Bible Strands
Ezekiel 30:13
This is what the Lord GOD says: I will destroy the idols and put an end to the images in Memphis. There will no longer be a prince in Egypt, and I will instill fear in that land.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Lord GOD addresses Israel through Ezekiel to announce the dismantling of Egyptian authority and worship immediately following the drying of its streams and the desolation of its land by foreigners.
The words — The Hebrew verb הַאֲבַדְתִּי (ha'avadti) means "I will destroy," paired with גִלּוּלִים (gillulim), literally "idols," marking the termination of false religious objects and the prince who upheld them.
The thread — This judgment against Memphis and Egyptian leadership resurfaces in Jeremiah's pronouncements against Tahpanhes and Memphis (Jeremiah 2:16; Jeremiah 46:14) and Zechariah's prophecy of the Nile's depths drying up (Zechariah 10:11).
Why it lands — The passage requires the reader to acknowledge that God will remove both political rulers and religious idols from Egypt, leaving the land stripped of protection and filled with fear.
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
Thus saith the Lord God; I will also destroy the idols, and I will cause their images to cease out of Noph; and there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt: and I will put a fear in the land of Egypt.
Cross-references
- Zechariah 10:11 They will pass through the sea of distress and strike the waves of the sea; all the depths of the Nile will dry up. The pride of Assyria will be brought down, and the scepter of Egypt will depart.
- Jeremiah 2:16 The men of Memphis and Tahpanhes have shaved the crown of your head.
- Jeremiah 46:14 “Announce it in Egypt, and proclaim it in Migdol; proclaim it in Memphis and Tahpanhes: ‘Take your positions and prepare yourself, for the sword devours those around you.’
- Exodus 12:12 On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn male, both man and beast, and I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD.
- Isaiah 19:1 This 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.
- Jeremiah 43:12 I will kindle a fire in the temples of the gods of Egypt, and Nebuchadnezzar will burn those temples and take their gods as captives. So he will wrap himself with the land of Egypt as a shepherd wraps himself in his garment, and he will depart from there unscathed.
- Jeremiah 46:5 Why am I seeing this? They are terrified, they are retreating; their warriors are defeated, they flee in haste without looking back; terror is on every side!” declares the LORD.
- Jeremiah 46:25 The LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Behold, I am about to punish Amon god of Thebes, along with Pharaoh, Egypt with her gods and kings, and those who trust in Pharaoh.
- Ezekiel 29:14 I will restore Egypt from captivity and bring them back to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin. There they will be a lowly kingdom.
- Hosea 9:6 For even if they flee destruction, Egypt will gather them and Memphis will bury them. Their precious silver will be taken over by thistles, and thorns will overrun their tents.