# Ezekiel 29 đ: Egypt the Broken Reed
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> [!info] Table of Contents
> [[#đ Scripture Text (NET)]]
> [[#đ Verse-by-Verse Commentary]]
> [[#đ¤ Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]]
> [[#đ§ Chapter Summary]]
> [[#âď¸ Christ in This Chapter]]
> [[#đ Key Principles / đ Life Application]]
> [[#đŹ Discussion Questions]]
> [[#âď¸ Key Verses to Remember]]
> [[#đ Related Passages/Cross Reference]]
> [[#đ Devotional Reflection]]
> [[#đ Internal Notes]]
## đ Scripture Text (NET)
(The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005)
### A Prophecy Against Egypt
[[#Verse 01.]] In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the Lordâs message came to me:Â
[[#Verse 02.]] âSon of man, turn toward Pharaoh king of Egypt and prophesy against him and against all Egypt.Â
[[#Verse 03.]] Tell them, âThis is what the Sovereign Lord says: ââLook, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt,
the great monster lying in the midst of its waterways,
who has said, âMy Nile is my own, I made it for myself.â
[[#Verse 04.]]Â I will put hooks in your jaws
and stick the fish of your waterways to your scales.
I will haul you up from the midst of your waterways,
and all the fish of your waterways will stick to your scales.
[[#Verse 05.]]Â I will leave you in the wilderness,
you and all the fish of your waterways;
you will fall in the open field and will not be gathered up or collected.
I have given you as food to the beasts of the earth and the birds of the skies.
[[#Verse 06.]] Then all those living in Egypt will know that I am the Lord
because they were a reed staff for the house of Israel;
[[#Verse 07.]] when they grasped you with their hand, you broke and tore their shoulders,
and when they leaned on you, you splintered and caused their legs to be unsteady.
[[#Verse 08.]] ââTherefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to bring a sword against you, and I will kill every person and every animal.Â
[[#Verse 09.]] The land of Egypt will become a desolate ruin. Then they will know that I am the Lord. ââBecause he said, âThe Nile is mine and I made it,âÂ
[[#Verse 10.]] I am against you and your waterways. I will turn the land of Egypt into an utter desolate ruin from Migdol to Syene, as far as the border with Ethiopia.Â
[[#Verse 11.]]Â No human foot will pass through it, and no animalâs foot will pass through it; it will be uninhabited for forty years.Â
[[#Verse 12.]]Â I will turn the land of Egypt into a desolation in the midst of desolate lands; for forty years her cities will lie desolate in the midst of ruined cities. I will scatter Egypt among the nations and disperse them among foreign countries.
[[#Verse 13.]] ââFor this is what the Sovereign Lord says: At the end of forty years I will gather Egypt from the peoples where they were scattered.Â
[[#Verse 14.]] I will restore the fortunes of Egypt and will bring them back to the land of Pathros, to the land of their origin; there they will be an insignificant kingdom.Â
[[#Verse 15.]]Â It will be the most insignificant of the kingdoms; it will never again exalt itself over the nations. I will make them so small that they will not rule over the nations.Â
[[#Verse 16.]] It will never again be Israelâs source of confidence, but a reminder of how they sinned by turning to Egypt for help. Then they will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.ââ
[[#Verse 17.]] In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the Lordâs message came to me:Â
[[#Verse 18.]]âSon of man, King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre. Every head was rubbed bald and every shoulder rubbed bare; yet he and his army received no wages from Tyre for the work he carried out against it.Â
[[#Verse 19.]] Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to give the land of Egypt to King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon. He will carry off her wealth, capture her loot, and seize her plunder; it will be his armyâs wages.Â
[[#Verse 20.]] I have given him the land of Egypt as his compensation for attacking Tyre, because they did it for me, declares the Sovereign Lord.Â
[[#Verse 21.]] On that day I will make Israel powerful, and I will give you the right to be heard among them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.â
## đ Verse-by-Verse Commentary
###### Overall.
###### Verse 01.
###### Verse 02.
###### Verse 03.
###### Verse 04.
###### Verse 05.
###### Verse 06.
###### Verse 07.
###### Verse 08.
###### Verse 09.
###### Verse 10.
###### Verse 11.
###### Verse 12.
###### Verse 13.
###### Verse 14.
###### Verse 15.
###### Verse 16.
###### Verse 17.
###### Verse 18.
###### Verse 19.
###### Verse 20.
###### Verse 21.
## đ¤ Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights
1. The first oracle is dated to the tenth year, tenth month, twelfth day of the exile (29:1), around January 587 BC.
2. The Pharaoh at this time was Hophra, also called Apries (Jeremiah 44:30).
3. Pharaoh is pictured as a great monster in the Nile (29:3), likely a crocodile.
4. "From Migdol to Syene" (29:10) means from the north of Egypt to its southern border. Syene is modern Aswan.
5. An Assyrian official had also called Egypt a splintered reed that pierces the hand of anyone who leans on it (2 Kings 18:21).
6. Pathros (29:14) refers to Upper Egypt in the south.
7. The second oracle (29:17) is dated to the twenty-seventh year, around 571 BC, the latest dated prophecy in Ezekiel.
8. Nebuchadnezzar's army labored so long against Tyre that every head was rubbed bald and every shoulder rubbed raw (29:18).
9. God gave Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar as wages for his work against Tyre (29:19-20).
10. A Babylonian text records a campaign by Nebuchadnezzar against Egypt in his thirty-seventh year, around 568 BC.
## đ§ Chapter Summary
> [!note] đą Still growing. This section is on its way.
## âď¸ Christ in This Chapter
Christ is the sure support that never breaks. Egypt was a staff of reed that splintered when Israel leaned on it (29:6-7), but everyone who believes in Jesus will never be put to shame (Romans 10:11).
## đ Key Principles / đ Life Application
> [!note] đą Still growing. This section is on its way.
## đŹ Discussion Questions
1. Pharaoh claimed, "My Nile is my own; I made it" (29:3). How do we take credit for things God has given us?
2. Israel leaned on Egypt and was injured (29:6-7). What "reeds" are people tempted to lean on today?
3. God turned Nebuchadnezzar's unpaid labor at Tyre into a reward in Egypt (29:18-20). What does that teach about God's control over the nations?
## âď¸ Key Verses to Remember
- đ verse 3: Pharaoh, the great monster of the Nile, claims to have made the river himself.
- đ verse 6: Egypt has been a staff of reed for the house of Israel.
- đ verse 16: Egypt will no longer be a source of false confidence for Israel.
## đ Related Passages/Cross Reference
- đ [[2 Kings 18#Verse 21.|2 Kings 18:21]] - Egypt, that splintered reed.
- đ [[Isaiah 30#Verse 01.|Isaiah 30:1-3]] - Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help.
- đ [[Isaiah 31#Verse 01.|Isaiah 31:1]] - Those who rely on horses instead of the Lord.
- đ [[Jeremiah 44#Verse 30.|Jeremiah 44:30]] - God will hand over Pharaoh Hophra.
- đ [[Romans 10#Verse 11.|Romans 10:11]] - Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame.
## đ Devotional Reflection
đ SOAP: [[Ezekiel 29 - SOAP|Remove Every Other âgodâ or God Will]]
## đ Internal Notes