave; all of them struck down by the sword. They went down uncircumcised to the lower parts of the earth, those who spread terror in the land of the living. Now they will bear their shame with those who descend to the Pit. 25 Among the dead they have made a bed for her, along with all her hordes around her grave. All of them are uncircumcised, killed by the sword, for their terror had spread in the land of the living. They bear their shame along with those who descend to the Pit; they are placed among the dead. 26 “Meshech Tubal is there, along with all her hordes around her grave. All of them are uncircumcised, killed by the sword, for they spread their terror in the land of the living. 27 They do not lie with the fallen warriors of ancient times, who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war, having their swords placed under their heads and their shields on their bones, when the terror of these warriors was in the land of the living. 28 “But as for you, in the midst of the uncircumcised you will be broken, and you will lie with those killed by the sword. 29 “Edom is there with her kings and all her princes. Despite their might they are laid with those killed by the sword; they lie with the uncircumcised and those who descend to the Pit. 30 “All the leaders of the north are there, along with all the Sidonians; despite their might they have gone down in shameful terror with the dead. They lie uncircumcised with those killed by the sword and bear their shame with those who descend to the Pit. 31 “Pharaoh will see them and be consoled over all his hordes who were killed by the sword, Pharaoh and all his army, declares the Sovereign Lord. 32 Indeed, I terrified him in the land of the living, yet he will lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with those killed by the sword, Pharaoh and all his hordes, declares the Sovereign Lord.”

Texts in conversation

Compare Ezekiel 32:7 and Mark 13:24

Hebrew Bible · New Testament

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Summary

Ezekiel’s lament over Egypt describes a cosmic collapse, with the sun, moon, and stars darkened as part of divine judgment. In Mark, Jesus echoes this when describing the trouble during the end, highlighting a tradition of using cosmological language.

Passages

Ezekiel 32:7

Hebrew Bible
1 In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first of the month, the Lord’s message came to me: 2 “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. 3 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “‘I will throw my net over you in the assembly of many peoples; and they will haul you up in my dragnet. 4 I will leave you on the ground, I will fling you on the open field, I will allow all the birds of the sky to settle on you, and I will permit all the wild animals to gorge themselves on you. 5 I will put your flesh on the mountains, and fill the valleys with your maggot-infested carcass. 6 I will drench the land with the flow of your blood up to the mountains, and the ravines will be full of your blood. 7 When I extinguish you, I will cover the sky; I will darken its stars. I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not shine. 8 I will darken all the lights in the sky over you, and I will darken your land, declares the Sovereign Lord.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Ezekiel

Mark 13:24

New Testament
24 “But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light; 25 the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 Then everyone will see the Son of Man arriving in the clouds with great power and glory. 27 Then he will send angels and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. 28 “Learn this parable from the fig tree: Whenever its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 So also you, when you see these things happening, know that he is near, right at the door. 30 I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
60–75 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Mark

References

"... In Greco-Roman dream interpretation, a sun “dim or suffused with blood, or hideous to behold, It is inauspicious and evil for all men” (Artemidorus's Oneirocritica 2.36). The motif of the darkening or destruction of the sun when God judges the world occurs frequently (Isaiah 13:10b; Isaiah 24:23; Amos 8:9; Joel 2:31; Zephaniah 1:15 (the Day of the Lord is a day of darkness and gloom); Testament of Moses 10:5; Mark 13:24–25 = Matthew 24:29; Luke 21:25; Acts of the Apostles 2:20; 2 Peter 3:10 [the coming of the Day of the Lord will be accompanied by the destruction of the heavens and the earth]; Epistle of Barnabas 15:5). The three stichs in verses 12b, 12c, and 13 all have a similar pattern: a declarative statement of what occurred in the aorist, followed by a simile introduced with ὡς, “as, like.” The motif of darkness on the Day of Yahweh found in the prophets (Amos 8:9) is developed into the motif of the darkening or destruction of the sun, moon, and stars on the day of judgment (Isaiah 13:9–10; Ezekiel 32:7–8; Joel 2:10; Joel 3:15; Testament of Levi 4:1; Sibylline Oracles 5.477–82; Sibylline Oracles 7.125; 4 Ezra 7:39; Oracle of Hystaspes fragment 14; Lactantius's Divine Institutes 7.16.8; Epistle of Barnabas 15:5) ..."
David Aune, Word Biblical Commentary: Revelation 6-16 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2017), 202.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Ezekiel 32:7 and Mark 13:24

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