Ezekiel 30:16
New International Version
I will set fire to Egypt; Pelusium will writhe in agony. Thebes will be taken by storm; Memphis will be in constant distress.

New Living Translation
Yes, I will set fire to all Egypt! Pelusium will be racked with pain; Thebes will be torn apart; Memphis will live in constant terror.

English Standard Version
And I will set fire to Egypt; Pelusium shall be in great agony; Thebes shall be breached, and Memphis shall face enemies by day.

Berean Standard Bible
I will set fire to Egypt, Pelusium will writhe in anguish, Thebes will be split open, and Memphis will face daily distress.

King James Bible
And I will set fire in Egypt: Sin shall have great pain, and No shall be rent asunder, and Noph shall have distresses daily.

New King James Version
And set a fire in Egypt; Sin shall have great pain, No shall be split open, And Noph shall be in distress daily.

New American Standard Bible
“I will set a fire in Egypt; Sin will writhe in anguish, Thebes will be breached And Memphis will have distresses daily.

NASB 1995
“I will set a fire in Egypt; Sin will writhe in anguish, Thebes will be breached And Memphis will have distresses daily.

NASB 1977
“And I will set a fire in Egypt; Sin will writhe in anguish, Thebes will be breached, And Memphis will have distresses daily.

Legacy Standard Bible
I will set a fire in Egypt; Sin will writhe in anguish; Thebes will be breached, And Memphis will have distresses daily.

Amplified Bible
“I will set fire to Egypt; Pelusium will writhe in [great] anguish, Thebes shall be torn open And Memphis shall be in daily distress.

Christian Standard Bible
I will set fire to Egypt; Pelusium will writhe in anguish, Thebes will be breached, and Memphis will face foes in broad daylight.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
I will set fire to Egypt; Pelusium will writhe in anguish, Thebes will be breached, and Memphis will face foes in broad daylight.

American Standard Version
And I will set a fire in Egypt: Sin shall be in great anguish, and No shall be broken up; and Memphis shall have adversaries in the day-time.

Contemporary English Version
I will set fire to your nation of Egypt! The city of Pelusium will be in anguish. Thebes will fall, and the people of Memphis will live in constant fear.

English Revised Version
And I will set a fire in Egypt; Sin shall be in great anguish, and No shall be broken up: and Noph shall have adversaries in the day time.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
I will set fire to Egypt. Sin will be in much pain. Thebes will be broken into pieces, and Memphis will be in trouble every day.

Good News Translation
I will set fire to Egypt, and Pelusium will be in agony. The walls of Thebes will be broken down, and the city will be flooded.

International Standard Version
I'll set fire to Egypt, and Aswan will writhe in agony. Thebes will be demolished, and Memphis will face daily distress.

Majority Standard Bible
I will set fire to Egypt, Pelusium will writhe in anguish, Thebes will be split open, and Memphis will face daily distress.

NET Bible
I will ignite a fire in Egypt; Syene will writhe in agony, Thebes will be broken down, and Memphis will face enemies every day.

New Heart English Bible
I will set a fire in Egypt: Sin shall be in great anguish, and No shall be broken up; and Memphis shall have adversaries in the daytime.

Webster's Bible Translation
And I will set fire in Egypt: Sin shall have great pain, and No shall be rent asunder, and Noph shall have distresses daily.

World English Bible
I will set a fire in Egypt Sin will be in great anguish. No will be broken up. Memphis will have adversaries in the daytime.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And I have given fire against Egypt, "" Sin is greatly pained, and No is to be broken, "" And Noph has daily distresses.

Young's Literal Translation
And I have given fire against Egypt, Greatly pained is Sin, and No is to be rent, And Noph hath daily distresses.

Smith's Literal Translation
And I gave fire in Egypt, and Sin writhing, shall be in pain, and No shall be for breaking in pieces, and Noph straits in the day.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And I will make a fire in Egypt: Pelusium shall be in pain like a woman in labour, and Alexandria shall be laid waste, and in Memphis there shall be daily distresses.

Catholic Public Domain Version
And I will send a fire upon Egypt. Pelusium will be in pain, like a woman giving birth. And Alexandria will be utterly destroyed. And in Memphis, there will be anguish every day.

New American Bible
I will set fire to Egypt; Pelusium will writhe in anguish, Thebes will be breached, and Memphis besieged in daylight.

