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For the day is near, the Day of the LORD is near. It will be a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations.
Ezekiel 30:3 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB For the day is near, even the day of Yahweh is near; it shall be a day of clouds, a time of the nations.
  • KJV For the day is near, even the day of the LORD is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen.
  • NKJV For the day is near, Even the day of the Lord is near; It will be a day of clouds, the time of the Gentiles.
  • NASB “For the day is near, Indeed, the day of the Lord is near; It will be a day of clouds, A time of doom for the nations.
  • NLT for the terrible day is almost here— the day of the Lord! It is a day of clouds and gloom, a day of despair for the nations.

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

The day of the LORD is near, a dark day of judgment for the nations. God's reckoning is imminent and far-reaching.

Overview

The oracle proclaims a near "day of Yahweh," a time of clouds and doom not only for Egypt but for the nations. This day expresses God's decisive intervention in history to judge the proud. Throughout Scripture the day of the Lord carries both terror for the wicked and ultimate hope of God's righteous reign, consummated in Christ's return.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 30

  • Obad 1:15For the Day of the LORD is near for all the nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your recompense will return upon your own head.
  • Joel 2:1–2Blow the ram’s horn in Zion; sound the alarm on My holy mountain! Let all who dwell in the land tremble, for the Day of the LORD is coming; indeed, it is near—
  • Ezek 7:7Doom has come to you, O inhabitants of the land. The time has come; the day is near; there is panic on the mountains instead of shouts of joy.
  • Joel 1:15Alas for the day! For the Day of the LORD is near, and it will come as destruction from the Almighty.
  • Zeph 1:14The great Day of the LORD is near—near and coming quickly. Listen, the Day of the LORD! Then the cry of the mighty will be bitter.
  • Ezek 30:18The day will be darkened in Tahpanhes when I break the yoke of Egypt and her proud strength comes to an end. A cloud will cover her, and her daughters will go into captivity.
  • Ezek 34:12As a shepherd looks for his scattered sheep when he is among the flock, so I will look for My flock. I will rescue them from all the places to which they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.
  • Isa 24:21–23In that day the LORD will punish the host of heaven above and the kings of the earth below.
  • Ezek 7:12The time has come; the day has arrived. Let the buyer not rejoice and the seller not mourn, for wrath is upon the whole multitude.
  • Zeph 1:7Be silent in the presence of the Lord GOD, for the Day of the LORD is near. Indeed, the LORD has prepared a sacrifice; He has consecrated His guests.
  • Ps 110:6He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead; He will crush the leaders far and wide.
  • Ezek 32:7When I extinguish you, I will cover the heavens and darken their stars. I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not give its light.
  • Amos 5:16–20Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Hosts, the Lord, says: “There will be wailing in all the public squares and cries of ‘Alas! Alas!’ in all the streets. The farmer will be summoned to mourn, and the mourners to wail.
  • Zech 14:3–19Then the LORD will go out to fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle.
  • Zeph 3:6–7“I have cut off the nations; their corner towers are destroyed. I have made their streets deserted with no one to pass through. Their cities are laid waste, with no man, no inhabitant.
  • Ps 37:13but the Lord laughs, seeing that their day is coming.
  • Ps 149:7–9to inflict vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples,
  • Isa 19:1This is the burden against Egypt: Behold, the LORD rides on a swift cloud; He is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt will tremble before Him, and the hearts of the Egyptians will melt within them.
  • Phil 4:5Let your gentleness be apparent to all. The Lord is near.
  • Jas 5:9Do not complain about one another, brothers, so that you will not be judged. Look, the Judge is standing at the door!
  • Isa 34:2–17The LORD is angry with all the nations and furious with all their armies. He will devote them to destruction; He will give them over to slaughter.
  • Ezek 7:19They will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will seem unclean. Their silver and gold cannot save them in the day of the wrath of the LORD. They cannot satisfy their appetites or fill their stomachs with wealth, for it became the stumbling block that brought their iniquity.
  • Rev 19:13–21He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is The Word of God.
  • Exod 14:20so that it came between the camps of Egypt and Israel. The cloud was there in the darkness, but it lit up the night. So all night long neither camp went near the other.
  • Exod 14:24At morning watch, however, the LORD looked down on the army of the Egyptians from the pillar of fire and cloud, and He threw their camp into confusion.
  • Ezek 29:12I will make the land of Egypt a desolation among desolate lands, and her cities will lie desolate for forty years among the ruined cities. And I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them throughout the countries.
  • Jer 25:15–29This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from My hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink from it.
  • Rev 6:17For the great day of Their wrath has come, and who is able to withstand it?”
  • Joel 3:11–14Come quickly, all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves. Bring down Your mighty ones, O LORD.
  • Matt 24:33So also, when you see all these things, you will know that He is near, right at the door.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Ezekiel videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Ezekiel 30:3YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on EzekielMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 30:3 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

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.