Bible Strands
Ezekiel 28:10
You will die the death of the uncircumcised at the hands of foreigners. For I have spoken, declares the Lord GOD.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The Lord GOD speaks through Ezekiel to a proud ruler who claims divinity but faces imminent slaughter by foreign enemies. The oracle closes with a divine guarantee of the coming judgment.
The words — תָּמ֖וּת (ta.Mut) means "you will die," and עֲרֵלִ֛ים ('a.re.Lim) denotes "uncircumcised men." The text literally declares the subject will die the death of uncircumcised foreigners.
The thread — The imagery of foreign execution and uncircumcised status appears in Ezekiel 31:18, Ezekiel 32:19, and 1 Samuel 17:26.
Why it lands — The verse demands recognition that human pride cannot shield against divine judgment and physical mortality. It requires the reader to accept that God’s spoken word guarantees the outcome.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Thou shalt die the deaths of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God.
Cross-references
- Ezekiel 31:18 Who then is like you in glory and greatness among the trees of Eden? You also will be brought down to the depths of the earth to be with the trees of Eden. You will lie among the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares the Lord GOD.’”
- Ezekiel 32:19 Whom do you surpass in beauty? Go down and be placed with the uncircumcised!
- 1 Samuel 17:26 David asked the men who were standing with him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Just who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”
- 1 Samuel 17:36 Your servant has killed lions and bears; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.”
- Ezekiel 32:21 Mighty chiefs will speak from the midst of Sheol about Egypt and her allies: ‘They have come down and lie with the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword.’
- Philippians 3:3 For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh—
- Leviticus 26:41 and I acted with hostility toward them and brought them into the land of their enemies—and if their uncircumcised hearts will be humbled and they will make amends for their iniquity,
- Jeremiah 6:10 To whom can I give this warning? Who will listen to me? Look, their ears are closed, so they cannot hear. See, the word of the LORD has become offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it.
- Jeremiah 9:25 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh—
- Jeremiah 25:9 behold, I will summon all the families of the north, declares the LORD, and I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, whom I will bring against this land, against its residents, and against all the surrounding nations. So I will devote them to destruction and make them an object of horror and contempt, an everlasting desolation.