New Revised Standard Version
I will set fire to Egypt; Pelusium shall be in great agony; Thebes shall be breached, and Memphis face adversaries by day.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And I will set fire in Egypt; Seen shall be terrified, and No shall be breached, and Memphis shall fall.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And I shall set fire in Egypt, and Sin shall be disturbed and No shall be broken down, and Mephis shall exist for a fall
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
And I will set a fire in Egypt; Sin shall be in great convulsion, And No shall be rent asunder; And in Noph shall come adversaries in the day-time.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And I will send fire upon Egypt; and Syene shall be sorely troubled; and there shall be a breaking in Diospolis, and waters shall be poured out.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
A Lament for Egypt
15I will pour out My wrath on Pelusium, the stronghold of Egypt, and cut off the crowds of Thebes. 16I will set fire to Egypt, Pelusium will writhe in anguish, Thebes will be split open, and Memphis will face daily distress. 17The young men of On and Pi-beseth will fall by the sword, and those cities will go into captivity.…

Cross References
Isaiah 19:1-15
This is the burden against Egypt: Behold, the LORD rides on a swift cloud; He is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt will tremble before Him, and the hearts of the Egyptians will melt within them. / “So I will incite Egyptian against Egyptian; brother will fight against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, and kingdom against kingdom. / Then the spirit of the Egyptians will be emptied out from among them, and I will frustrate their plans, so that they will resort to idols and spirits of the dead, to mediums and spiritists. ...

Jeremiah 46:25-26
The LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Behold, I am about to punish Amon god of Thebes, along with Pharaoh, Egypt with her gods and kings, and those who trust in Pharaoh. / I will deliver them into the hands of those who seek their lives—of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. But after this, Egypt will be inhabited as in days of old, declares the LORD.

Nahum 3:8-10
Are you better than Thebes, stationed by the Nile with water around her, whose rampart was the sea, whose wall was the water? / Cush and Egypt were her boundless strength; Put and Libya were her allies. / Yet she became an exile; she went into captivity. Her infants were dashed to pieces at the head of every street. They cast lots for her dignitaries, and all her nobles were bound in chains.

Isaiah 30:2-3
They set out to go down to Egypt without asking My advice, to seek shelter under Pharaoh’s protection and take refuge in Egypt’s shade. / But Pharaoh’s protection will become your shame, and the refuge of Egypt’s shade your disgrace.

Jeremiah 43:10-13
Then tell them that this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I will set his throne over these stones that I have embedded, and he will spread his royal pavilion over them. / He will come and strike down the land of Egypt, bringing death to those destined for death, captivity to those destined for captivity, and the sword to those destined for the sword. / I will kindle a fire in the temples of the gods of Egypt, and Nebuchadnezzar will burn those temples and take their gods as captives. So he will wrap himself with the land of Egypt as a shepherd wraps himself in his garment, and he will depart from there unscathed. ...

Isaiah 31:1-3
Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel; they do not seek the LORD. / Yet He too is wise and brings disaster; He does not call back His words. He will rise up against the house of the wicked and against the allies of evildoers. / But the Egyptians are men, not God; their horses are flesh, not spirit. When the LORD stretches out His hand, the helper will stumble, and the one he helps will fall; both will perish together.

Zechariah 10:11
They will pass through the sea of distress and strike the waves of the sea; all the depths of the Nile will dry up. The pride of Assyria will be brought down, and the scepter of Egypt will depart.

Isaiah 19:16-17
In that day the Egyptians will be like women. They will tremble with fear beneath the uplifted hand of the LORD of Hosts, when He brandishes it against them. / 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.

Jeremiah 25:19
Pharaoh king of Egypt, his officials, his leaders, and all his people;

Isaiah 20:3-5
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, / so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, young and old alike, naked and barefoot, with bared buttocks—to Egypt’s shame. / Those who made Cush their hope and Egypt their boast will be dismayed and ashamed.

Revelation 11:8
Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city—figuratively called Sodom and Egypt—where their Lord was also crucified.

Matthew 2:15
where he stayed until the death of Herod. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”

Acts 7:22
So Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.

Revelation 18:10
In fear of her torment, they will stand at a distance and cry out: “Woe, woe to the great city, the mighty city of Babylon! For in a single hour your judgment has come.”

2 Corinthians 6:17
“Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”


Treasury of Scripture

And I will set fire in Egypt: Sin shall have great pain, and No shall be rent asunder, and Noph shall have distresses daily.

