29 He prophesieth against Pharaoh and Egypt. 13 The Lord promiseth that he will restore Egypt after forty years. 18 Egypt is the reward of King Nebuchadnezzar for the labor which he took against Tyre.
1 In the [a]tenth year and in the tenth month, in the twelfth day of the month, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and against all Egypt.
3 Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I come against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great [b]dragon, that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, The river is mine, and I have made it for myself.
4 But I will put [c]hooks in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish of thy rivers to stick unto thy scales, and I will draw thee out of the midst of thy rivers, and all the fish of thy rivers shall stick unto thy scales.
5 And I will leave thee in the wilderness, both thee and all the fish of thy rivers: thou shalt fall upon the open field: thou shalt not be brought together, nor gathered: for I have given thee for meat to the beasts of the field, and to the fowls of heaven.
6 And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the Lord, because they have been a staff of [d]reed to the house of Israel.
7 When they took hold of thee with their hand, thou didst break and rent all their shoulder: and when they leaned upon thee, thou brakest and madest all their loins to [e]stand [f]upright.
8 Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will bring a sword upon thee, and destroy man and beast out of thee.
9 And the land of Egypt shall be desolate, and waste, and they shall know that I am the Lord: because he hath said, [g]The river is mine, and I have made it,
10 Behold, therefore I come upon thee, and upon thy rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate from the tower of Syene, even unto the borders of the [h]black Moors.
11 No foot of man shall pass by it, nor foot of beast shall pass by it, neither shall it be inhabited forty years.
12 And I will make the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities shall be desolate among the cities that are desolate for forty years: and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries.
13 Yet thus saith the Lord God, (A)At the end of forty years will I gather the Egyptians from the people, where they were scattered,
14 And I will bring again the captivity of Egypt, and will cause them to return into the land of Pathros, into the land of their habitation, and they shall be there a [i]small kingdom.
15 It shall be the smallest of the kingdoms, neither shall it exalt itself anymore above the nations: for I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule the nations.
16 And it shall be no more the confidence of the house of Israel, to bring their [j]iniquity to remembrance by looking after them, so shall they know that I am the Lord God.
17 ¶ In the [k]seven and twentieth year also in the first month, and in the first day of the month, came the word of the Lord unto me, saying,
18 Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babel caused his army to serve a great [l]service against Tyre: every head was made bald, and every shoulder was made bare: yet he had no wages, [m]nor his army for Tyre, for the service that he served against it.
19 Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will give the land of Egypt unto Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babel, and he shall take her multitude, and spoil her spoil, and take her prey, and it shall be the wages for his army.
20 I have given him the land of Egypt for his labor, that he served [n]against it, because they wrought [o]for me, saith the Lord God.
21 In that day will I cause the horn of the house of Israel to grow, and I will give thee an open mouth in the midst of them, and they shall know that I am the Lord.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 29:1 To wit, of the captivity of Jeconiah, or of the reign of Zedekiah. Of the order of these prophecies, and how the former sometimes standeth after the latter, read Jer. 27:1.
- Ezekiel 29:3 He compareth Pharaoh to a dragon which hideth himself in the river Nile, as Isa. 51:9.
- Ezekiel 29:4 I will send enemies against thee, which shall pluck thee, and thy people which trust in thee, out of thy sure places.
- Ezekiel 29:6 Read 2 Kings 18:21; Isa. 36:6.
- Ezekiel 29:7 Or, shake.
- Ezekiel 29:7 When they felt their hurt, they would stay no more upon thee, but stood upon their feet, and put their trust in others.
- Ezekiel 29:9 Thus God cannot suffer that man should arrogate anything to himself, or put his trust in anything save in him alone.
- Ezekiel 29:10 Hebrew, Cush, or Ethiopia.
- Ezekiel 29:14 Meaning, that they should not have full dominion, but be under the Persians, Greeks and Romans, and the cause is that the Israelites should no more put their trust in them, but learn to depend on God.
- Ezekiel 29:16 Lest I should by this means punish their sins.
- Ezekiel 29:17 Counting from the captivity of Jeconiah.
- Ezekiel 29:18 He took great pains at the siege of Tyre, and his army was sore handled.
- Ezekiel 29:18 Signifying that Nebuchadnezzar had more pains than profit, by the taking of Tyre.
- Ezekiel 29:20 Or, in it.
- Ezekiel 29:20 Or, evil against me.