When I shall make the land of Egypt desolate, and the country shall be destitute of that whereof it was full, when I shall smite all them that dwell therein, then shall they know that I am the LORD.
Parallel translations
- WEB When I shall make the land of Egypt desolate and waste, a land destitute of that of which it was full, when I shall strike all those who dwell therein, then shall they know that I am Yahweh.
- BSB ‘When I make the land of Egypt a desolation and empty it of all that filled it, when I strike down all who live there, then they will know that I am the LORD.’
- NKJV “When I make the land of Egypt desolate, And the country is destitute of all that once filled it, When I strike all who dwell in it, Then they shall know that I am the Lord.
- NASB “When I make the land of Egypt a desolation, And the land is destitute of that which filled it, When I strike all those who live in it, Then they shall know that I am the Lord.
- NLT And when I destroy Egypt and strip you of everything you own and strike down all your people, then you will know that I am the Lord.
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
When God makes Egypt desolate and strikes its inhabitants, then they will know that He is Yahweh. The purpose of judgment is the acknowledgment of God's lordship.
Overview
The refrain 'they shall know that I am Yahweh' recurs throughout Ezekiel as the goal of God's acts. Egypt's desolation is meant to make even the nations recognize the true God. Judgment is never arbitrary; it serves to vindicate God's name and reveal His sovereign reality to a world that ignores Him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Ezek 6:7And the slain shall fall in the midst of you, and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
- Exod 7:5And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them.
- Exod 14:18And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.
- Exod 14:4And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD. And they did so.
- Ps 83:17–18Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish:
- Ezek 30:26And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them among the countries; and they shall know that I am the LORD.
- Ezek 29:19–20Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will give the land of Egypt unto Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall take her multitude, and take her spoil, and take her prey; and it shall be the wages for his army.
- Ps 9:16The LORD is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah.
- 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.
- Ps 24:1The earth is the LORD’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
- Ps 107:33–34He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the watersprings into dry ground;
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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 32:15 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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