Ezekiel 29:17-21

17 1In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me:
18 2"Son of man, 3Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre. Every head was made bald, and every shoulder was rubbed bare, yet neither he nor his army got anything from Tyre to pay for the labor that he had performed against her.
19 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: 4Behold, I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; 5and he shall carry off its wealth[a]6and despoil it and plunder it; and it shall be the wages for his army.
20 7I have given him the land of Egypt as his payment for which he labored, because they worked for me, declares the Lord GOD.
21 "On that day 8I will cause a horn to spring up for the house of Israel, and 9I will open your lips among them. 10Then they will know that I am the LORD."

Ezekiel 29:17-21 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.

Cross References 10

  • 1. See Ezekiel 20:1
  • 2. See Ezekiel 2:1
  • 3. [Ezekiel 26:7]
  • 4. Ezekiel 30:10, 24, 25; Ezekiel 32:11; Jeremiah 46:13
  • 5. Ezekiel 30:4
  • 6. Ezekiel 32:12
  • 7. [Isaiah 43:3]
  • 8. Psalms 132:17; [Luke 1:69]
  • 9. Ezekiel 24:27; Ezekiel 33:22; [Ezekiel 16:63]
  • 10. See Ezekiel 6:7

Footnotes 1

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.