Ezekiel 29:1-10

1 On the twelfth day of the tenth month in the tenth year, the LORD spoke his word to me. He said,

2 "Son of man, turn to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt.

3 Tell him, 'This is what the Almighty LORD says: I'm against you, Pharaoh, king of Egypt. You are like a monster crocodile lying in the Nile River. You say, "The Nile River is mine. I made it for myself."

4 "'I will put hooks in your jaws and make the fish in the Nile River stick to your scales. I will pull you out of your river with all the fish in the Nile sticking to your scales.

5 I will leave you in the desert, you and all the fish from the Nile. You will fall in an open field. No one will pick you up or bury you. I will feed you to wild animals and birds.

6 Then all those living in Egypt will know that I am the LORD. Egypt, you have become like a [broken] walking stick to the nation of Israel.

7 When Israel grabbed you, you splintered and tore up their shoulders. When they leaned on you, you broke, and they wrenched their backs.

8 "'This is what the Almighty LORD says: I am going to attack you with a sword. I will kill people and animals.

9 Egypt will become a wasteland and a pile of rubble. Then you will know that I am the LORD. You said, "The Nile River is mine. I made it."

10 That is why I'm against you and the Nile River. I will turn Egypt into a pile of rubble. It will become a wasteland, from Migdol to Syene, all the way to the border of Sudan.

Ezekiel 29:1-10 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.