Ezekiel 29:8-18

8 'Therefore thus says the Lord God: "Surely I will bring a sword upon you and cut off from you man and beast.

9 And the land of Egypt shall become desolate and waste; then they will know that I am the Lord, because he said, 'The River is mine, and I have made it.'

10 Indeed, therefore, I am against you and against your rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, from Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of Ethiopia.

11 Neither foot of man shall pass through it nor foot of beast pass through it, and it shall be uninhabited forty years.

12 I will make the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate; and among the cities that are laid waste, her cities shall be desolate forty years; and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries."

13 'Yet, thus says the Lord God: "At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered.

14 I will bring back the captives of Egypt and cause them to return to the land of Pathros, to the land of their origin, and there they shall be a lowly kingdom.

15 It shall be the lowliest of kingdoms; it shall never again exalt itself above the nations, for I will diminish them so that they will not rule over the nations anymore.

16 No longer shall it be the confidence of the house of Israel, but will remind them of their iniquity when they turned to follow them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord God." ' "

17 And it came to pass in the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

18 "Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre; every head was made bald, and every shoulder rubbed raw; yet neither he nor his army received wages from Tyre, for the labor which they expended on it.

Ezekiel 29:8-18 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.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or tower