The Meaning of Ezekiel 30:21 Explained

Ezekiel 30:21

KJV: Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, lo, it shall not be bound up to be healed, to put a roller to bind it, to make it strong to hold the sword.

YLT: The arm of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, I have broken, And lo, it hath not been bound up to give healing, To put a bandage to bind it, To strengthen it -- to lay hold on the sword.

Darby: Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and behold, it shall not be bound up to apply remedies, to put a bandage to bind it, to make it strong to hold the sword.

ASV: Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, lo, it hath not been bound up, to apply healing medicines, to put a bandage to bind it, that it be strong to hold the sword.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Son  of man,  I have broken  the arm  of Pharaoh  king  of Egypt;  and, lo, it shall not be bound up  to be healed,  to put  a roller  to bind  it, to make it strong  to hold  the sword. 

What does Ezekiel 30:21 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Yahweh announced that He had broken Pharaoh"s arm. Ironically, "the strong-armed king had suffered a broken arm." [1] It had not been set in a splint and supported, so he could not wield a sword effectively. This may refer to Egypt"s defeat at Carchemish in605 B.C. when Egypt lost its share of control over the ancient Near East (cf. 2 Kings 24:7; Jeremiah 46:2). Another possibility is that the defeat in view was Hophra"s unsuccessful attack against the Babylonians near Judea a few months earlier (cf. 2 Kings 24:7; Jeremiah 37:5; Jeremiah 37:9; Jeremiah 44:30).
"Possibly the days between the first and fourth prophecies were approximately the length of time the siege on Jerusalem was lifted as Babylon repositioned its army to meet the Egyptian attack." [2]

Chapter Summary: Ezekiel 30

1  The desolation of Egypt and her helpers
20  The arm of Babylon shall be strengthened to break the arm of Egypt

What do the individual words in Ezekiel 30:21 mean?

Son of man - the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt I have broken and see not it has been bandaged for healing nor put on a splint to bind it to make it strong enough to hold a sword -
בֶּן־ אָדָ֕ם אֶת־ זְר֛וֹעַ פַּרְעֹ֥ה מֶֽלֶךְ־ מִצְרַ֖יִם שָׁבָ֑רְתִּי וְהִנֵּ֣ה לֹֽא־ חֻ֠בְּשָׁה לָתֵ֨ת רְפֻא֜וֹת לָשׂ֥וּם חִתּ֛וּל לְחָבְשָׁ֥הּ לְחָזְקָ֖הּ לִתְפֹּ֥שׂ בֶּחָֽרֶב ס

בֶּן־  Son 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
אָדָ֕ם  of  man 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אָדָם 
Sense: man, mankind.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
זְר֛וֹעַ  the  arm 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: זְרֹועַ  
Sense: arm, forearm, shoulder, strength.
פַּרְעֹ֥ה  of  Pharaoh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: פַּרְעֹה  
Sense: the common title of the king of Egypt.
מֶֽלֶךְ־  king 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
מִצְרַ֖יִם  of  Egypt 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: מִצְרַיִם  
Sense: a country at the northeastern section of Africa, adjacent to Palestine, and through which the Nile flows adj Egyptians = “double straits”.
שָׁבָ֑רְתִּי  I  have  broken 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: שָׁבוּר 
Sense: to break, break in pieces.
וְהִנֵּ֣ה  and  see 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Interjection
Root: הִנֵּה  
Sense: behold, lo, see, if.
חֻ֠בְּשָׁה  it  has  been  bandaged 
Parse: Verb, Pual, Perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: חָבַשׁ  
Sense: to tie, bind, bind on, bind up, saddle, restrain, bandage, govern.
רְפֻא֜וֹת  healing 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural
Root: רְפוּאָה  
Sense: .
לָשׂ֥וּם  nor  put  on 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: שׂוּמָה 
Sense: to put, place, set, appoint, make.
חִתּ֛וּל  a  splint 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: חִתּוּל  
Sense: bandage.
לְחָבְשָׁ֥הּ  to  bind  it 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct, third person feminine singular
Root: חָבַשׁ  
Sense: to tie, bind, bind on, bind up, saddle, restrain, bandage, govern.
לְחָזְקָ֖הּ  to  make  it  strong  enough 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct, third person feminine singular
Root: חָזַק  
Sense: to strengthen, prevail, harden, be strong, become strong, be courageous, be firm, grow firm, be resolute, be sore.
לִתְפֹּ֥שׂ  to  hold 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: תָּפַשׂ  
Sense: to catch, handle, lay hold, take hold of, seize, wield.
בֶּחָֽרֶב  a  sword 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: חֶרֶב  
Sense: sword, knife.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation