Ezekiel 29

Judgment on Pharaoh

A Prophecy Against Egypt

1 In the tenth year, in the tenth month on the twelfth day, the word of the LORD came to me:

2 “Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt and prophesy against him and against all Egypt.

3 Speak to him and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: “ ‘I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, you great monster lying among your streams. You say, “The Nile belongs to me; I made it for myself.”

4 But I will put hooks in your jaws and make the fish of your streams stick to your scales. I will pull you out from among your streams, with all the fish sticking to your scales.

5 I will leave you in the desert, you and all the fish of your streams. You will fall on the open field and not be gathered or picked up. I will give you as food to the beasts of the earth and the birds of the sky.

6 Then all who live in Egypt will know that I am the LORD. “ ‘You have been a staff of reed for the people of Israel.

7 When they grasped you with their hands, you splintered and you tore open their shoulders; when they leaned on you, you broke and their backs were wrenched.^[a]

8 “ ‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will bring a sword against you and kill both man and beast.

9 Egypt will become a desolate wasteland. Then they will know that I am the LORD. “ ‘Because you said, “The Nile is mine; I made it,”

10 therefore I am against you and against your streams, and I will make the land of Egypt a ruin and a desolate waste from Migdol to Aswan, as far as the border of Cush.^[b]

11 The foot of neither man nor beast will pass through it; no one will live there for forty years.

12 I will make the land of Egypt desolate among devastated lands, and her cities will lie desolate forty years among ruined cities. And I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them through the countries.

13 “ ‘Yet this is what the Sovereign LORD says: At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the nations where they were scattered.

14 I will bring them back from captivity and return them to Upper Egypt, the land of their ancestry. There they will be a lowly kingdom.

15 It will be the lowliest of kingdoms and will never again exalt itself above the other nations. I will make it so weak that it will never again rule over the nations.

16 Egypt will no longer be a source of confidence for the people of Israel but will be a reminder of their sin in turning to her for help. Then they will know that I am the Sovereign LORD.’ ”

Nebuchadnezzar’s Reward

17 In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month on the first day, the word of the LORD came to me:

18 “Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon drove his army in a hard campaign against Tyre; every head was rubbed bare and every shoulder made raw. Yet he and his army got no reward from the campaign he led against Tyre.

19 Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am going to give Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will carry off its wealth. He will loot and plunder the land as pay for his army.

20 I have given him Egypt as a reward for his efforts because he and his army did it for me, declares the Sovereign LORD.

21 “On that day I will make a horn^[c] grow for the Israelites, and I will open your mouth among them. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”

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Ezekiel 29 Commentary

Chapter 29

The desolation of Egypt. (1-16) Also a promise of mercy to Israel. (17-21)

Verses 1-16 Worldly, carnal minds pride themselves in their property, forgetting that whatever we have, we received it from God, and should use it for God. Why, then, do we boast? Self is the great idol which all the world worships, in contempt of God and his sovereignty. God can force men out of that in which they are most secure and easy. Such a one, and all that cleave to him, shall perish together. Thus end men's pride, presumption, and carnal security. The Lord is against those who do harm to his people, and still more against those who lead them into sin. Egypt shall be a kingdom again, but it shall be the basest of the kingdoms; it shall have little wealth and power. History shows the complete fulfilment of this prophecy. God, not only in justice, but in wisdom and goodness to us, breaks the creature-stays on which we lean, that they may be no more our confidence.

Verses 17-21 The besiegers of Tyre obtained little plunder. But when God employs ambitious or covetous men, he will recompense them according to the desires of their hearts; for every man shall have his reward. God had mercy in store for the house of Israel soon after. The history of nations best explains ancient prophecies. All events fulfil the Scriptures. Thus, in the deepest scenes of adversity, the Lord sows the seed of our future prosperity. Happy are those who desire his favour, grace, and image; they will delight in his service, and not covet any earthly recompence; and the blessings they have chosen shall be sure to them for ever.

Taken from Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Concise)

Cross References 46

1. ver 17; S Ezekiel 26:1
2. S Ezekiel 25:2
3. S Jeremiah 25:19
4. Isaiah 19:1-17; Jeremiah 46:2; Ezekiel 30:1-26; Ezekiel 31:1-18; Ezekiel 32:1-32
5. Jeremiah 44:30
6. S Psalms 68:30; S Psalms 74:13; Isaiah 27:1; Ezekiel 32:2
7. S Jeremiah 46:8
8. S 2 Kings 19:28; S Job 41:2
9. Ezekiel 38:4
10. S Jeremiah 8:2
11. S Jeremiah 7:33; Jeremiah 34:20; Ezekiel 31:13; Ezekiel 32:4-6; Ezekiel 39:4
12. S 2 Kings 18:21; Isaiah 36:6
13. 2 Kings 18:21; Isaiah 36:6
14. Jeremiah 17:5; Ezekiel 17:15-17
15. Ezekiel 14:17; Ezekiel 25:13; Ezekiel 32:11-13
16. S Jeremiah 46:8
17. Eze 30:7-8,13-19
18. S Jeremiah 21:13
19. S Exodus 3:22
20. S Jeremiah 46:19
21. S Exodus 14:2
22. Ezekiel 30:6
23. Isaiah 18:1; Ezekiel 30:4
24. Ezekiel 32:13
25. S Isaiah 34:10
26. S Jeremiah 46:19; Eze 30:7,23,26
27. S Isaiah 11:11; Ezekiel 30:14
28. Ezekiel 17:14
29. S Isaiah 19:22; Jeremiah 46:26
30. Zechariah 10:11
31. 2 Chronicles 32:10; Isaiah 36:4,6
32. S Numbers 5:15
33. S Lamentations 4:17
34. Isaiah 20:5; S Isaiah 30:2; Hosea 8:13
35. S ver 1; S Ezekiel 24:1; Ezekiel 30:20; Ezekiel 40:1
36. Jeremiah 27:6; Jeremiah 39:1; Ezekiel 26:7-8
37. S Leviticus 13:40; S Job 1:20; S Jeremiah 48:37
38. Genesis 49:15
39. S Isaiah 19:4
40. S Ezekiel 26:5
41. Jeremiah 43:10-13; Eze 30:4,10,24-25; Ezekiel 32:11
42. S Isaiah 43:3
43. Isaiah 10:6-7; Isaiah 45:1; S Jeremiah 25:9
44. S Psalms 132:17; S Luke 1:69
45. Ezekiel 33:22
46. S Ezekiel 3:27; Ezekiel 24:27

Footnotes 3

[a]. Syriac (see also Septuagint and Vulgate); Hebrew "and you caused their backs to stand"
[b]. That is, the upper Nile region
[c]. "Horn" here symbolizes strength.

Chapter Summary

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.