Ezekiel 29
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 29
Egypt the Crocodile. 1 In the tenth year, on the twelfth day of the tenth month,[a] the word of the Lord came to me: 2 Son of man, turn your face toward Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt.[b](A) 3 Say to him: Thus says the Lord God:
Pay attention! I am against you,
Pharaoh, king of Egypt,
Great dragon[c] crouching
in the midst of the Nile,
Who says, “The Nile belongs to me;
I made it myself!”(B)
4 [d]I will put hooks in your jaws
and make all the fish of your Nile
Cling to your scales;
I will drag you up from your Nile,
With all the fish of your Nile
clinging to your scales.(C)
5 I will hurl you into the wilderness,
you and all the fish of your Nile.
You will fall into an open field,
you will not be picked up or gathered together.
To the beasts of the earth
and the birds of the sky
I give you as food.(D)
6 (E)Then all the inhabitants of Egypt
will know that I am the Lord.
Because you were a staff of reeds[e]
for the house of Israel:
7 When they took hold of you, you would splinter,
throwing shoulders out of joint.
When they leaned on you, you would break,
pitching them down headlong.
8 Therefore thus says the Lord God:
Look! I am bringing the sword against you
to cut off from you people and animals.
9 The land of Egypt shall become a desolate waste;
then they shall know that I am the Lord.
Because you said, “The Nile belongs to me;
I made it!”
10 Beware! I am against you
and against your Nile.
I will turn the land of Egypt into ruins,
into a dry, desolate waste,
From Migdol to Syene,[f]
up to the border of Ethiopia.(F)
11 No foot shall pass through it,
no human being or beast cross it;
it will remain uninhabited for forty years.
12 I will make the land of Egypt the most desolate
among desolate lands;
Its cities, the most deserted
among deserted cities for forty years;
I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations
and disperse them throughout other lands.(G)
13 But thus says the Lord God:
At the end of forty years
I will gather the Egyptians
from among the peoples
where they are scattered;
14 I will restore Egypt’s fortunes,
bringing them back to the land of Pathros,[g]
the land of their origin.
But there it will be a lowly kingdom,
15 lower than any other kingdom,
no longer able to set itself above the nations.
I will make them few in number,
so they cannot rule other nations.
16 No longer shall they be security
for the house of Israel,
But a reminder of its iniquity
in turning away to follow them.
Then they shall know that I am the Lord God.(H)
Wages for Nebuchadnezzar. 17 In the twenty-seventh year on the first day of the first month,[h] the word of the Lord came to me: 18 Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, has made his army wage a hard campaign against Tyre;[i] their heads grew bald, their shoulders rubbed raw, yet neither he nor his army received compensation from Tyre for all the effort they expended against it.(I) 19 Therefore thus says the Lord God:(J) See! I am giving to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, the land of Egypt! He will carry off its wealth, plundering and pillaging whatever he can find to provide pay for his army. 20 As payment for his toil I give him the land of Egypt—oracle of the Lord God.
21 On that day I will make a horn[j] sprout for the house of Israel, and I will let you again open your mouth in their midst; then they shall know that I am the Lord.(K)
Footnotes
- 29:1 The date is calculated to be January 7, 587 B.C. The siege of Jerusalem had begun a year earlier; cf. 24:1.
- 29:2 Egypt was allied with Judah against the Babylonians.
- 29:3 Dragon: Hebrew reads tannim, usually translated “jackals,” here a byform of tannin, the mythical dragon, or sea monster, representing chaos (cf. Is 27:1; 51:9; Jer 51:34; Ps 91:13; Jb 7:12), and the crocodile native to the Nile. Nile: the many rivulets of the Nile that branch out into the Delta.
- 29:4–5 Ezekiel’s repetition of detail creates a vivid picture of Egypt’s destruction: God hauls the crocodile (Pharaoh) and the fish clinging to it for protection (the Egyptian populace) out of the Nile and lands them in an open field, where their corpses are torn apart by wildlife rather than being properly buried (cf. Dt 28:26; 2 Kgs 9:36–37; Jer 34:20; Ez 39:17–20).
- 29:6 Staff of reeds: Pharaoh is like a reed that looks sturdy but breaks under pressure. For a similar image, cf. 2 Kgs 18:21 (Is 36:6).
- 29:10 From Migdol to Syene: from the northeastern to the southern limits of Egypt. Syene is the modern Aswan, at the first cataract of the Nile; Ethiopia (Heb. kush) is the territory south of Aswan.
- 29:14 Pathros: an Egyptian word for upper, i.e., southern, Egypt, above Memphis/Thebes. As silt filled the Delta region and richer land became available there, the population spread north, creating the tradition of a migration from the south (Is 11:11; Jer 44:1, 15).
- 29:17 In the twenty-seventh year on the first day of the first month: April 26, 571 B.C. This is the latest date attached to any of Ezekiel’s prophecies.
- 29:18–19 Nebuchadnezzar’s thirteen-year siege (587–574 B.C.) ended with Tyre’s surrender on the condition that the Babylonian army would not loot and pillage (pace 26:3–14). According to Ezekiel, Nebuchadnezzar and his army should collect their wages for serving as God’s instrument in Tyre’s punishment, by plundering and controlling Egypt.
- 29:21 A horn: God will give Israel renewed strength. For horn as a symbol of strength, cf. Dt 33:17; Ps 92:11; 132:17. Ezekiel suggests that the Babylonian conquest of Egypt precedes Israel’s restoration, an event he expects to witness and acknowledge when God removes his muteness.
Ezekiel 29
1599 Geneva Bible
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.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
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