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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

8 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

Caused 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 twenty-seventh year

on Ezekiel 29:17-20

The date jumps forward, the latest date in the book. Nebuchadnezzar's long siege of Tyre had yielded no wages, since the island city held out. Egypt is given to Babylon as the wages Tyre never paid, and Keil and Barnes read this as Scripture's honest accounting of a prophecy's outcome.

This site's exposition

every shoulder made raw

Josephus, citing Phoenician records, gives the siege thirteen years. Bald heads and raw shoulders come from helmets and from carrying earth and timber for the siege works. Jerome says the Tyrians shipped their wealth away by sea, leaving the besiegers little to take.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Ezekiel · Written before 420.

proposed

(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

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

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.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

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 & Brown

1802–1910

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.

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The words behind it

29 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • 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.

Related verses

11 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

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.4 worksJeremiah 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, and against all the surrounding nations. So I will devote them to destruction and make them an object of horror and contempt, an everlasting desolation.3 worksEzekiel 26:7–12For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I will bring against Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots, with cavalry and a great company of troops.3 worksIsaiah 7:20On that day the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates—the king of Assyria—to shave your head and the hair of your legs, and to remove your beard as well.3 worksJeremiah 48:37For every head is shaved and every beard is clipped; on every hand is a gash, and around every waist is sackcloth.2 worksIsaiah 23:13Look at the land of the Chaldeans—a people now of no account. The Assyrians destined it for the desert creatures; they set up their siege towers and stripped its palaces. They brought it to ruin.2 works
The other 5 cross-references, with their words ▾
Genesis 49:15He saw that his resting place was good and that his land was pleasant, so he bent his shoulder to the burden and submitted to labor as a servant.2 worksJeremiah 27:3Send word to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon through the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah.2 worksMatthew 11:22But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.2 worksNehemiah 4:10Meanwhile, the people of Judah said: “The strength of the laborer fails, and there is so much rubble that we will never be able to rebuild the wall.”2 worksJeremiah 25:22all the kings of Tyre and Sidon; the kings of the coastlands across the sea;2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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 25:9

    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,…

    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.

  • Through

    Jeremiah 27:6

    So 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.

Where this verse is studied

On this page

Studies2

About Ezekiel

Ezekiel’s Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Ezekiel’s Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Ezekiel: the study guide →Read Ezekiel 29 →
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works

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; 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; 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.

Read on in Ezekiel 29 →