Yehezkel 32-33

 The two prophecies in perek 32 end the series of prophecies about Egypt and the entire series of prophecies about the nations. The first prophecy (1-16) returns to the imagery of Pharaoh as a crocodile. The second prophecy (17-32) describes the descent of Pharaoh and his men to the grave, and his lying down with the "uncircumcised" - with the empires which preceded him.

Perek 33 begins the third unit in the book- the unit of the prophecies after the destruction,  which mainly includes consolation and hope for the future. From now, the role of the prophet will be to educate and prepare the exiles for the redemption. This perek is a transition between the two periods. The first section (1-22) reminds us of two previous prophecies - the prophecy of the watchman (1-9) and the question of punishment and reward (10-20). It ends with the arrival of the fugitive from Jerusalem who tells of the destruction of the city (21-22) and thus ends Yechezkel's long mute period, as God has said would happen in perek 24:26-27. At the heart of this section appears a folk-saying which reflects the great despair among the people,  "For our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and because of them we are melting away, so how can we live?" (33:10). Yechezkel wants to bring hope into the hearts of the people and therefore fights against what they are saying. In the second section of the perek (23-33) the prophet deals with another saying which is prevalent among the refugees who remain in Judah after the destruction ("the dwellers of the ruins") who see themselves as the inheritors of the land- and he chastises them strongly.