Ezekiel 30:8,9
And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I have set a fire in Egypt, and when all her helpers shall be destroyed…

Ezekiel 28:18
Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.

Jump to Previous
Adversaries Agony Anguish Asunder Breached Broken Constant Convulsion Daily Daytime Day-Time Distress Distresses Egypt Enemies Fire Great Greatly Memphis Noph Onrush Open Pain Pained Pelusium Rent Sin Syene Thebes Twisting Walls Waters Writhe
Jump to Next
Adversaries Agony Anguish Asunder Breached Broken Constant Convulsion Daily Daytime Day-Time Distress Distresses Egypt Enemies Fire Great Greatly Memphis Noph Onrush Open Pain Pained Pelusium Rent Sin Syene Thebes Twisting Walls Waters Writhe
Ezekiel 30
1. The desolation of Egypt and her helpers
20. The arm of Babylon shall be strengthened to break the arm of Egypt.














I will set fire to Egypt
This phrase signifies God's judgment upon Egypt, a nation that had long been a symbol of worldly power and idolatry. The Hebrew word for "fire" (אֵשׁ, 'esh) often represents divine judgment and purification. In the biblical context, fire is a tool of God to cleanse and to execute justice. Historically, Egypt was a powerful empire, but this prophecy foretells its downfall, emphasizing that no earthly power can withstand the sovereignty of God.

Pelusium will writhe in anguish
Pelusium, known as "Sin" in Hebrew (סִין), was a key fortress city in Egypt, strategically located at the eastern edge of the Nile Delta. The phrase "writhe in anguish" suggests intense suffering and turmoil. The Hebrew root for "writhe" (חִיל, chil) conveys the idea of trembling or being in labor pains, indicating a profound and unavoidable distress. This imagery underscores the totality of God's judgment, affecting even the most fortified places.

Thebes will be taken by storm
Thebes, referred to as "No" in Hebrew (נֹא), was a major city in Upper Egypt, renowned for its wealth and grandeur. The phrase "taken by storm" implies a sudden and overwhelming conquest. The Hebrew root for "storm" (סוּפָה, suphah) can also mean a whirlwind, symbolizing the swift and unstoppable nature of God's judgment. Historically, Thebes was indeed conquered multiple times, fulfilling this prophecy and demonstrating the accuracy of God's word.

Memphis will be in constant distress
Memphis, known as "Noph" in Hebrew (נֹף), was another significant city in ancient Egypt, serving as a political and cultural center. The phrase "constant distress" indicates ongoing suffering and instability. The Hebrew word for "distress" (צָרָה, tsarah) conveys a sense of tightness or pressure, reflecting the relentless nature of the calamities that would befall Memphis. This serves as a reminder of the consequences of turning away from God and relying on human strength.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
I will set
וְנָתַ֤תִּי (wə·nā·ṯat·tî)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 5414: To give, put, set

fire
אֵשׁ֙ (’êš)
Noun - common singular
Strong's 784: A fire

to Egypt;
בְּמִצְרַ֔יִם (bə·miṣ·ra·yim)
Preposition-b | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 4714: Egypt -- a son of Ham, also his descendants and their country in Northwest Africa

Pelusium
סִ֔ין (sîn)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 5512: Eastern frontier city of Egypt

will writhe in anguish,
ח֤וּל (ḥūl)
Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 2342: To twist, whirl, to dance, to writhe in pain, fear, to wait, to pervert

Thebes
וְנֹ֖א (wə·nō)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 4996: Thebes -- an Egyptian city

will be
תִּהְיֶ֣ה (tih·yeh)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

split open,
לְהִבָּקֵ֑עַ (lə·hib·bā·qê·a‘)
Preposition-l | Verb - Nifal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 1234: To cleave, to rend, break, rip, open

and Memphis
וְנֹ֖ף (wə·nōp̄)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 5297: Memphis -- a city in Egypt

[will face] daily
יוֹמָֽם׃ (yō·w·mām)
Adverb
Strong's 3119: Daytime, by day

distress.
צָרֵ֥י (ṣā·rê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 6862: Narrow, a tight place, a pebble, an opponent


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OT Prophets: Ezekiel 30:16 I will set a fire in Egypt: (Ezek. Eze Ezk)
Ezekiel 30:15
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