Bible Strands
Ezekiel 30:9
On that day messengers will go out from Me in ships to frighten Cush out of complacency. Anguish will come upon them on the day of Egypt’s doom. For it is indeed coming.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — YHWH speaks through Ezekiel regarding the imminent destruction of Egypt and its allied nations. The declaration occurs within a prophetic oracle detailing the day of Egypt's doom and the coming judgment by Babylon.
The words — The verse highlights מַלְאָכִים (mal.'a.Khim, "messengers") and לְ/הַחֲרִ֖יד (le./ha.cha.Rid, "to make tremble/frighten"). These terms describe divine agents dispatched by ship to strip Cush of its false security.
The thread — This theme of distant nations reacting to judgment appears in Isaiah 18:1 and Isaiah 23:5, where the text notes Egypt's distress over Tyre's fate rather than Cush's reaction to Egypt. Ezekiel 32:9 similarly describes God troubling the hearts of many peoples during national destruction.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition of YHWH's sovereign control over geopolitical events and the certainty of impending judgment. It requires readers to acknowledge that divine warnings are active forces dismantling human complacency before disaster arrives.
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
In that day shall messengers go forth from me in ships to make the careless Ethiopians afraid, and great pain shall come upon them, as in the day of Egypt: for, lo, it cometh.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 18:1 Woe to the land of whirring wings, along the rivers of Cush,
- Isaiah 23:5 When the report reaches Egypt, they will writhe in agony over the news of Tyre.
- Ezekiel 32:9 ‘I will trouble the hearts of many peoples, when I bring about your destruction among the nations, in countries you do not know.
- Judges 18:7 So the five men departed and came to Laish, where they saw that the people were living securely, like the Sidonians, quiet and unsuspecting. There was nothing lacking in the land and no oppressive ruler. And they were far away from the Sidonians and had no alliance with anyone.
- Isaiah 19:17 The land of Judah will bring terror to Egypt; whenever Judah is mentioned, Egypt will tremble over what the LORD of Hosts has planned against it.
- Isaiah 20:3 Then the LORD said, “Just as My servant Isaiah has gone naked and barefoot for three years as a sign and omen against Egypt and Cush,
- Isaiah 20:5 Those who made Cush their hope and Egypt their boast will be dismayed and ashamed.
- Isaiah 32:9 Stand up, you complacent women; listen to me. Give ear to my word, you overconfident daughters.
- Isaiah 47:8 So now hear this, O lover of luxury who sits securely, who says to herself, ‘I am, and there is none besides me. I will never be a widow or know the loss of children.’
- Jeremiah 49:21 At the sound of their fall the earth will quake; their cry will resound to the Red Sea.