Ezekiel 32:31

"Pharaoh shall see them, and shall be comforted over all his multitude, even Pharaoh and all his army, slain by the sword saith the Lord Jehovah. For I have put his terror in the land of the living: and he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised, with them that are slain by the sword, even Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord Jehovah."

Certainly a dirge of this kind must have received the intense attention of all who heard it. Not only had God prophesied in these chapters the utter destruction of Pharaoh and the land of Egypt, but he had also launched among the populations of the earth a lamentation celebrating his death!

THE CREDIBILITY OF THESE PROPHECIES

Every student of the Bible is aware that history affords no elaborate details of just how all of Ezekiel's prophecies were fulfilled; and, of course, that has allowed many radical critics to voice their unbelieving denials that they ever really came to pass at all. We have already addressed this problem earlier, pointing out, that the most convincing proof of all that it happened exactly like the prophet declared that it would happen is simply the undeniable truth that Egypt did indeed come to know that "The Lord is Jehovah, the God of gods, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords." The ancient pantheon of Egypt's pagan deities was indeed vanquished, not a one of them ever having been worshipped during the thousands of intervening years. Why? The only adequate explanation of that undeniable fact, as far as we can see must be sought in the fulfillment of these prophecies by Ezekiel.

Nevertheless, historical proof is also available. "Sufficient evidence has been found that Nebuchadnezzar indeed invaded and conquered Egypt. The silence of Herodotus (and other Greek historians) regarding such an invasion goes for little or nothing. Herodotus could not even read the Egyptian records, deriving all of his knowledge through priests by means of an interpreter. It was the custom of those priests to draw a veil over every disaster. He did not even mention one of the most decisive battles of all history, that of Carchemish in 605 B.C."[19]

Skinner also reports the discovery of "a cuneiform fragment reporting a battle between Nebuchadnezzar and the king of Egypt in the "thirty-seventh year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, which was in the year 568 B.C."[20] We have included these quotations here, not for true believers who do not need to have historical confirmation of what is taught in the scriptures, but in the hope of aiding those whose timid faith might be sustained and strengthened by them.