Ezekiel 32 is a chapter of judgment and lament. Ezekiel is commanded to sing a funeral song over Pharaoh and the nations of Egypt, and the chapter describes Egypt going down to the grave alongside the other great powers that had terrorized the earth. These questions are for small groups, Sunday school classes, and personal study, and they are arranged so a leader can move through the chapter without preparing a separate summary.
Ezekiel 32 at a Glance
The chapter opens with a lament over Pharaoh, pictured as a lion turned into a sea monster, and God announces that he will be netted, left on the land, and his light put out. Verses 9 to 16 widen the judgment to the nations and close with a lament that the daughters of the nations will sing over Egypt.
Verses 17 to 32 move into the underworld. One by one, Egypt is shown joining the fallen nations already in the pit, including Assyria, Elam, Meshech, Tubal, and Edom, each still carrying the shame of the sword. The chapter ends with Pharaoh himself laid among the uncircumcised and slain, and God’s declaration that his terror has been put in the land of the living.
Observation Questions
Use these questions first, before anyone offers an opinion. Ask the group to point to the words in the text and resist explaining yet. Let the details of imagery and repetition do the teaching.
Ezekiel 32:2
‘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.”
(WEB)
This verse opens the lament and names Pharaoh’s double identity as a lion and a monster. Reading it aloud sets the tone for the whole chapter and invites the group to sit with the contrast it introduces.
Ezekiel 32:15
“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 the LORD.
(WEB)
This verse states the purpose of the judgment in terms of recognition, that the people will know the LORD. Reading it helps the group connect the chapter’s violence to God’s larger self-revelation.
Ezekiel 32:18
“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.
(WEB)
This verse marks the turn from lament over Pharaoh to a wider wail for the multitude of Egypt. Reading it aloud helps the group feel the shift into the funeral song and the descent toward the pit.
Ezekiel 32:21
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.
(WEB)
This verse shows the fallen speaking from the middle of Sheol, a striking image of the dead still present. Reading it gives the group a concrete picture of the underworld that the chapter describes.
Ezekiel 32:32
“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 the LORD.
(WEB)
This verse closes the chapter with God’s declaration about Pharaoh’s terror and his burial among the fallen. Ending the reading here lets the group carry the chapter’s final word into the discussion that follows.
Memory Verse for Ezekiel 32
A Closing Prayer for the Group
Father, we come before you having read a chapter full of fallen kings and open graves. We confess that we often admire strength and comfort ourselves with the failures of others. Teach us to hold power with humility and to grieve the ruin of people, even when they have caused harm. Help us to know you as the LORD who governs every nation and every heart, and let that knowledge shape how we speak, serve, and trust you this week. Amen.
