Single lesson
Ezekiel 32: A Lament for Pharaoh King of Egypt
Ezekiel 32:1–16; Ezekiel 32:17–32
Ezekiel 32:1–16 is a lament over Pharaoh king of Egypt. In strong poetic images, it describes capture, darkness, fear and desolation, showing that Egypt’s pride and power will be brought down by the Lord Yahweh. This lesson also brings together Egypt Cast into the Pit.
Before you teach
The passage begins by dating the word that came to Ezekiel and naming it as a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt. The poem then addresses Pharaoh with images from river, field and sky, and ends by saying that the nations will use this lament over Egypt and all its multitude.
Explain the central teaching of Ezekiel 32: A Lament for Pharaoh King of Egypt, using two details from the reading. This lament teaches that the Lord Yahweh brings down Egypt, and when the land is made desolate they will know that he is Yahweh. Ezekiel 32:17–32 teaches that Egypt and Pharaoh will be laid among the slain with other nations that had caused terror in the land of the living.
Welcome: Ezekiel 32: A Lament for Pharaoh King of Egypt
5 minIntroduce “A Lament for Pharaoh King of Egypt”, “Egypt Cast into the Pit” and locate Ezekiel 32:1–16; Ezekiel 32:17–32. This lament teaches that the Lord Yahweh brings down Egypt, and when the land is made desolate they will know that he is Yahweh. Invite each learner to name a detail or question they will listen for.
Ezekiel 32:1, Ezekiel 32:9, Ezekiel 32:16
Read and explain the passage
12 minA Lament for Pharaoh King of Egypt (Ezekiel 32:1–16): The poem begins with a command to take up a lamentation over Pharaoh. Pharaoh is compared first to a young lion among nations, then to a monster in the seas. The picture changes quickly from strength to disorder, because he troubles and fouls the waters around him.
Egypt Cast into the Pit (Ezekiel 32:17–32): The message begins with a precise date and a command for Ezekiel to wail for Egypt’s multitude. Egypt is cast down with famous nations to the lower parts of the earth. The question about beauty is followed by the command to go down and be laid with the uncircumcised.
Read the selected verses together, pausing at “A Lament for Pharaoh King of Egypt”, “Egypt Cast into the Pit”. Use the source reading below and check the explanation against the words of the passage.
Ezekiel 32:1, Ezekiel 32:2, Ezekiel 32:17, Ezekiel 32:18, Ezekiel 32:19
Discuss the details and their meaning
8 minUse the three questions below. Begin with “How does the poem describe Pharaoh at the start, and what do those images show about him?” and allow time to find the supporting verses. Ezekiel 32:17–32 teaches that Egypt and Pharaoh will be laid among the slain with other nations that had caused terror in the land of the living. Ask learners to explain which details support their answer and to identify a question they would like to explore further.
Ezekiel 32:2, Ezekiel 32:3, Ezekiel 32:4, Ezekiel 32:5, Ezekiel 32:6, Ezekiel 32:32
Make and respond: Vision and message evidence map
12 minWork on “Ezekiel 32: A Lament for Pharaoh King of Egypt: Vision and message evidence map”. Follow the materials and steps below, using “A Lament for Pharaoh King of Egypt”, “Egypt Cast into the Pit” as reading headings. Each learner should include at least two accurate details and their verse references. Share one observation from the finished sheet and explain how it connects with the central teaching.
Ezekiel 32:1, Ezekiel 32:17, Ezekiel 32:32
Closing: return to Egypt Cast into the Pit
3 minRevisit Ezekiel 32:17–32. Invite a learner to summarise what the group has learned about Egypt Cast into the Pit and another to support the summary with a verse. Give learners a moment to complete their response sheet. They can share a question or, if appropriate for the group, join the optional prayer.
Ezekiel 32:17, Ezekiel 32:25, Ezekiel 32:32
Questions to explore
How does the poem describe Pharaoh at the start, and what do those images show about him?
Look closely at the two comparisons in Ezekiel 32:2 and notice that both strength and destructive disturbance are included.
Ezekiel 32:2
What changes when Pharaoh is moved from water to land in the lament?
Trace the movement through Ezekiel 32:3–6 and note how the net, the field, and the animals all underline his downfall.
Ezekiel 32:3, Ezekiel 32:4, Ezekiel 32:5, Ezekiel 32:6
What reason does the final verse give for Pharaoh’s fate?
The closing line states the reason directly in Yahweh’s words before repeating that Pharaoh and his multitude will be laid among the slain.
Ezekiel 32:32
Make, think or respond
Ezekiel 32: A Lament for Pharaoh King of Egypt: Vision and message evidence map
What you’ll need
- plain paper or card
- pencils or pens
- a Bible or the source reading on this page
Try it together
- Fold a sheet into three panels or draw three columns. Label them “What the passage describes”, “What is explained in the text”, “What question remains”.
- Read Ezekiel 32:1–16; Ezekiel 32:17–32. Use “A Lament for Pharaoh King of Egypt”, “Egypt Cast into the Pit” as your reading headings and add a short quotation or detail with its verse reference to each panel.
