Ezekiel 30:10, commentary and pictures

Ezekiel 30:10 belongs to the prophecies against Egypt in Ezekiel 29-32, standing within the wider judgments on the nations concerning Ammon, Moab, Tyre and Egypt and foretelling the certain fate to come on Pharaoh and his host, and it is read with Ezekiel 28-30 on God's judgment against Egypt. At that time Egypt was one of the greatest of kingdoms, once the greatest empire on earth, one of the very first nations to attain great power and civilization and at one time the strongest nation in the world. The verse declares that God Himself would make the multitude, power and population of Egypt to cease by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who would invade the land.

The prophecy belongs to God's judgment on Egypt and its idolatry to bring Egypt low and abase it, with punishment coming by fire and sword from the delta to Ethiopia. The verses following the verse describe the invasion and destruction of the land by Nebuchadnezzar and his forces. The prediction was literally fulfilled when Nebuchadnezzar invaded and subdued Egypt, succeeding and carrying many Egyptians captive to Babylon. He invaded Egypt twice and succeeded, though the details of his conquest are not known, and its fulfillment as a remarkable prophecy is evident today.

As part of that judgment Egypt's power was reduced and its rule over other nations was ended, so that it no longer ruled over other nations. Egypt became the very basest of the kingdoms, a lowly and oppressed kingdom subjected to successive foreign rulers, together with the drying up of its rivers and the abolishing of its idols. The prophecy about Egypt is to be fulfilled when England takes complete control of Egypt, at which time Turkey's claim of sovereignty over Egypt will pass away.