Ezekiel 29:17-21

17 Now in the ¹twenty-seventh * year, in the first month, on the first of the month, the word of the LORD came to me saying,

18 "Son of man, ²Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre; every head was made ³bald and every shoulder was rubbed bare. But he and his army had no wages from Tyre for the labor that he had performed against it."

19 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I ⁴will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. And he will carry off her ⁵wealth and capture her spoil and seize her plunder; and it will be wages for his army.

20 "I have given him the land of Egypt for his labor which he ⁶performed, because they acted for Me," declares the Lord GOD.

21 "On that day I will make a ⁷horn sprout for the house of Israel, and I will ⁸open * your mouth in their midst. Then they will know that I am the LORD."

Ezekiel 29:17-21 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. Ezekiel 24:1; Ezekiel 26:1; Ezekiel 29:1; Ezekiel 30:20;Ezekiel 40:1
• 2. Jeremiah 25:9; Jeremiah 27:6; Ezekiel 26:7-12
• 3. Jeremiah 48:37; Ezekiel 27:31
• 4. Ezek 30:10, 24, 25; Ezekiel 32:11
• 5. Jeremiah 43:10-13; Ezekiel 30:14
• 6. Isaiah 10:6, 7; Isaiah 45:1-3; Jeremiah 25:9
• 7. 1 Samuel 2:10; Psalms 92:10; Psalms 132:17
• 8. Ezekiel 3:27; Ezekiel 24:27; Ezekiel 33:22; Amos 3:7, 8; Luke 21:15

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "a great labor"
• [b]. Lit "labored"
• [c]. Or "multitude"
• [d]. Lit "labored"
• [e]. Lit "give you an opening of the mouth"