The judgment of Pharaoh for his treachery to Israel, 1-7. The desolation of Egypt, 8-12. The restoration thereof after forty years, 13-16. Egypt the reward of Nebuchadnezzar, 17-20. Israel shall be restored, 21.
1 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 "Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt and prophesy against him and against all Egypt.
3 Speak, and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD:
"Behold, I am against you,/
Pharaoh king of Egypt,/
the great dragon that lies/
in the midst of his rivers,/
which has said, 'My river is my own,/
and I have made it for myself.'
4 But I will put hooks in your jaws,/
and I will cause the fish of your rivers to stick to your scales./
And I will bring you out of the midst of your rivers,/
and all the fish of your rivers shall stick to your scales.
5 And I will leave you thrown into the wilderness—/
you and all the fish of your rivers./
You shall fall upon the open fields./
You shall not be brought together, nor gathered./
I have given you for food/
to the beasts of the field and to the birds of heaven.
6 And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the LORD, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel.
7 When they took hold of you by your hand, you broke and rent all their shoulders. And when they leaned upon you, you broke and made all their loins to be at a stand."
8 'Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I will bring a sword upon you and cut off man and beast out of you. 9 And the land of Egypt shall be desolate and waste. And they shall know that I am the LORD. Because he has said, 'The river is mine, and I have made it,' 10 Therefore behold, I am against you and against your rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, from the tower of Syene even to the border of Cush. 11 No foot of man shall pass through it, nor foot of beast shall pass through 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 among the cities that are laid waste shall be desolate forty years. And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them through the countries."
13 'Yet thus says the Lord GOD: "At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the people where they were scattered. 14 And I will bring back the captivity of Egypt and cause them to return into the land of Pathros, into the land of their habitation, and they shall be a base kingdom there. 15 It shall be the basest of the kingdoms. It shall not exalt itself anymore above the nations, for I will diminish them, so that they shall no longer rule over the nations. 16 And it shall no longer be the confidence of the house of Israel, which brings their iniquity to remembrance when they look after them. But they shall know that I am the Lord GOD."'"
17 And it came to pass in the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on 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 great service against Tyre. Every head was made bald and every shoulder was peeled. Yet neither he, nor his army, got wages from Tyre for the service that he had served against it." 19 Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take her multitude, take her loot, and take her plunder, and it shall be the wages for his army. 20 I have given him the land of Egypt for his labor with which he served against it, because they wrought for me," says the Lord GOD.
21 "In that day I will cause the horn of the house of Israel to bud forth, and I will give you the opening of the mouth in the midst of them. And they shall know that I am the LORD."
Matthew Henry Commentary - Ezekiel, Chapter 29[➚]
John Gill's Chapter Summary:
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 (Ezekiel 29:1); the order to prophesy against Pharaoh, who is described as a large fish lying in his rivers and boasting of them (Ezekiel 29:2-3); his destruction and the manner of it (Ezekiel 29:4-5); the reason of it, his treachery to the Jews (Ezekiel 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 (Ezekiel 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 (Ezekiel 29:15-16); then follows a prophecy seventeen years after this, showing the reason why Egypt was given to the king of Babylon (Ezekiel 29:17-20); and the chapter is closed with a promise of happiness to Israel (Ezekiel 29:21).