Ezekiel 29:9
in Ezekiel 29The land of Egypt will become a desolate wasteland. Then they will know that I am the LORD. Because you said, ‘The Nile is mine; I made it,’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the land of Egypt shall be a desolation and a waste; and they shall know that I am Jehovah. Because he hath said, The river is mine, and I have made it;
KJV
And the land of Egypt shall be desolate and waste; and they shall know that I am the Lord: because he hath said, The river is mine, and I have made it.
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This verse in Ezekiel 29
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAnd the land of Egypt shall be desolate and waste,.... Men few or none being left in it, to till it, nor cattle found upon it: and they shall know that I am the Lord; by these judgments executed upon them, now foretold; and which when come to pass, they will be obliged to acknowledge the omniscience and omnipotence of Jehovah: because thou hast said, the river is mine, and I have made it; See Gill on Eze 29:3; this insolent expression was highly resented by the Lord, as appears by the repetition of it.
This site's exposition
I will bring a sword against you
on Ezekiel 29:8-9
The sentence turns from figure to plain statement, a sword upon thee, man and beast cut off. The recognition formula lands here, they shall know that I am the Lord. Judgment answers a claim to self-made sovereignty with a plain demonstration of who actually made the river.
This site's exposition
Egypt will become a desolate wasteland
Egypt's fields drank from the Nile's yearly flood, and almost no rain falls there. Deuteronomy 11 sets that land beside Canaan, which drinks rain from heaven under the LORD's eye. Pharaoh credited himself with the water.
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
), the country not cultivated, the cities not inhabited. The wealth of both was their pride, and that God will take away. It shall be utterly waste (wastes of waste, so the margin reads it), and desolate (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
They said, The river is mine and I have made it; therefore their land shall spue them out. God is against them, both against the king and against the people, against thee and against thy rivers.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָיְתָ֤ה | vehayetah | and it will become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| אֶֽרֶץ־ | ʾeretz- | [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מִצְרַ֙יִם֙ | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| לִשְׁמָמָ֣ה | lishmamah | <into> a desolation | H8077 → | 57 times |
| וְחָרְבָּ֔ה | vecharebah | and a ruin | H2723 → | 42 times |
| וְיָדְע֖וּ | veyadeu | and they will know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֲנִ֣י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | [am] Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| יַ֧עַן | yaan | because | H3282 → | 99 times |
| אָמַ֛ר | ʾamar | he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְאֹ֥ר | yeor | [the] River | H2975 → | 65 times |
| לִ֖י | li | [belongs] to me | ||
| וַאֲנִ֥י | vaani | and I | H589 → | 874 times |
| עָשִֽׂיתִי׃ | ʾasiti | I made [it] | H6213 → | 2628 times |
וְהָיְתָ֤הand it will become
vehayetahH1961 →3559 times
אֶֽרֶץ־[the] land of
ʾeretz-H776 →2504 times
מִצְרַ֙יִם֙Egypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
לִשְׁמָמָ֣ה<into> a desolation
lishmamahH8077 →57 times
וְחָרְבָּ֔הand a ruin
vecharebahH2723 →42 times
וְיָדְע֖וּand they will know
veyadeuH3045 →945 times
כִּֽי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
אֲנִ֣יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
יְהוָ֑ה[am] Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
יַ֧עַןbecause
yaanH3282 →99 times
אָמַ֛רhe said
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
יְאֹ֥ר[the] River
yeorH2975 →65 times
לִ֖י[belongs] to me
li
וַאֲנִ֥יand I
vaaniH589 →874 times
עָשִֽׂיתִי׃I made [it]
ʾasitiH6213 →2628 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
Proverbs 16:18Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
it leads to
- Proverbs 11:2
When pride comes, disgrace follows, but with humility comes wisdom.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 2:11–12
The proud look of man will be humbled, and the loftiness of men brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.
- Proverbs 18:12
Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.
- Obadiah 1:3–4
The pride of your heart has deceived you, O dwellers in the clefts of the rocks whose habitation is the heights, who say in your heart, ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’
- Proverbs 29:23
A man’s pride will bring him low, but a humble spirit will obtain honor.
- Proverbs 11:2
Through
Proverbs 18:12Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.
it leads to
- Proverbs 15:33
The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom, and humility comes before honor.
- 1 Peter 5:5
Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
- Ezekiel 28:2
“Son of man, tell the ruler of Tyre that this is what the Lord GOD says: Your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a god; I sit in the seat of…
- Proverbs 15:33
Where this verse is studied
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; Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; 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.