Ezekiel 29:14
in Ezekiel 29I will restore Egypt from captivity and bring them back to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin. There they will be a lowly kingdom.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and I will bring back the captivity of Egypt, and will cause them to return into the land of Pathros, into the land of their birth; and they shall be there a base kingdom.
KJV
And I will bring again the captivity of Egypt, and will cause them to return into the land of Pathros, into the land of their habitation; and they shall be there a base kingdom.
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This verse in Ezekiel 29
Commentary
8 notes on this verseAnd I will bring again the captivity of Egypt,.... For what is done by men, under the direction and influence of divine Providence, is said to be done by the Lord, as this was, though by the means of Cyrus: and will cause them to return into the land of Pathros; which was a part of the land of Egypt; perhaps so called from Pathrusim, the son of Mizraim, from whom Egypt had its name, Gen 10:
This site's exposition
At the end of forty years
on Ezekiel 29:13-16
The oracle turns to restoration on schedule, at the end of forty years, gathered back to Pathros, the land of their habitation, upper Egypt where the nation had begun. But the return is deliberately modest, the basest of the kingdoms, no longer able to exalt itself above the nations or rule over them, a diminished Egypt rather than a restored power. The purpose is stated for Israel's benefit as much as Egypt's, no more the confidence of the house of Israel, which bringeth their iniquity to remembrance, so that Judah is finally cured of the temptation to lean on this particular reed.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(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).
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Some date the forty years from Nebuchadnezzar's destroying Egypt, others from the desolation of Egypt some time before; however, they end about the first year of Cyrus, when the seventy years' captivity of Judah ended, or soon after. Then this prediction was accomplished, 1.
Note, Though God will find out a way to humble the proud, yet he will not contend for ever, no, not with them in this world. That yet they shall not make a figure again as they have done. Egypt shall be a kingdom again, but it shall be the basest of the kingdoms (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The Thebaid was anciently called "Egypt" [ARISTOTLE]. Therefore it is called the "land of the Egyptians' birth" (Margin, for "habitation"). base kingdom--Under Amasis it was made dependent on Babylon; humbled still more under Cambyses; and though somewhat raised under the Ptolemies, never has it regained its ancient pre-eminence.
Into the land of Pathros - Supposed to mean the Delta, a country included between the branches of the Nile, called Δ delta, from its being in the form of the Greek letter of that name. It may mean the Pathrusim, in Upper Egypt, near to the Thebaid. This is most likely. Shall be there a base kingdom - That is, it shall continue to be tributary. It is upwards of two thousand years since this prophecy was delivered, and it has been uninterruptedly fulfilling to the present hour. 1. Egypt became tributary to the Babylonians under Amasis.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Pathros - The Thebaid or Upper Egypt, the original seat of the kingdom. The land of their habitation - Rather, as margin, i. e., the home of the restored exiles.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְשַׁבְתִּי֙ | veshavti | and I will turn back | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שְׁב֣וּת | shevut | [the] captivity of | H7622 → | 32 times |
| מִצְרַ֔יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| וַהֲשִׁבֹתִ֤י | vahashivoti | and I will bring back | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| אֹתָם֙ | ʾotam | <obj.> them | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֶ֣רֶץ | ʾeretz | [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| פַּתְר֔וֹס | patros | Pathros | H6624 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | to | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| אֶ֖רֶץ | ʾeretz | [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מְכֽוּרָתָ֑ם | mekhuratam | origin their | H4351 → | 3 times |
| וְהָ֥יוּ | vehayu | and they will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| שָׁ֖ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| מַמְלָכָ֥ה | mamlakhah | a kingdom | H4467 → | 117 times |
| שְׁפָלָֽה׃ | shefalah | lowly | H8217 → | 17 times |
וְשַׁבְתִּי֙and I will turn back
veshavtiH7725 →1056 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
שְׁב֣וּת[the] captivity of
shevutH7622 →32 times
מִצְרַ֔יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
וַהֲשִׁבֹתִ֤יand I will bring back
vahashivotiH7725 →1056 times
אֹתָם֙<obj.> them
ʾotamH853 →10935 times
אֶ֣רֶץ[the] land of
ʾeretzH776 →2504 times
פַּתְר֔וֹסPathros
patrosH6624 →
עַל־to
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
אֶ֖רֶץ[the] land of
ʾeretzH776 →2504 times
מְכֽוּרָתָ֑םorigin their
mekhuratamH4351 →3 times
וְהָ֥יוּand they will be
vehayuH1961 →3559 times
שָׁ֖םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
מַמְלָכָ֥הa kingdom
mamlakhahH4467 →117 times
שְׁפָלָֽה׃lowly
shefalahH8217 →17 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
Genesis 10:14the Pathrusites, the Casluhites (from whom the Philistines came), and the Caphtorites.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 47:4
For the day has come to destroy all the Philistines, to cut off from Tyre and Sidon every remaining ally. Indeed, the LORD is about to destroy the Philistines, the remnant from the coasts…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 2:23
And the Avvim, who lived in villages as far as Gaza, were destroyed by the Caphtorites, who came out of Caphtor and settled in their place.)
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 47:4
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.’
- Jeremiah 46:14
Through
Isaiah 11:11On 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…
it leads to
- Micah 7:12
On that day they will come to you from Assyria and the cities of Egypt, even from Egypt to the Euphrates, from sea to sea and mountain to mountain.
- Zechariah 10:8–12
I will whistle for them to gather, for I have redeemed them; and they will be as numerous as they once were.
- Hosea 3:4–5
For the Israelites must live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, and without ephod or idol.
- Isaiah 10:20
On that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no longer depend on him who struck them, but they will truly rely on the LORD, the Holy…
- Jeremiah 30:8–11
On that day, declares the LORD of Hosts, I will break the yoke off their necks and tear off their bonds, and no longer will strangers enslave them.
- Micah 7:12
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, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
