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In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me:
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“Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt.
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Speak, and say: Thus says the Lord GOD:
Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great crocodile that lies in the midst of his rivers, that is, the Nile, who says, ‘The Nile is mine; I made it for myself.’
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I will put hooks in your jaws and make the fish of your rivers cling to your scales. I will bring you up out of the midst of your rivers, with all the fish of your rivers clinging to your scales
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and I will cast you into the wilderness, you and all the fish of your rivers. You shall fall on the open field and not be gathered or buried. I have given you as food to the beasts of the earth and to the birds of the air.
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Then all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the LORD. Because you have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel:
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when they grasped you with the hand, you broke and tore all their shoulders; and when they leaned on you, you broke and made them all stagger.
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Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will bring a sword upon you and cut off man and beast from you,
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so that the land of Egypt shall become a desolation and a ruin. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.
Because you said, ‘The Nile is mine; I made it,’
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therefore, behold, I am against you and against your rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt a ruin and a desolation, from Migdol to Syene, even to the border of the land of Ethiopia.
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No human foot shall pass through it, and no beast foot shall pass through it, and it shall not be inhabited for forty years.
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I will make the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of desolate lands, and its cities shall be desolate in the midst of ruined cities for forty years. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them through the countries.
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For thus says the Lord GOD: At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from among the peoples where they were scattered.
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And I will restore the fortunes of Egypt and bring them back to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin, and there they shall be a lowly kingdom.”
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Among the kingdoms it shall be the most lowly, and it shall no longer lift itself up above the nations. I will make them so weak that they will no longer rule over the nations.
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And for the house of Israel it shall no longer be a confidence, bringing to mind Israel’s guilt, when Israel turns to them for help. Then Egypt shall know that I am the Lord GOD.”
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Then in the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me:
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“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre; every head was made bald and every shoulder rubbed raw, yet neither he nor his army got any gain from Tyre for the labor he had done against it.
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Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: I am giving the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall carry off its wealth; he shall carry out plunder and spoil, and that shall be the wages for his army.
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I have given him the land of Egypt as payment for the work he did, because they worked for Me, declares the Lord GOD.
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On that day I will cause a horn to spring up for the house of Israel, and I will enable you to speak again in their midst. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.”
🦂🌊👑 Summary of Ezekiel 29 – Prophecy against Egypt: Pharaoh’s Pride & the Destruction of the Nile
Ezekiel 29 contains the beginning of a series of prophecies against Egypt, a strong and ancient nation that had long been a false support for Israel. God declares that because of Pharaoh’s pride in claiming himself to be the maker of the Nile, Egypt will be judged and become desolate and no longer be counted as a great power. Babylon will be the instrument God uses to punish and plunder the land.
📌 1. The Proud Pharaoh like a Great Crocodile (verses 1–7)
➡️ God compares Pharaoh to a great crocodile in the Nile, who says:
“The Nile is mine; I made it myself!”
➡️ God will draw him out of the river, along with his fish, and cast him into the wilderness
➡️ The Egyptians will be scattered and abandoned, because they have become “a broken staff” for Israel
🎯 Dependence on worldly power (such as Egypt) is the downfall of God’s people’s faith.
📌 2. Judgment: Egypt Will Become Desolate (verses 8–12)
➡️ The Lord will bring the sword and destruction upon all Egypt
➡️ The land will become desolate and empty for 40 years, uninhabited by man or beast
➡️ The Egyptians will be scattered among the nations
🎯 The Lord can humble any kingdom, however strong, to show that He alone is sovereign.
📌 3. Egypt’s Limited Restoration (verses 13–16)
➡️ After 40 years, Egypt will be brought back to its land, but only as a weak kingdom
➡️ It will no longer be a source of hope for Israel
➡️ The Lord does not want His people to depend again on pagan nations
🎯 The Lord not only judges, but also restrains, so that a nation does not become a new idol.
📌 4. Reward for Babylon: Plundering Egypt (verses 17–21)
➡️ Because Babylon had labored hard to conquer Tyre without full gain, the Lord gives Egypt as a “war reward”
➡️ Babylon will seize the wealth and riches of Egypt as an instrument for fulfilling the Lord’s will
➡️ At the same time, the Lord declares that “the horn of Israel” will be lifted up again
🎯 The Lord uses great nations to reorder history for His purpose toward His people.
📖 Main Teaching
- Pride that sees itself as the source of life (as Pharaoh did with the Nile) is an insult to the Creator
- Egypt, as a symbol of the false trust of God’s people, will be destroyed
- God is just: He gives reward to the pagan nation that carries out His plan
- The restoration God gives is often limited, to teach humility and caution
✨ Spiritual Meaning (New Testament)
📖 Acts 7:39–40
“Our ancestors refused Moses… and turned back in their hearts to Egypt.”
➡️ As in Ezekiel 29, Egypt symbolizes dependence on the world, not on God.
📖 Romans 1:25
“They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped the creature.”
➡️ As Pharaoh thought of himself as divine, people often make themselves into gods.
📖 1 Peter 5:6
“Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of the Lord…”
➡️ The opposite of Pharaoh’s pride is humility before God.
📖 Revelation 11:8
“The place where their Lord was crucified is called Sodom and Egypt spiritually.”
➡️ Egypt symbolizes rebellion, false worship, and oppression in a spiritual sense.
🕊️ “The Nile is mine; I made it.” – Ezekiel 29:3
🕊️ “I will drag you into the wilderness, you and all the fish of your rivers.” – Ezekiel 29:4
🕊️ “Egypt will become a lowly kingdom.” – Ezekiel 29:15
🕊️ “I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar as the wages of his army.” – Ezekiel 29:19
