I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and put my sword in his hand: but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he shall groan before him with the groaning of a mortally wounded man.
Parallel translations
- KJV 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.
- BSB 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.
- NKJV 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 will groan before him with the groanings of a mortally wounded man.
- NASB For I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put My sword in his hand; and I will break the arms of Pharaoh, so that he will groan before him with the groans of a wounded man.
- NLT I will strengthen the arms of Babylon’s king and put my sword in his hand. But I will break the arms of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he will lie there mortally wounded, groaning in pain.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God will strengthen Babylon's arms and put his sword in its hand, while breaking Pharaoh's arms so he groans like a dying man. God empowers one nation and disables another.
Overview
In a striking contrast, the Lord strengthens the king of Babylon and arms him with God's own sword, while Pharaoh is left to groan in mortal weakness. This shows God actively governing the rise and fall of powers. Babylon's conquest is portrayed as wielding the sword God placed in its hand, a sobering display of divine sovereignty over history.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Ezek 30:25I will hold up the arms of the king of Babylon; and the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; and they shall know that I am Yahweh, when I shall put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall stretch it out on the land of Egypt.
- Zeph 2:12You Cushites also, you will be killed by my sword.
- Isa 45:1Yahweh says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held, to subdue nations before him, and strip kings of their armor; to open the doors before him, and the gates shall not be shut:
- Neh 6:9For they all would have made us afraid, saying, “Their hands will be weakened from the work, that it not be done.” But now, strengthen my hands.
- Isa 45:5I am Yahweh, and there is no one else. Besides me, there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not known me;
- Job 24:12From out of the populous city, men groan. The soul of the wounded cries out, yet God doesn’t regard the folly.
- Ezek 30:10Thus says the Lord Yahweh: I will also make the multitude of Egypt to cease, by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
- Ezek 26:15Thus says the Lord Yahweh to Tyre: shall not the islands shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan, when the slaughter is made within you?
- Zech 10:11–12He will pass through the sea of affliction, and will strike the waves in the sea, and all the depths of the Nile will dry up; and the pride of Assyria will be brought down, and the scepter of Egypt will depart.
- Ps 18:39For you have armed me with strength to the battle. You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.
- Ps 18:32the God who arms me with strength, and makes my way perfect?
- Ps 17:13Arise, Yahweh, confront him. Cast him down. Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword;
- Jer 27:6–8Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and I have also given the animals of the field to him to serve him.
- Ps 144:1By David. Blessed be Yahweh, my rock, who teaches my hands to war, and my fingers to battle:
- Jer 51:52“Therefore behold, the days come,” says Yahweh, “that I will execute judgment on her engraved images; and through all her land the wounded will groan.
- Deut 32:41–42if I sharpen my glittering sword, my hand grasps it in judgment; I will take vengeance on my adversaries, and will repay those who hate me.
- Isa 10:15Should an ax brag against him who chops with it? Should a saw exalt itself above him who saws with it? As if a rod should lift those who lift it up, or as if a staff should lift up someone who is not wood.
- Isa 10:5–6Alas Assyrian, the rod of my anger, the staff in whose hand is my indignation!
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Christ at the center
The promise of one Shepherd-King David, a new heart and new Spirit, and the river of life flowing from the temple all stream toward Christ, the good Shepherd who gives the Spirit.
How Ezekiel 30:24 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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