- Compare your notes with a partner. Check that every quotation is accurate and every conclusion has support in the passage.
- Circle an explanation the passage itself provides. Leave unexplained details as questions for further reading.
The finished sheet keeps the details of Ezekiel 32: A Lament for Pharaoh King of Egypt connected to their Bible references and gives the group a way to explain what they noticed.
Adapt for your group
- For learners who need more support, prepare the reading headings “A Lament for Pharaoh King of Egypt”, “Egypt Cast into the Pit” and let them match short quotations to the correct heading.
- For confident readers, compare two sections of Ezekiel 32:1–16; Ezekiel 32:17–32. Ask for a written explanation with two supporting references and one question that the text leaves open.
An optional closing prayer
“God, help us listen carefully as we read Ezekiel 32:1–16; Ezekiel 32:17–32. Help us understand what we have read, ask thoughtful questions and respond with care for others. Amen.”
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
Ezekiel 32
1 In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, in the first day of the month, Yahweh’s word came to me, saying,
2 “Son of man, take up a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt, and tell him, ‘You were likened to a young lion of the nations; yet you are as a monster in the seas. You broke out with your rivers, and troubled the waters with your feet, and fouled their rivers.’ ”
3 The Lord Yahweh says: “I will spread out my net on you with a company of many peoples. They will bring you up in my net.
4 I will leave you on the land. I will cast you out on the open field, and will cause all the birds of the sky to settle on you. I will satisfy the animals of the whole earth with you.
5 I will lay your flesh on the mountains, and fill the valleys with your height.
6 I will also water the land in which you swim with your blood, even to the mountains. The watercourses will be full of you.
7 When I extinguish you, I will cover the heavens and make its stars dark. I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon won’t give its light.
8 I will make all the bright lights of the sky dark over you, and set darkness on your land,” says the Lord Yahweh.
9 “I will also trouble the hearts of many peoples, when I bring your destruction among the nations, into the countries which you have not known.
10 Yes, I will make many peoples amazed at you, and their kings will be horribly afraid for you, when I brandish my sword before them. They will tremble at every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of your fall.”
11 For the Lord Yahweh says: “The sword of the king of Babylon will come on you.
12 I will cause your multitude to fall by the swords of the mighty. They are all the ruthless of the nations. They will bring the pride of Egypt to nothing, and all its multitude will be destroyed.
13 I will destroy also all its animals from beside many waters. The foot of man won’t trouble them any more, nor will the hoofs of animals trouble them.
14 Then I will make their waters clear, and cause their rivers to run like oil,” says the Lord Yahweh.
15 “When I make the land of Egypt desolate and waste, a land destitute of that of which it was full, when I strike all those who dwell therein, then they will know that I am Yahweh.
16 “ ‘ “This is the lamentation with which they will lament. The daughters of the nations will lament with this. They will lament with it over Egypt, and over all her multitude,” says the Lord Yahweh.’ ”
17 Also in the twelfth year, in the fifteenth day of the month, Yahweh’s word came to me, saying,
18 “Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt, and cast them down, even her and the daughters of the famous nations, to the lower parts of the earth, with those who go down into the pit.
19 Whom do you pass in beauty? Go down, and be laid with the uncircumcised.
20 They will fall among those who are slain by the sword. She is delivered to the sword. Draw her away with all her multitudes.
21 The strong among the mighty will speak to him out of the middle of Sheol with those who help him. They have gone down. The uncircumcised lie still, slain by the sword.
22 “Asshur is there with all her company. Her graves are all around her. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword,
23 whose graves are set in the uttermost parts of the pit, and her company is around her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who caused terror in the land of the living.
24 “There is Elam and all her multitude around her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who have gone down uncircumcised into the lower parts of the earth, who caused their terror in the land of the living, and have borne their shame with those who go down to the pit.
25 They have made Elam a bed among the slain with all her multitude. Her graves are around her, all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for their terror was caused in the land of the living, and they have borne their shame with those who go down to the pit. He is put among those who are slain.
26 “There is Meshech, Tubal, and all their multitude. Their graves are around them, all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for they caused their terror in the land of the living.
27 They will not lie with the mighty who are fallen of the uncircumcised, who have gone down to Sheol with their weapons of war and have laid their swords under their heads. Their iniquities are on their bones; for they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.
28 “But you will be broken among the uncircumcised, and will lie with those who are slain by the sword.
29 “There is Edom, her kings, and all her princes, who in their might are laid with those who are slain by the sword. They will lie with the uncircumcised, and with those who go down to the pit.
30 “There are the princes of the north, all of them, and all the Sidonians, who have gone down with the slain. They are put to shame in the terror which they caused by their might. They lie uncircumcised with those who are slain by the sword, and bear their shame with those who go down to the pit.
31 “Pharaoh will see them and will be comforted over all his multitude, even Pharaoh and all his army, slain by the sword,” says the Lord Yahweh.
32 “For I have put his terror in the land of the living. He will be laid among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword, even Pharaoh and all his multitude,” says the Lord Yahweh.
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.