Bible Strands
Ezekiel 29:10
therefore I am against you and against your rivers. I will turn the land of Egypt into a ruin, a desolate wasteland from Migdol to Syene, and as far as the border of Cush.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Yahweh delivers this oracle through Ezekiel to Pharaoh and Egypt during a judgment sequence concerning the Nile. The declaration follows a warning that Egypt will become a desolate wasteland because of its pride in controlling the river.
The words — The Hebrew לָ/כֵ֛ן (la./Khen) translates literally to "therefore," anchoring the judgment to the preceding boast. The term יְאֹרֶ֑י/ךָ (ye.'o.Rei./kha) means "your canals," specifying the waterways the text identifies as Egypt's claimed possession.
The thread — The desolation motif continues in Ezekiel 30:12, which describes drying streams and foreign-led devastation. Geographic markers like Migdol appear in Exodus 14:2 and Jeremiah 44:1 as reference points for Egyptian territories.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that divine judgment overrides human claims over natural resources. It requires the reader to accept that territorial ruin follows the arrogance of self-deification.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Behold, therefore I am against thee, and against thy rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, from the tower of Syene even unto the border of Ethiopia.
Cross-references
- Ezekiel 30:12 I will make the streams dry up and sell the land to the wicked. By the hands of foreigners I will bring desolation upon the land and everything in it. I, the LORD, have spoken.
- Exodus 14:2 “Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. You are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal-zephon.
- 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:
- Jeremiah 46:14 “Announce it in Egypt, and proclaim it in Migdol; proclaim it in Memphis and Tahpanhes: ‘Take your positions and prepare yourself, for the sword devours those around you.’
- Ezekiel 29:11 No foot of man or beast will pass through, and it will be uninhabited for forty years.
- Ezekiel 30:6 For this is what the LORD says: The allies of Egypt will fall, and her proud strength will collapse. From Migdol to Syene they will fall by the sword within her, declares the Lord GOD.
- Habakkuk 3:8 Were You angry at the rivers, O LORD? Was Your wrath against the streams? Did You rage against the sea when You rode on Your horses, on Your chariots of salvation?