Ezekiel 29:6-16

6 "Then all the inhabitants of Egypt will know that I am the LORD, Because they have been only a 1staff made of reed to the house of Israel.
7 "When they took hold of you with the hand, You 2broke and tore all their hands; And when they leaned on you, You broke and made all their loins quake."
8 'Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I will 3bring upon you a sword and I will cut off from you man and beast.
9 "The 4land of Egypt will become a desolation and waste. Then they will know that I am the LORD. Because you 5said, 'The Nile is mine, and I have made it,'
10 therefore, behold, I am 6against you and against your rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from Migdol to Syene and even to the border of Ethiopia.
11 "A man's foot will 7not pass through it, and the foot of a beast will not pass through it, and it will not be inhabited for forty years.
12 "So I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the 8midst of desolated lands. And her cities, in the midst of cities that are laid waste, will be desolate forty years; and I will 9scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands."
13 'For thus says the Lord GOD, "At the end of forty years I will 10gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom * they were scattered.
14 "I will turn the fortunes of Egypt and make them return to the land of 11Pathros, to the land of their origin, and there they will be a lowly kingdom.
15 "It will be the 12lowest of the kingdoms, and it will never again lift itself up above the nations. And I will make them so small that they will not 13rule over the nations.
16 "And it will never again be the 14confidence of the house of Israel, 15bringing to mind the iniquity of their having turned to Egypt. Then they will know that I am the Lord GOD.""'

Ezekiel 29:6-16 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 29

This chapter contains a prophecy against Pharaoh king of Egypt; and of the destruction of the land of Egypt; and of the restoration of it after a certain time. The time of prophecy is noted, Eze 29:1, the order to prophesy against Pharaoh, who is described as a large fish, lying in his rivers, and boasting of them, Eze 29:2,3, his destruction and the manner of it, Eze 29:4,5, the reason of it, his treachery to the Jews, Eze 29:6,7, hence the whole land of Egypt is threatened with desolation, from one end to the other, so as to be uninhabited by man or beast for the space of forty years, Eze 29:8-14, but shall not arrive to their former glory as a kingdom, nor be any more the confidence of the house of Israel, Eze 29:15,16, then follows a prophecy seventeen years after this, showing the reason why Egypt was given to the king of Babylon, Eze 29:17-20, and the chapter is closed with a promise of happiness to Israel, Eze 29:21.

Cross References 15

  • 1. 2 Kings 18:21; Isaiah 36:6
  • 2. 2 Kings 18:21; Isaiah 36:6; Ezekiel 17:15-17
  • 3. Jeremiah 46:13; Ezekiel 14:17
  • 4. Ezekiel 29:10-12; Ezekiel 30:7, 8, 13-19
  • 5. Proverbs 16:18; Proverbs 18:12; Ezekiel 29:3
  • 6. Ezekiel 13:8; Ezekiel 21:3; Ezekiel 26:3; Ezekiel 29:3
  • 7. Jeremiah 43:11, 12; Jeremiah 46:19; Ezekiel 32:13
  • 8. Jeremiah 25:15-19; Jeremiah 27:6-11; Ezekiel 30:7
  • 9. Jeremiah 46:19; Ezekiel 30:23, 26
  • 10. Isaiah 19:22; Jeremiah 46:26
  • 11. Isaiah 11:11; Jeremiah 44:1, 15; Ezekiel 30:14
  • 12. Ezekiel 17:6, 14; Ezekiel 30:13; Zechariah 10:11
  • 13. Ezekiel 31:2; Ezekiel 32:2; Nahum 3:8-10
  • 14. Isaiah 20:5; Isaiah 30:1-3; Isaiah 31:1; Isaiah 36:6; Ezekiel 17:15; Ezekiel 29:6, 7
  • 15. Isaiah 64:9; Jeremiah 14:10; Ezekiel 21:23; Hosea 8:13

Footnotes 8

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