Ezekiel 29:9-19

9 And the land of Egypt hath been for a desolation and a waste, And they have known that I [am] Jehovah. Because he said: The flood [is] mine, and I made [it].
10 Therefore, lo, I [am] against thee, and against thy floods, And have given the land of Egypt for wastes, A waste, a desolation, from Migdol to Syene, And unto the border of Cush.
11 Not pass over into it doth a foot of man, Yea, the foot of beast doth not pass into it, Nor is it inhabited forty years.
12 And I have made the land of Egypt a desolation, In the midst of desolate lands, And its cities, in the midst of waste cities, Are a desolation forty years, And I have scattered the Egyptians among nations, And I have dispersed them through lands.
13 But thus said the Lord Jehovah: At the end of forty years I gather the Egyptians Out of the peoples whither they have been scattered,
14 And I have turned back [to] the captivity of Egypt, And I have brought them back [To] the land of Pathros, to the land of their birth, And they have been there a low kingdom.
15 Of the kingdoms it is lowest, And it lifteth not up itself any more above the nations, And I have made them few, So as not to rule among nations.
16 And it is no more to the house of Israel for a confidence, Bringing iniquity to remembrance, By their turning after them, And they have known that I [am] the Lord Jehovah.'
17 And it cometh to pass, in the twenty and seventh year, in the first [month], in the first of the month, hath a word of Jehovah been unto me, saying:
18 `Son of man, Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, Hath caused his force to serve a great service against Tyre, Every head [is] bald -- every shoulder peeled, And reward he had none, nor his force, out of Tyre, For the service that he served against it.
19 Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah, Lo, I am giving to Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon the land of Egypt, And he hath taken away its store, And hath taken its spoil, and taken its prey, And it hath been a reward to his force.

Ezekiel 29:9-19 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.

Young's Literal Translation is in the public domain.