1.

The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,

the LORD . Hebrew. Jehovah . App-4 .

2.

Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Howl ye, Woe worth the day

Son of man. See note on Ezekiel 2:1 .
the Lord GOD. Hebrew. Adonai Jehovah . See note on Ezekiel 2:4 .
worth. This is the past tense ( weorth ) of Anglo-Saxon weorthan , to become. It means Woe he to the day! Hebrew = Alas for the day!

3.

For the day is near, even the day of the LORD is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen.

the day of the LORD . See notes on Isaiah 2:12 ; Isaiah 13:6 ; and Revelation 1:10 .
the time of, &c.: i.e. the season in which their power shall be judged and broken.
heathen = nations.

4.

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.

Ethiopia. Hebrew Cush, allied with Egypt. Compare Ezekiel 30:9 ; and Jeremiah 46:9 . Also resorted to for help by Israel.

5.

Ethiopia, and Libya, and Lydia, and all the mingled people, and Chub, and the men of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword.

Libya . Lydia. Hebrew Phut . . . Led. Compare Ezekiel 27:10 . Genesis 10:6 . These were an African people. Compare Jeremiah 46:9 . Nahum 3:9 .
mingled people = mixed multitude: i.e. the allies of Babylon. Compare Jeremiah 25:20 .
Chub . Perhaps Caba, in Mauretania, or Cobe, in Ethiopia.
men = sons.

6.

Thus saith the LORD; They also that uphold Egypt shall fall; and the pride of her power shall come down: from the tower of Syene shall they fall in it by the sword, saith the Lord GOD.

the tower , &c. See note on Ezekiel 29:10 .
saith the Lord GOD = [is] Adonai Jehovah's oracle.

7.

And they shall be desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are wasted.

8.

And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I have set a fire in Egypt, and when all her helpers shall be destroyed.

9.

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.

from Me = frorn before Me.
in ships . Going up the Nile. The Septuagint reads "hastening" or "running"; but note that Ethiopia sent messengers in ships to promise help to Judah, but Jehovah sent His messengers in ships to prophesy her judgment.
as in the day . Many codices (including the Hillel Codex, A.D. 600, quoted in the Masserah), with three early printed editions, Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate, read "in the day". Other codices. with seven early printed editions and Aramaean, read "as (or like, or about the time of) the day".
lo . Figure of speech Asterismos App-6 .

10.

Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also make the multitude of Egypt to cease by the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon.

Nebuchadreszar. See notes on Ezekiel 26:7 , and Ezekiel 29:18 .

11.

He and his people with him, the terrible of the nations, shall be brought to destroy the land: and they shall draw their swords against Egypt, and fill the land with the slain.

12.

And I will make the rivers dry, and sell the land into the hand of the wicked: and I will make the land waste, and all that is therein, by the hand of strangers: I the LORD have spoken it.

wicked. Hebrew. ra'a . App-44 .

13.

Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also destroy the idols, and I will cause their images to cease out of Noph; and there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt: and I will put a fear in the land of Egypt.

idols = manufactured gods.
images = things of nought.
Noph = Memphis. Now Abu Sir .

14.

And I will make Pathros desolate, and will set fire in Zoan, and will execute judgments in No.

Pathros . Upper, or Southern Egypt.
Zoan = Tanis: now San; an ancient Egyptian city in Lower Egypt (Numbers 13:22 .Psalms 78:12; Psalms 78:12 ). See note on Isaiah 30:4 .
No . No Ammon. Now Thebes (Nahum 3:8 ). Compare Jeremiah 46:25 .

15.

And I will pour my fury upon Sin, the strength of Egypt; and I will cut off the multitude of No.

Sin = Pelasium, in the Egyptian delta. See Ezekiel 29:10 . the multitude of No. Heb Hamon = No. Compare Ezekiel 30:14 .

16.

And I will set fire in Egypt: Sin shall have great pain, and No shall be rent asunder, and Noph shall have distresses daily.

17.

The young men of Aven and of Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword: and these cities shall go into captivity.

Aven = On, or Heliopolis (Beth = shemesh, city or house of the Sun), north of Memphis.
Pi-beseth . In some codices written as one word; in others as two words: Pi being "the" in Coptic, and Pasht = the Egyptian goddess Artemis . Now Tel Basta , in the Delta, north of Memphis.

18.

At Tehaphnehes also the day shall be darkened, when I shall break there the yokes of Egypt: and the pomp of her strength shall cease in her: as for her, a cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall go into captivity.

Tehaphnehes . See note on Jeremiah 43:7 . Greek name Daphne . Now Tel Defenneh . See App-87 .
the yokes of Egypt. The yokes imposed by Egypt on other peoples. Genitive of Origin. See App-17 .; and Compare Ezekiel 34:27 .

19.

Thus will I execute judgments in Egypt: and they shall know that I am the LORD.

20.

And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first month, in the seventh day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

the eleventh year. About four months before the fall of Jerusalem. See table on p. 1106.

21.

Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, lo, it shall not be bound up to be healed, to put a roller to bind it, to make it strong to hold the sword.

a roller = a bandage.

22.

Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms, the strong, and that which was broken; and I will cause the sword to fall out of his hand.

Behold. Figure of speech Asterismos . App-6 .

23.

And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries.

24.

And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and put my sword in his hand: but I will break Pharaoh's arms, and he shall groan before him with the groanings of a deadly wounded man.

25.

But I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall stretch it out upon the land of Egypt.

they shall know , &c. See note on Ezekiel 6:10 .

26.

And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them among the countries; and they shall know that I am the LORD.