Amplified Bible
Ezekiel 29:3
3Speak and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, The great monster that lies in the midst of his rivers, [Boastfully] declaring, ‘My Nile is my own, and I have made it for myself.’
Ezekiel 29:3 in other versions
- King James Version (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.
- New International Version (NIV)Speak to him and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “ ‘I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, you great monster lying among your streams. You say, “The Nile belongs to me; I made it for myself.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)speak, and say, Thus says the Lord God: "Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lies in the midst of his streams, that says, 'My Nile is my own; I made it for myself.'
- New King James Version (NKJV)Speak, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against you, O Pharaoh king of Egypt, O great monster who lies in the midst of his rivers, Who has said, ‘My River is my own; I have made it for myself.’
Context of Ezekiel 29:3
1In the tenth year [of the captivity of King Jehoiachin by the king of Babylon], in the tenth month, on the twelfth of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2“Son of man, set your face toward Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt. Speak and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, The great monster that lies in the midst of his rivers, [Boastfully] declaring, ‘My Nile is my own, and I have made it for myself.’ 4I will put hooks in your jaws And [I will] make the fish of your rivers stick to your scales. And I will pull you up from the midst of your rivers, And all the fish of your rivers will stick to your scales. 5I will abandon you to the wilderness, you and all the fish of your rivers; You will fall on the open field; and you will not be gathered up or buried. I have given you as food to the [wild] animals of the earth and the birds of the sky.
Read all of Ezekiel 29Ezekiel 29:3 word by word
דַּבֵּ֨ר וְאָמַרְתָּ֜ כֹּֽה־אָמַ֣ר׀ אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהוִ֗ה הִנְנִ֤י עָלֶ֙יךָ֙ פַּרְעֹ֣ה מֶֽלֶךְ־מִצְרַ֔יִם הַתַּנִּים֙ הַגָּד֔וֹל הָרֹבֵ֖ץ בְּת֣וֹךְ יְאֹרָ֑יו אֲשֶׁ֥ר אָמַ֛ר לִ֥י יְאֹרִ֖י וַאֲנִ֥י עֲשִׂיתִֽנִי׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Speakדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
- and sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- the Lordאֲדֹנָי'ădônây · LordH136
- Godיְהֹוִהyehôvih · YHWH/GodH3069
- against thee, Pharaohפַּרְעֹהpar‛ôh · PharaohH6547
- kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- of Egyptמִצְרַ֫יִםmitsrayim · EgyptH4714
- the greatגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
- dragonתַּנִּיןtannîyn tannîym · serpent: monsterH8577
- that liethרָבַץrâbats · to stretchH7257
- in the midstתָּ֫וֶךְtâvek · midstH8432
- of his riversיְאֹרye'ôr · NileH2975
- mine own, and I have madeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
Cross-references for Ezekiel 29:3
- Ezekiel 29:10behold (hear this), therefore, I am against you and against your rivers (the Nile, its tributaries), and I will make the land of Egypt a complete waste and a desolation, from [northern] Migdol to [southern] Syene, even as far as the border of Ethiopia (Cush).
- Ezekiel 28:22and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am against you, O Sidon, And I will show My glory and be glorified in your midst. Then they will know [by personal experience] that I am the Lord when I bring judgment and punishment on her, And I will manifest My holiness in her.
- Psalms 76:7You, even You, are to be feared [with the submissive wonder of reverence]; Who may stand in Your presence when once You are angry?
- Jeremiah 44:30Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies and into the hand of those who seek his life, just as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who was his enemy and was seeking his life.’ ”
- Nahum 1:6Who can stand before His indignation [His great wrath]? And who can stand up and endure the fierceness of His anger? His wrath is poured out like fire And the rocks are destroyed by Him.
- Ezekiel 32:2“Son of man, take up a dirge (funeral poem to be sung) over Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him, ‘You have compared yourself to a young lion among the nations, But you are like a monster in the seas; You burst into your rivers And disturbed and muddied the waters with your feet And fouled their rivers [the source of their prosperity].’ ”
- Psalms 74:13You divided the [Red] Sea by Your strength; You broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters.
- Isaiah 27:1In that day the Lord will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent With His fierce and great and mighty sword [rescuing Israel from her enemy], Even Leviathan the twisted serpent; And He will kill the dragon who lives in the sea.
- Isaiah 51:9Awake, awake, put on strength and might, O arm of the Lord; Awake as in the ancient days, as in the generations of long ago. Was it not You who cut Rahab (Egypt) in pieces, Who pierced the dragon [of Egypt]?
- Revelation 12:3Then another sign [of warning] was seen in heaven: behold, a great fiery red dragon (Satan) with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven royal crowns (diadems).
- Revelation 13:2And the beast that I saw resembled a leopard, but his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth was like that of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority.
- Revelation 16:13And I saw three loathsome spirits like frogs, leaping from the mouth of the dragon (Satan) and from the mouth of the beast (Antichrist, dictator) and from the mouth of the false prophet;
- Revelation 20:2And he overpowered and laid hold of the dragon, that old serpent [of primeval times], who is the devil and Satan, and bound him [securely] for a thousand years (a millennium);
- Ezekiel 29:9and the land of Egypt will be a desolation and a wasteland. And they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord. “Because you said, ‘The Nile is mine and I have made it,’
- Ezekiel 28:2“Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Because your heart is lifted up And you have said and thought, ‘I am a god, I sit in the seat of the gods In the heart of the seas’; Yet you are [only] a man [weak, feeble, made of earth] and not God, Though you [imagine yourself to be more than mortal and] think your mind is as [wise as] the mind of God—
- Deuteronomy 8:17Otherwise, you may say in your heart, ‘My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.’
Commentaries on Ezekiel 29:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3The 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.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3The 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. An animal so terrible, so venerated, or so abhorred, was an apt image of the proud Egyptian monarch - the more so…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3-16The message of judgment begins with a judgment against Pharaoh, who is called a great sea monster. In the ancient Near East, sea monsters were common in stories about the gods. These creatures represented chaos, which the gods had to control. In Genesis 1:21, however, sea creatures appear as part of God’s good creation. They are not enemies of God. In this chapter, the image changes slightly. The sea monster also reflects Pharaoh as a great crocodile. He…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. 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.Read the comment
Topics related to Ezekiel 29:3
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ezekiel 29
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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