Bible Strands
Ezekiel 30:7
They will be desolate among desolate lands, and their cities will lie among ruined cities.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The LORD speaks through Ezekiel to pronounce judgment on Egypt and its allies. This declaration follows the announcement that Egypt's proud strength will collapse from Migdol to Syene.
The words — The Hebrew root שׁמם (shamem) appears as נָשַׁמּוּ (na.Sha.mu) and נְשַׁמּוֹת (ne.sha.Mot), meaning "they will be desolate" and "made desolate." The preposition בְּתוֹךְ (be./Tokh) literally means "in the midst of," structuring the repeated ruin.
The thread — This pattern of national desolation echoes Ezekiel 29:12, where Egypt becomes a desolation among desolate lands, and aligns with Jeremiah 25:18 and Jeremiah 46:1 regarding the judgment of nations.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that political and military power cannot withstand divine judgment. Readers must acknowledge that ruin is the direct result of God's sovereign action, not merely historical circumstance.
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
And they shall be desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are wasted.
Cross-references
- Ezekiel 29:12 I 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.
- Jeremiah 25:18 to make them a ruin, an object of horror and contempt and cursing, as they are to this day—Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and officials;
- Jeremiah 46:1 This is the word of the LORD about the nations—the word that came to Jeremiah the prophet
- Ezekiel 32:18 “Son of man, wail for the multitudes of Egypt, and consign her and the daughters of the mighty nations to the depths of the earth with those who descend to the Pit: