Ezekiel 29

Berean Standard Bible · Compare translations · 587 BC – 571 BC · Exile in Babylon · Tap a verse to copy, share or highlight ·

21 verses · 651 words · ~3 min read · ~4 min listen

A Prophecy against Pharaoh

¹In the tenth year, on the twelfth day of the tenth month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²“Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt and prophesy against him and against all Egypt. ³Speak to him and tell him that this is what the Lord God says:

Behold, I am against you,

O Pharaoh king of Egypt,

O great monster who lies

among his rivers,

who says, ‘The Nile is mine;

I made it myself.’

⁴But I will put hooks in your jaws

and cause the fish of your streams

to cling to your scales.

I will haul you up out of your rivers,

and all the fish of your streams

will cling to your scales.

⁵I will leave you in the desert,

you and all the fish of your streams.

You will fall on the open field

and will not be taken away

or gathered for burial.

I have given you as food

to the beasts of the earth

and the birds of the air.

⁶Then all the people of Egypt

will know that I am the Lord.

For you were only a staff of reeds

to the house of Israel.

⁷When Israel took hold of you with their hands,

you splintered, tearing all their shoulders;

when they leaned on you,

you broke, and their backs were wrenched.

The Desolation of Egypt

⁸Therefore this is what the Lord God says: I will bring a sword against you and cut off from you man and beast. ⁹The land of Egypt will become a desolate wasteland. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

Because you said, ‘The Nile is mine; I made it,’ ¹⁰therefore I am against you and against your rivers. I will turn the land of Egypt into a ruin, a desolate wasteland from Migdol to Syene, and as far as the border of Cush. ¹¹No foot of man or beast will pass through, and it will be uninhabited for forty years.

¹²I will make the land of Egypt a desolation among desolate lands, and her cities will lie desolate for forty years among the ruined cities. And I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them throughout the countries.

¹³For this is what the Lord God says: At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the nations to which they were scattered. ¹⁴I will restore Egypt from captivity and bring them back to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin. There they will be a lowly kingdom.

¹⁵Egypt will be the lowliest of kingdoms and will never again exalt itself above the nations. For I will diminish Egypt so that it will never again rule over the nations. ¹⁶Egypt will never again be an object of trust for the house of Israel, but will remind them of their iniquity in turning to the Egyptians. Then they will know that I am the Lord God.”

Egypt the Reward of Nebuchadnezzar

¹⁷In the twenty-seventh year, on the first day of the first month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁸“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre. Every head was made bald and every shoulder made raw. But he and his army received no wages from Tyre for the labor they expended on it.

¹⁹Therefore this is what the Lord God says: I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who will carry off its wealth, seize its spoil, and remove its plunder. This will be the wages for his army. ²⁰I have given him the land of Egypt as the reward for his labor, because it was done for Me, declares the Lord God.

²¹In that day I will cause a horn to sprout for the house of Israel, and I will open your mouth to speak among them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

Footnotes (3)

a v7 Syriac (see also LXX and Vulgate); Hebrew and you caused their loins to shake.
b v10 That is, the upper Nile region
c v14 Or restore the fortunes of Egypt

Study notes on this chapter · 2

Prophecy & fulfillmentWidely held reading

The siege and ruin of Tyre

Ezekiel says that many nations will come against Tyre, that Nebuchadnezzar will besiege it, and that it will become a bare rock for spreading nets. Nebuchadnezzar besieged the city for thirteen years (Josephus) without a clear victory, Ezekiel himself later says he received no wages for it (Ezekiel 29:18), and Alexander the Great destroyed the island city in 332 BC after building a causeway. Tyre was later rebuilt and exists today.

When: Ezekiel, c. 587–585 BC; Nebuchadnezzar's siege c. 585–572 BC; Alexander, 332 BC.

Original passageEzekiel 26:3–14Ezekiel 29:17–18

Echoed inZechariah 9:3–4

Ways people read this (3)

Fulfilled in stages: Nebuchadnezzar took the mainland city, and Alexander destroyed the island.
Some read the language of permanent desolation as poetic and fulfilled in the ancient city's loss of power.
Critical scholars read Ezekiel 29:17-20 as a correction: Ezekiel admits the first prophecy was not fulfilled as stated.

Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.

Prophecy & fulfillmentWidely held reading

Egypt, the lowliest of kingdoms

Ezekiel and Jeremiah say Nebuchadnezzar will invade Egypt, that Pharaoh Hophra will be handed over to his enemies, and that Egypt will be among the lowest of kingdoms and never again dominate the nations. Nebuchadnezzar campaigned in Egypt in 568/567 BC, Hophra (Apries) was overthrown by Amasis in 570 BC and killed in 567 BC, and Egypt never regained its imperial position.

When: Jeremiah and Ezekiel, c. 588–570 BC; Nebuchadnezzar's invasion, c. 568 BC.

Original passageEzekiel 29:1–16Jeremiah 44:30Jeremiah 46:13–26

Ways people read this (2)

The prophecies were fulfilled in Babylon's campaigns and in Egypt's subsequent subordination to foreign rulers.
The 'forty years' of desolation in Ezekiel 29:11-13 has no known exact historical correspondence and may be a round number.

Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.

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