Ezekiel 29:18
in Ezekiel 29“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre. Every head was made bald and every shoulder made raw. But he and his army received no wages from Tyre for the labor they expended on it.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Son of man, Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyre: every head was made bald, and every shoulder was worn; yet had he no wages, nor his army, from Tyre, for the service that he had served against it.
KJV
Son of man, Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyrus: every head was made bald, and every shoulder was peeled: yet had he no wages, nor his army, for Tyrus, for the service that he had served against it:
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This verse in Ezekiel 29
Commentary
7 notes on this verseCaused his army to serve a great service against Tyrus - He was thirteen years employed in the siege. See Joseph. Antiq. lib. 10 c. 11. In this siege his soldiers endured great hardships.
This site's exposition
in the seven and twentieth year
on Ezekiel 29:17-20
The date jumps forward, the seven and twentieth year, the latest date in the entire book, some sixteen years after the oracle just given, and Ezekiel here explains history rather than merely predicting it. Nebuchadnezzar's long siege of Tyre, every head made bald, every shoulder peeled with siege labor, had yielded no wages, since the island city held out and the earlier Tyre oracle's total destruction had not landed as the leveling of the mainland city might have suggested. Egypt is now given to Babylon as the wages Tyre never paid, and Keil and Barnes together read this as Scripture's own honest accounting of a prophecy's outcome, the general judgment on Tyre standing while its precise shape is corrected by the prophet who gave it.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 17 onwards) 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: 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 rubbed bare; yet he had no wages, nor his army, for Tyre, for the service that he had served against it.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Made bald - Through age, or sicknesses, or continued wearing of helmets. Peeled - Galled with carrying burdens. No wages - For though Tyre was very rich, when first besieged, much wealth was carried away during the siege, much spent and wasted in the siege, and what was left, preserved by articles of surrender.
In prosecuting this siege every head was made bald, and every shoulder peeled, with carrying burdens and labouring in the water when they had a strong tide and a strong town to contend with. Egypt, a large kingdom, being divided within itself, is easily conquered; Tyre, a single city, being unanimous, is with difficulty subdued.
Son of man, Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
every head . . . bald, . . . shoulder . . . peeled--with carrying baskets of earth and stones for the siege works. no wages . . . for the service--that is, in proportion to it and the time and labor which he expended on the siege of Tyre.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
29 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בֶּן־ | ben- | O son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אָדָ֗ם | ʾadam | humankind | H120 → | 551 times |
| נְבוּכַדְרֶאצַּ֣ר | nevukhadretzar | Nebuchadnezzar | H5019 → | 60 times |
| מֶֽלֶךְ־ | melekh- | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| בָּ֠בֶל | bavel | Babylon | H894 → | 262 times |
| הֶעֱבִ֨יד | heevid | he made to labor | H5647 → | 288 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| חֵיל֜וֹ | cheilo | army his | H2428 → | 246 times |
| עֲבֹדָ֤ה | ʾavodah | labor | H5656 → | 145 times |
| גְדֹלָה֙ | gedolah | great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | against | H413 → | 5510 times |
| צֹ֔ר | tzor | Tyre | H6865 → | 42 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| רֹ֣אשׁ | rosh | head | H7218 → | 599 times |
| מֻקְרָ֔ח | mukrach | [was] made bald | H7139 → | |
| וְכָל־ | vekhol | and every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| כָּתֵ֖ף | katef | shoulder | H3802 → | 67 times |
| מְרוּטָ֑ה | merutah | [was] made bare | H4803 → | 14 times |
| וְ֠שָׂכָר | vesakhor | and wage[s] | H7939 → | |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הָ֨יָה | hayah | it belonged | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| ל֤וֹ | lo | to him | ||
| וּלְחֵילוֹ֙ | ulecheilo | and to army his | H2428 → | 246 times |
| מִצֹּ֔ר | mitzor | from Tyre | H6865 → | 42 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הָעֲבֹדָ֖ה | haavodah | the labor | H5656 → | 145 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עָבַ֥ד | ʾavad | he had labored | H5647 → | 288 times |
| עָלֶֽיהָ׃ ס | ʾaleiha | on it | H5921 → | 5755 times |
בֶּן־O son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
אָדָ֗םhumankind
ʾadamH120 →551 times
נְבוּכַדְרֶאצַּ֣רNebuchadnezzar
nevukhadretzarH5019 →60 times
מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of
melekh-H4428 →2525 times
בָּ֠בֶלBabylon
bavelH894 →262 times
הֶעֱבִ֨ידhe made to labor
heevidH5647 →288 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
חֵיל֜וֹarmy his
cheiloH2428 →246 times
עֲבֹדָ֤הlabor
ʾavodahH5656 →145 times
גְדֹלָה֙great
gedolahH1419 →526 times
אֶל־against
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
צֹ֔רTyre
tzorH6865 →42 times
כָּל־every
kol-H3605 →5413 times
רֹ֣אשׁhead
roshH7218 →599 times
מֻקְרָ֔ח[was] made bald
mukrachH7139 →
וְכָל־and every
vekholH3605 →5413 times
כָּתֵ֖ףshoulder
katefH3802 →67 times
מְרוּטָ֑ה[was] made bare
merutahH4803 →14 times
וְ֠שָׂכָרand wage[s]
vesakhorH7939 →
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
הָ֨יָהit belonged
hayahH1961 →3559 times
ל֤וֹto him
lo
וּלְחֵילוֹ֙and to army his
ulecheiloH2428 →246 times
מִצֹּ֔רfrom Tyre
mitzorH6865 →42 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הָעֲבֹדָ֖הthe labor
haavodahH5656 →145 times
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
עָבַ֥דhe had labored
ʾavadH5647 →288 times
עָלֶֽיהָ׃ סon it
ʾaleihaH5921 →5755 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 25:9behold, I will summon all the families of the north, declares the LORD, and I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, whom I will bring against this land, against its residents,…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 29:18–20
“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre. Every head was made bald and every shoulder made raw. But he and his army received no wages from…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 18:16
They have made their land a desolation, a perpetual object of scorn; all who pass by will be appalled and shake their heads.
- Isaiah 13:3
I have commanded My sanctified ones; I have even summoned My warriors to execute My wrath and exult in My triumph.
- Jeremiah 1:15
For I am about to summon all the clans and kingdoms of the north,” declares the LORD. “Their kings will come and set up their thrones at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem.…
- Habakkuk 1:6–10
For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans—that ruthless and impetuous nation which marches through the breadth of the earth to seize dwellings not their own.
- Ezekiel 29:18–20
Through
Jeremiah 27:6So now I have placed all these lands under the authority of My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. I have even made the beasts of the field subject to him.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 28:14
For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘I have put a yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations to make them serve Nebuchadnezzar king of…
- Jeremiah 25:9
behold, I will summon all the families of the north, declares the LORD, and I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, whom I will bring against this land, against its residents,…
- Daniel 2:37–38
You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given sovereignty, power, strength, and glory.
- Jeremiah 28:14
About Ezekiel

Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PlaceBabil Governorate (archaeological site)BabylonAncient Mesopotamian city and imperial capital; site of the Israelite exile and a recurring biblical symbol of worldly power.
- PlacePhoenician coastTyrePhoenician island-fortress and merchant power, judged in Amos 1:9-10 and at length in Ezekiel 26-28.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; 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 Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
