Ezekiel 29:3
in Ezekiel 29Speak to him and tell him that this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I am against you, O Pharaoh king of Egypt, O great monster who lies among his rivers, who says, ‘The Nile is mine; I made it myself.’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great monster that lieth in the midst of his rivers, that hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself.
KJV
Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself.
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This verse in Ezekiel 29
Commentary
8 notes on this verse(Verse 3 onwards) Behold, I am coming to you, Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, the great dragon, who lies (or sits) in the midst of your rivers, and you say: The river is mine, and I have made it for myself (or them). And I will put a bit (or a snare) in your jaws, and I will stick the fish of your rivers to your scales (or feathers), and I will draw you out of the midst of your rivers; and all your fish will cling to your scales (or feathers).
This site's exposition
O great monster who lies among his rivers
on Ezekiel 29:3-5
Pharaoh is named the great dragon, the same word Genesis uses of the sea creatures and Isaiah uses of the chaos monster. My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself states the sin as Pharaoh's words. The hooks in the jaws picture an Egyptian crocodile hunt.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
That lieth - Not only at rest, but waiting for prey. My river - My kingdom, power, riches, and forces, all the strength and glory of Egypt. Put hooks - The Allegory is continued.
Speak, and say, thus saith the Lord God,....
Note, Self is the great idol that all the world worships, in contempt of God and his sovereignty. The course God will take with this proud man, to humble him. He is a great dragon in the waters, and God will accordingly deal with him,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The king is addressed as the embodiment of the state. Dragon - Here the crocodile, the great monster of the Nile, which was regarded very differently in different parts of Egypt. By some it was worshipped and embalmed after death, and cities were named after it (e. g., in the Arsinoite nome). Others viewed it with the utmost abhorrence.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
dragon--Hebrew, tanim, any large aquatic animal, here the crocodile, which on Roman coins is the emblem of Egypt. lieth--restest proudly secure. his rivers--the mouths, branches, and canals of the Nile, to which Egypt owed its fertility.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The great dragon - התנים hattannim should here be translated crocodile, as that is a real animal, and numerous in the Nile; whereas the dragon is wholly fabulous. The original signifies any large animal. The midst of his rivers - This refers to the several branches of the Nile, by which this river empties itself into the Mediterranean. The ancients termed them septem ostia Nili, “the seven mouths of the Nile.” The crocodile was the emblem of Egypt.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| דַּבֵּ֨ר | daber | speak | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| וְאָמַרְתָּ֜ | veamarta | and you will say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| כֹּֽה־ | koh- | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| אָמַ֣ר׀ | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲדֹנָ֣י | ʾadonai | [the] Lord | H136 → | 440 times |
| יְהוִ֗ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3069 → | 306 times |
| הִנְנִ֤י | hini | here I | H2005 → | 316 times |
| עָלֶ֙יךָ֙ | ʾaleikha | [am] on you | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פַּרְעֹ֣ה | paroh | O Pharaoh | H6547 → | 274 times |
| מֶֽלֶךְ־ | melekh- | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| מִצְרַ֔יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| הַתַּנִּים֙ | hatanim | the sea monster | H8577 → | |
| הַגָּד֔וֹל | hagadol | <the> great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| הָרֹבֵ֖ץ | harovetz | which lies | H7257 → | 30 times |
| בְּת֣וֹךְ | betokh | in among | H8432 → | 418 times |
| יְאֹרָ֑יו | yeorav | canals its | H2975 → | 65 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אָמַ֛ר | ʾamar | it has said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לִ֥י | li | [belongs] to me | ||
| יְאֹרִ֖י | yeori | River my | H2975 → | 65 times |
| וַאֲנִ֥י | vaani | and I | H589 → | 874 times |
| עֲשִׂיתִֽנִי׃ | ʾasitini | I made for myself | H6213 → | 2628 times |
דַּבֵּ֨רspeak
daberH1696 →1141 times
וְאָמַרְתָּ֜and you will say
veamartaH559 →5305 times
כֹּֽה־thus
koh-H3541 →577 times
אָמַ֣ר׀he says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
אֲדֹנָ֣י[the] Lord
ʾadonaiH136 →440 times
יְהוִ֗הYahweh
yahwehH3069 →306 times
הִנְנִ֤יhere I
hiniH2005 →316 times
עָלֶ֙יךָ֙[am] on you
ʾaleikhaH5921 →5755 times
פַּרְעֹ֣הO Pharaoh
parohH6547 →274 times
מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of
melekh-H4428 →2525 times
מִצְרַ֔יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
הַתַּנִּים֙the sea monster
hatanimH8577 →
הַגָּד֔וֹל<the> great
hagadolH1419 →526 times
הָרֹבֵ֖ץwhich lies
harovetzH7257 →30 times
בְּת֣וֹךְin among
betokhH8432 →418 times
יְאֹרָ֑יוcanals its
yeoravH2975 →65 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
אָמַ֛רit has said
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
לִ֥י[belongs] to me
li
יְאֹרִ֖יRiver my
yeoriH2975 →65 times
וַאֲנִ֥יand I
vaaniH589 →874 times
עֲשִׂיתִֽנִי׃I made for myself
ʾasitiniH6213 →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
Isaiah 27:1In that day the LORD will take His sharp, great, and mighty sword, and bring judgment on Leviathan the fleeing serpent—Leviathan the coiling serpent—and He will slay the dragon of the sea.
it leads to
- Isaiah 51:9
Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD. Wake up as in days past, as in generations of old. Was it not You who cut Rahab to pieces, who pierced through the…
- Isaiah 66:16
For by fire and by His sword, the LORD will execute judgment on all flesh, and many will be slain by the LORD.
- Revelation 12:3
Then another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon with seven heads, ten horns, and seven royal crowns on his heads.
- Revelation 20:2
He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.
- Job 26:13
By His breath the skies were cleared; His hand pierced the fleeing serpent.
- Isaiah 51:9
Through
Deuteronomy 8:17You might say in your heart, “The power and strength of my hands have made this wealth for me.”
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 9:4
When the LORD your God has driven them out before you, do not say in your heart, “Because of my righteousness the LORD has brought me in to possess this land.” Rather, the LORD…
- 1 Corinthians 4:7
For who makes you so superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?
- Daniel 4:30
the king exclaimed, “Is this not Babylon the Great, which I myself have built by the might of my power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?”
- Deuteronomy 9:4
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 9 works. Open the list of works
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; 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.