Ezequiel 29

¹ In theThat is, of the captivity of Jeconiah, or of the reign of Zedekiah. Of the order of these prophecies, and how the former sometimes stands after the latter. {{See Jer_27:1}}tenth year, in the tenth [month], in the twelfth [day] of the month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

² Sonne of man, set thy face against Pharaoh the King of Egypt, and prophecie against him, and against all Egypt.

³ Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I [am] against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the greatHe compares Pharaoh to a dragon which hides himself in the Nile river, as in (Isa_51:9).dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river [is] my own, and I have made [it] for myself.

⁴ But I will putI will send enemies against you who will pluck you and your people which trust in you out of your sure places.hooks in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish of thy rivers to stick to thy scales, and I will bring thee out of the midst of thy rivers, and all the fish of thy rivers shall stick to thy scales.

⁵ And I will leaue thee in the wildernes, both thee & al the fish of thy riuers: thou shalt fal vpon ye open field: thou shalt not be brought together, nor gathered: for I haue giue thee for meat to the beasts of the field, and to the foules of heauen.

⁶ And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I [am] the LORD, because they have been a staff ofRead (2Ki_18:21; Isa_36:6).reed to the house of Israel.

⁷ When they took hold of thee by thy hand, thou didst break, and tear all their shoulder: and when they leaned upon thee, thou didst break, and make all their inward parts toWhen you felt their hurt, they would stay no more on you, but stood on their feet and put their trust in others.shake.

⁸ Therefore thus sayeth the Lorde God, Beholde, I will bring a sworde vpon 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,Thus God cannot permit man to attribute anything to himself or put his trust in anything save in him alone.The river [is] mine, and I have made [it].

¹⁰ Behold, therefore I come vpon thee, and vpon thy riuers, & I will make the land of Egypt vtterly waste and desolate from the towre of Seueneh, euen vnto the borders of the blacke Mores.

¹¹ No foote of man shall passe by it, nor foote of beast shall passe by it, neither shall it be inhabited fourtie yeeres.

¹² And I wil make the land of Egypt desolate in the middes of the countries, that are desolate, and her cities shall be desolate among the cities that are desolate, for fourtie yeeres: and I wil scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and wil disperse them through the countreis.

¹³ Yet thus saieth the Lord God, At the end of fourtie yeeres will I gather the Egyptians from the people, where they were scattered,

¹⁴ And I will bring again the captives of Egypt, and will cause them to return [into] the land of Pathros, into the land of their habitation; and they shall be there aMeaning, that they would not have full dominion but be under the Persians, Greeks and Romans, and the reason is that the Israelites would no more put their trust in them, but learn to depend on God.base kingdom.

¹⁵ It shall be the smallest of the kingdomes, neither shall it exalt it selfe any more aboue 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, which bringeth [their]Lest I should by this means punish their sins.iniquity to remembrance, when they shall look after them: but they shall know that I [am] the Lord GOD.

¹⁷ And it came to pass in theCounting from the captivity of Jeconiah.seven and twentieth year, in the first [month], in the first [day] of the month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

¹⁸ Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a greatHe took great pains at the siege of Tyre and his army was sore handled.service against Tyre: every head [was] made bald, and every shoulder [was] rubbed raw: yet had he no wages,Signifying that Nebuchadnezzar had more pains than profit by the taking of Tyre.nor his army, for Tyre, for the service that he had served against it:

¹⁹ Therefore thus sayth the Lorde God, Beholde, I will giue the land of Egypt vnto Nebuchad-nezzar the King of Babel, and he shall take her multitude, and spoyle her spoyle, and take her pray, and it shall be the wages for his armie.

²⁰ I haue giuen him the land of Egypt for his labour, that he serued against it, because they wrought for me, sayth the Lord God.

²¹ In that day will I cause the horne of the house of Israel to growe, and I will giue thee an open mouth in the middes of them, and they shall knowe that I am the Lord.