Limitless Word
For the day is near, even the day of the LORD is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen.
Ezekiel 30:3 · King James Version
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.
  • BSB 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.
  • 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 upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head.
  • Joel 2:1–2Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand;
  • Ezek 7:7The morning is come unto thee, O thou that dwellest in the land: the time is come, the day of trouble is near, and not the sounding again of the mountains.
  • Joel 1:15Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.
  • Zeph 1:14The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.
  • Ezek 30:18At 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.
  • Ezek 34:12As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.
  • Isa 24:21–23And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
  • Ezek 7:12The time is come, the day draweth near: let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn: for wrath is upon all the multitude thereof.
  • Zeph 1:7Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests.
  • Ps 110:6He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries.
  • Ezek 32:7And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light.
  • Amos 5:16–20Therefore the LORD, the God of hosts, the LORD, saith thus; Wailing shall be in all streets; and they shall say in all the highways, Alas! alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing.
  • Zech 14:3–19Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
  • Zeph 3:6–7I have cut off the nations: their towers are desolate; I made their streets waste, that none passeth by: their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, that there is none inhabitant.
  • Ps 37:13The LORD shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming.
  • Ps 149:7–9To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people;
  • Isa 19:1The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.
  • Phil 4:5Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
  • Jas 5:9Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.
  • Isa 34:2–17For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter.
  • Ezek 7:19They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.
  • Rev 19:13–21And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
  • Exod 14:20And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.
  • Exod 14:24And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians,
  • Ezek 29:12And I will make the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities among the cities that are laid waste shall be desolate forty years: and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries.
  • Jer 25:15–29For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it.
  • Rev 6:17For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
  • Joel 3:11–14Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD.
  • Matt 24:33So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.

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.