Ezekiel 29:10
in Ezekiel 29therefore I am against you and against your rivers. I will turn the land of Egypt into a ruin, a desolate wasteland from Migdol to Syene, and as far as the border of Cush.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
therefore, behold, I am against thee, and against thy rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from the tower of Seveneh even unto the border of Ethiopia.
KJV
Behold, therefore I am against thee, and against thy rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, from the tower of Syene even unto the border of Ethiopia.
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This verse in Ezekiel 29
Commentary
6 notes on this verse(Verse 8 and following) Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will bring a sword upon you, and will cut off from you man and beast. And the land of Egypt shall become a desolation (or destruction) and a wilderness: and they shall know that I am the Lord: because he (or you) said, My river is mine, and I have made it (or My rivers are mine, and I have made them).
This site's exposition
from the tower of Syene even unto the border of Ethiopia
on Ezekiel 29:10-12
The desolation is given a real geography, from the tower of Syene, at Egypt's southern frontier, to the border of Ethiopia, the full length of settled Egypt rather than a symbolic corner. Forty years uninhabited by man or beast, and the Egyptians scattered among the nations, is a specific and bounded sentence rather than a promise of final destruction, since the same oracle already looks past it. Barnes notes the forty years as deliberately recalling Israel's own forty years, judgment measured out on the pattern the Lord had already used once before.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Behold, therefore, I am against thee, and against thy rivers,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
From the tower of Syene - ממגדל מונה mimmigdol seveneh, “from Migdol to Syene.” Syene, now called Essuan, was the last city in Egypt, going towards Ethiopia. It was famous for a well into which the rays of the sun fell perpendicularly at midday.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
from the tower of Syene--GROTIUS translates, "from Migdol (a fortress near Pelusium on the north of Suez) to Syene (in the farthest south)"; that is, from one end of Egypt to the other.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
From the tower of Syene - Or, as in the margin, “Migdol” (“tower”) was about two miles from Suez. “Syene” was the most southern town in Egypt, on the borders of Ethiopia, in the Thebaid, on the eastern bank of the Nile. The modern Assvan lies a little to the northeast of the ancient Syene. We have no record of the circumstances of the Chaldsaean invasion of Egypt, but it is possible that it did not take place until after the fall of Tyre. We gather of what nature it must have been by comparing the description of the results of Assyrian conquest (Isa 37:25 ff). Minute fulfillment of every detail of prophecy is not to be insisted upon, but only the general fact that Egypt would for a time, described as 40 years, be in a state of collapse. No great stress is to be laid on the exact number of years. The number of years passed in the wilderness became to the Hebrews a significant period of chastisement. Nebuchadnezzars occupation of Egypt was of no long duration, and his ravages, though severe, must have been partial. Peace with Babylon was favorable to the development of home-works, but since the peace was in truth subjugation, it was hollow and in fact ruinous. Further, it is to be remembered that God fulfils His decree by a gradual rather than an immediate process. The ravages of Nebuchadnezzar were the beginning of the end, and all the desolation which followed may be looked upon as a continuous fulfillment of God’s decree. The savage fury with which Cambyses swept over Egypt amply realized all that Ezekiel foretold. Many places recovered some wealth and prosperity, but from the time of Herodotus the kingdom never again became really independent. Egyptian rulers gave place to Persian, Persian to the successors of Alexander the Great, who gave place in turn to Rome. So thoroughly was the prophecy of Ezekiel fulfilled Eze 29:14-15.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
neither shall it be inhabited for forty years Forty-two years of famine were decreed in Pharaoh’s dream, corresponding to the three times the dream is written. He saw seven bad cows and seven bad ears of grain (Gen.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 7 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לָכֵ֛ן | lakhen | <to> therefore | H3651 → | 771 times |
| הִנְנִ֥י | hini | here I | H2005 → | 316 times |
| אֵלֶ֖יךָ | ʾeleikha | [am] against you | H413 → | 5510 times |
| וְאֶל־ | veel- | and against | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יְאֹרֶ֑יךָ | yeoreikha | canals your | H2975 → | 65 times |
| וְנָתַתִּ֞י | venatati | and I will make | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֶ֣רֶץ | ʾeretz | [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מִצְרַ֗יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| לְחָרְבוֹת֙ | lecharevot | <into> ruins of | H2723 → | 42 times |
| חֹ֣רֶב | chorev | destruction | H2721 → | |
| שְׁמָמָ֔ה | shemamah | a desolation | H8077 → | 57 times |
| מִמִּגְדֹּ֥ל | mimigdol | from Migdol | H4024 → | |
| סְוֵנֵ֖ה | seveneh | Syene | H5482 → | |
| וְעַד־ | vead- | and to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| גְּב֥וּל | gevul | [the] border of | H1366 → | 240 times |
| כּֽוּשׁ׃ | kush | Cush | H3568 → | 29 times |
לָכֵ֛ן<to> therefore
lakhenH3651 →771 times
הִנְנִ֥יhere I
hiniH2005 →316 times
אֵלֶ֖יךָ[am] against you
ʾeleikhaH413 →5510 times
וְאֶל־and against
veel-H413 →5510 times
יְאֹרֶ֑יךָcanals your
yeoreikhaH2975 →65 times
וְנָתַתִּ֞יand I will make
venatatiH5414 →2011 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אֶ֣רֶץ[the] land of
ʾeretzH776 →2504 times
מִצְרַ֗יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
לְחָרְבוֹת֙<into> ruins of
lecharevotH2723 →42 times
חֹ֣רֶבdestruction
chorevH2721 →
שְׁמָמָ֔הa desolation
shemamahH8077 →57 times
מִמִּגְדֹּ֥לfrom Migdol
mimigdolH4024 →
סְוֵנֵ֖הSyene
sevenehH5482 →
וְעַד־and to
vead-H5704 →1261 times
גְּב֥וּל[the] border of
gevulH1366 →240 times
כּֽוּשׁ׃Cush
kushH3568 →29 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 44:1This is the word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews living in the land of Egypt—in Migdol, Tahpanhes, and Memphis—and in the land of Pathros:
it leads to
- Jeremiah 46:14
“Announce it in Egypt, and proclaim it in Migdol; proclaim it in Memphis and Tahpanhes: ‘Take your positions and prepare yourself, for the sword devours those around you.’
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 14:2
“Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. You are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal-zephon.
- Isaiah 11:11
On that day the Lord will extend His hand a second time to recover the remnant of His people from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and…
- Jeremiah 46:14
Through
Exodus 14:2“Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. You are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal-zephon.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 44:1
This is the word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews living in the land of Egypt—in Migdol, Tahpanhes, and Memphis—and in the land of Pathros:
- Numbers 33:7–8
They set out from Etham and turned back to Pi-hahiroth, opposite Baal-zephon, and they camped near Migdol.
- Exodus 13:17–18
When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them along the road through the land of the Philistines, though it was shorter. For God said, “If the people face war, they might…
- Jeremiah 44:1
Through
Ezekiel 29:11No foot of man or beast will pass through, and it will be uninhabited for forty years.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 32:13
I will slaughter all her cattle beside the abundant waters. No human foot will muddy them again, and no cattle hooves will disturb them.
- Ezekiel 32:13
Through
Ezekiel 30:12I will make the streams dry up and sell the land to the wicked. By the hands of foreigners I will bring desolation upon the land and everything in it. I, the LORD, have…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 29:3
Speak to him and tell him that this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I am against you, O Pharaoh king of Egypt, O great monster who lies among his rivers, who says,…
- Ezekiel 29:3
About Ezekiel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.