Ezekiel 29:10-20

10 So I am against you and your Nile; and I will make the land of Egypt a totally desolate waste from Migdol to S'venah, all the way to the border of Ethiopia.

11 No human foot will pass through it, and no animal foot will pass through it; it will be uninhabited for forty years.

12 Yes, I will make the land of Egypt desolate, even when compared with other desolate countries, likewise her cities in comparison with other ruined cities; they will be desolate forty years. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them through the countries.'

13 "For this is what Adonai ELOHIM says: 'At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples where they were scattered -

14 I will restore the fortunes of Egypt and cause them to return to the land of their origin, Patros. But there they will be a humble kingdom,

15 the humblest of kingdoms. It will never again dominate other nations; I will reduce them, so that they never again rule other nations.

16 Moreover, they will no longer be a source of confidence for Isra'el to turn to; rather, it will only bring to mind their guilt in having turned to them before. Then they will know that I am Adonai ELOHIM.'"

17 On the first day of the first month of the twenty-seventh year, the word of ADONAI came to me:

18 "Human being, N'vukhadretzar king of Bavel had his army mount a massive expedition against Tzor; [the loads of dirt they carried] made every head bald and every shoulder raw; yet neither he nor his army derived any benefit from Tzor out of this expedition against it.

19 Therefore Adonai ELOHIM says, 'I will give the land of Egypt to N'vukhadretzar king of Bavel. He will carry off its riches, take its spoil and its prey; and these will be the wages for his army.

20 I am giving him the land of Egypt as his wages for which he worked, because they were working for me,' says Adonai ELOHIM.

Ezekiel 29:10-20 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.