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Ezekiel 29

God confronts Egypt’s pride and Israel’s misplaced trust, declaring his rule over Pharaoh’s river and Nebuchadnezzar’s conquests.

Ezekiel receives two dated messages against Egypt, beginning with Pharaoh pictured as a river monster claiming the Nile as his own creation. God announces Egypt’s defeat, forty years of desolation, and a return with its power reduced. Egypt has failed Israel like a reed that breaks under someone’s weight. A later message names Nebuchadnezzar as Egypt’s conqueror, granting him its wealth as payment for his army’s labor against Tyre. The chapter closes with a promise of strength for Israel.

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1In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the LORD’s word came to me, saying,
2“Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt.
3Speak and say, ‘The Lord GOD says: “Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great monster that lies in the middle of his rivers, that has said, ‘My river is my own, and I have made it for myself.’
4I will put hooks in your jaws, and I will make the fish of your rivers stick to your scales. I will bring you up out of the middle of your rivers, with all the fish of your rivers which stick to your scales.
5I’ll cast you out into the wilderness, you and all the fish of your rivers. You’ll fall on the open field. You won’t be brought together or gathered. I have given you for food to the animals of the earth and to the birds of the sky.
6“‘“All the inhabitants of Egypt will know that I am the LORD, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel.
7When they took hold of you by your hand, you broke and tore all their shoulders. When they leaned on you, you broke and paralyzed all of their thighs.”
8“‘Therefore the Lord GOD says: “Behold, I will bring a sword on you, and will cut off man and animal from you.
9The land of Egypt will be a desolation and a waste. Then they will know that I am the LORD. “‘“Because he has said, ‘The river is mine, and I have made it,’
10therefore, behold, I am against you and against your rivers. I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from the tower of Seveneh even to the border of Ethiopia.
11No foot of man will pass through it, nor will any animal foot pass through it. It won’t be inhabited for forty years.
12I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the middle of the countries that are desolate. Her cities among the cities that are laid waste will be a desolation forty years. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries.”
14I will reverse the captivity of Egypt, and will cause them to return into the land of Pathros, into the land of their birth. There they will be a lowly kingdom.
15It will be the lowest of the kingdoms. It won’t lift itself up above the nations any more. I will diminish them so that they will no longer rule over the nations.
16It will no longer be the confidence of the house of Israel, bringing iniquity to memory, when they turn to look after them. Then they will know that I am the Lord GOD.”’”
17It came to pass in the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, in the first day of the month, the LORD’s word 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 worn; yet he had no wages, nor did his army, from Tyre, for the service that he had served against it.
19Therefore the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. He will carry off her multitude, take her plunder, and take her prey. That will be the wages for his army.
20I have given him the land of Egypt as his payment for which he served, because they worked for me,’ says the Lord GOD.
21“In that day I will cause a horn to sprout for the house of Israel, and I will open your mouth among them. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Ezekiel 29:3Pharaoh’s claim to have made his river exposes the pride that brings him into direct conflict with God.
Ezekiel 29:6Egypt’s failure as Israel’s support becomes a reason for judgment through which its people will know YHWH.
Ezekiel 29:19God names Nebuchadnezzar as Egypt’s conqueror and assigns its plunder as wages, asserting his authority over imperial warfare.
Where this chapter reaches

Isaiah and 2 Kings share the image of Egypt as a broken reed, a dangerous support for those who trust it. Jeremiah also announces judgment against Egypt through Nebuchadnezzar, sharing Ezekiel’s portrayal of Babylon’s king as an instrument of God’s judgment.

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After reading the whole chapter

What does Pharaoh’s claim about his river reveal about the limits of human power?

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How does Egypt’s broken-reed image affect your thoughts about where you seek security?

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Questions people ask about Ezekiel 29

What is the great monster in Ezekiel 29?

The great monster represents Pharaoh, pictured in the rivers of Egypt and boasting that he made his own river. The image suggests a huge river creature, often understood as a crocodile. God’s hooks and removal of the creature portray Pharaoh’s defeat and the collapse of those attached to his power.

Was Egypt deserted for forty years as Ezekiel 29 says?

The prophecy states that Egypt will be uninhabited for forty years, with its people scattered, before God gathers them back into a diminished kingdom. The chapter does not narrate that fulfillment or identify its starting date. Surviving historical evidence does not establish a clear forty-year period matching every detail, so precise historical claims require caution.

Why does God give Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar in Ezekiel 29?

God describes Egypt’s wealth as payment for Nebuchadnezzar’s army after its exhausting campaign against Tyre brought no wages. The later oracle presents that campaign as service under God’s rule. It does not say Nebuchadnezzar worshiped God or approved God’s purposes; it says God directed the outcome and assigned the payment.

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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).