Ezekiel 29:12
in Ezekiel 29I will make the land of Egypt a desolation among desolate lands, and her cities will lie desolate for forty years among the ruined cities. And I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them throughout the countries.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the midst of the countries that are desolate; and her cities among the cities that are laid waste shall be a desolation forty years; and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries.
KJV
And I will make the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities among the cities that are laid waste shall be desolate forty years: and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries.
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This verse in Ezekiel 29
Commentary
8 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 Migdol to Syene, and as far as the border of Cush
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. Forty years uninhabited by man or beast is a specific and bounded sentence. Barnes notes the forty years as deliberately recalling Israel's own forty years.
This site's exposition
disperse the Egyptians among the nations
Ezekiel spoke these words of scattering over Judah in 12:15 and 22:15. Egypt now receives the sentence of the people it failed to save, dispersed among the nations and scattered through the countries. The ally shares the exile.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
), so that those who thought the balance of power was in their hand should now become a contemptible people. Such a fall does a haughty spirit go before.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And I will make the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate,....
This was the effect not so much of those wars spoken of before, which were made by them, but of the war which the king of Babylon made upon them. It shall be desolate from one end of the land to the other, from the tower of Syene even unto the border of Ethiopia. The sin of pride is enough to ruin a whole nation.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Shall be desolate forty years - The country from Migdol or Magdolan, which was on the isthmus between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, was so completely ruined, that it might well be called desert; and it is probable that this desolation continued during the whole of the reign of Amasis, which was just forty years. See Herod. lib. 3 c. 10; and see Calmet.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
As Israel passed through a term of wilderness discipline (compare Eze 20:35, &c.), which was in its essential features to be repeated again, so it was to be with Egypt [FAIRBAIRN].
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
22 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְנָתַתִּ֣י | venatati | and I will make | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֶרֶץ֩ | ʾeretz | [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מִצְרַ֨יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| שְׁמָמָ֜ה | shemamah | a desolation | H8077 → | 57 times |
| בְּת֣וֹךְ׀ | betokh | in midst of | H8432 → | 418 times |
| אֲרָצ֣וֹת | ʾaratzot | lands | H776 → | 2504 times |
| נְשַׁמּ֗וֹת | neshamot | made desolate | H8074 → | 86 times |
| וְעָרֶ֙יהָ֙ | veareiha | and cities its | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| בְּת֨וֹךְ | betokh | in midst of | H8432 → | 418 times |
| עָרִ֤ים | ʾarim | cities | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| מָֽחֳרָבוֹת֙ | mochoravot | laid waste | H2717 → | 40 times |
| תִּֽהְיֶ֣יןָ | tihyeina | they will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| שְׁמָמָ֔ה | shemamah | a desolation | H8077 → | 57 times |
| אַרְבָּעִ֖ים | ʾarbaim | forty | H705 → | 136 times |
| שָׁנָ֑ה | shanah | year[s] | H8141 → | 877 times |
| וַהֲפִצֹתִ֤י | vahafitzoti | and I will scatter | H6327 → | 67 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מִצְרַ֙יִם֙ | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| בַּגּוֹיִ֔ם | bagoyim | among the nations | H1471 → | 561 times |
| וְֽזֵרִיתִ֖ים | vezeritim | and I will disperse them | H2219 → | 39 times |
| בָּאֲרָצֽוֹת׃ פ | baaratzot | among the lands | H776 → | 2504 times |
וְנָתַתִּ֣יand I will make
venatatiH5414 →2011 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אֶרֶץ֩[the] land of
ʾeretzH776 →2504 times
מִצְרַ֨יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
שְׁמָמָ֜הa desolation
shemamahH8077 →57 times
בְּת֣וֹךְ׀in midst of
betokhH8432 →418 times
אֲרָצ֣וֹתlands
ʾaratzotH776 →2504 times
נְשַׁמּ֗וֹתmade desolate
neshamotH8074 →86 times
וְעָרֶ֙יהָ֙and cities its
veareihaH5892 →1090 times
בְּת֨וֹךְin midst of
betokhH8432 →418 times
עָרִ֤יםcities
ʾarimH5892 →1090 times
מָֽחֳרָבוֹת֙laid waste
mochoravotH2717 →40 times
תִּֽהְיֶ֣יןָthey will be
tihyeinaH1961 →3559 times
שְׁמָמָ֔הa desolation
shemamahH8077 →57 times
אַרְבָּעִ֖יםforty
ʾarbaimH705 →136 times
שָׁנָ֑הyear[s]
shanahH8141 →877 times
וַהֲפִצֹתִ֤יand I will scatter
vahafitzotiH6327 →67 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
מִצְרַ֙יִם֙Egypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
בַּגּוֹיִ֔םamong the nations
bagoyimH1471 →561 times
וְֽזֵרִיתִ֖יםand I will disperse them
vezeritimH2219 →39 times
בָּאֲרָצֽוֹת׃ פamong the lands
baaratzotH776 →2504 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
Ezekiel 30:23I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them throughout the lands.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 30:17–18
The young men of On and Pi-beseth will fall by the sword, and those cities will go into captivity.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 30:26
I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them throughout the lands. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”
- Ezekiel 30:17–18
Through
Jeremiah 46:19Pack your bags for exile, O daughter dwelling in Egypt! For Memphis will be laid waste, destroyed and uninhabited.
it leads to
- Isaiah 20:4
so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, young and old alike, naked and barefoot, with bared buttocks—to Egypt’s shame.
- Jeremiah 48:18
Come down from your glory; sit on parched ground, O daughter dwelling in Dibon, for the destroyer of Moab has come against you; he has destroyed your fortresses.
- Ezekiel 30:13
This is what the Lord GOD says: I will destroy the idols and put an end to the images in Memphis. There will no longer be a prince in Egypt, and I will instill…
- 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:
- Isaiah 20:4
Through
Ezekiel 30:26I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them throughout the lands. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”
it leads to
- Daniel 11:42
He will extend his power over many countries, and not even the land of Egypt will escape.
- Daniel 11:42
Through
Ezekiel 30:7They will be desolate among desolate lands, and their cities will lie among ruined cities.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 25:18–26
to make them a ruin, an object of horror and contempt and cursing, as they are to this day—Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and officials;
- Jeremiah 25:18–26
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; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: 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); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Patrick Fairbairn, Ezekiel and the Book of His Prophecy.
