Ezekiel 29:8-14

8 'Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I will ¹bring upon you a sword and I will cut off from you man and beast.

9 "The ²land of Egypt will become a desolation and waste. Then they will know that I am the LORD. Because you ³said, 'The Nile is mine, and I have made it,'

10 therefore, behold, I am ⁴against 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 ⁵not 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 ⁶midst of desolated lands. And her cities, in the midst of cities that are laid waste, will be desolate forty years; and I will ⁷scatter 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 ⁸gather 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 ⁹Pathros, to the land of their origin, and there they will be a lowly kingdom.

Ezekiel 29:8-14 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

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

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "he"
• [b]. Or "Nile"
• [c]. Lit "Cush"
• [d]. Lit "where"