Ezekiel 32:11-14 - Exposition

The sword of the King of Babylon , etc. The effects of Nebuchadnezzar's invasion are now described in language which seems plain enough, but in which we may read between the lines an allusive reference to the previous symbolism. Thus in Ezekiel 32:13 we are thrown back upon the thought of the "troubled waters" of Ezekiel 32:2 . The Nile was no longer to be troubled by the foot of beasts; the streams of justice were no longer to be defiled with a selfish corruption, but were to run smooth and calm, even as the "rivers of oil" which were the symbols of ethical blessedness ( Job 29:6 ; Deuteronomy 32:13 ). So Ewald and Keil, for once agreeing. The rule of Nebuchadnezzar was to be a righteous rule, in spite of its severity. I am unable, however, to follow these commentators further in seeing in the words a prediction of the Messianic kingdom. The Egyptians were to "know the Lord," as the other nations addressed by Ezekiel were to know him, as a righteous Judge, not as yet as a Deliverer (comp. Ezekiel 28:26 ; Ezekiel 29:21 ; Ezekiel 30:26 ).