New Living Translation
Ezekiel 29:3
3Give them this message from the Sovereign Lord: “I am your enemy, O Pharaoh, king of Egypt— you great monster, lurking in the streams of the Nile. For you have said, ‘The Nile River is mine; I 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
1On January 7, during the tenth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, this message came to me from the Lord: 2“Son of man, turn and face Egypt and prophesy against Pharaoh the king and all the people of Egypt. Give them this message from the Sovereign Lord: “I am your enemy, O Pharaoh, king of Egypt— you great monster, lurking in the streams of the Nile. For you have said, ‘The Nile River is mine; I made it for myself.’ 4I will put hooks in your jaws and drag you out on the land with fish sticking to your scales. 5I will leave you and all your fish stranded in the wilderness to die. You will lie unburied on the open ground, for I have given you as food to the wild animals and birds.
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 29:10I am now the enemy of both you and your river. I will make the land of Egypt a totally desolate wasteland, from Migdol to Aswan, as far south as the border of Ethiopia.
- Ezekiel 28:22Give the people of Sidon this message from the Sovereign Lord: “I am your enemy, O Sidon, and I will reveal my glory by what I do to you. When I bring judgment against you and reveal my holiness among you, everyone watching will know that I am the Lord.
- Psalms 76:7No wonder you are greatly feared! Who can stand before you when your anger explodes?
- Jeremiah 44:30This is what the Lord says: ‘I will turn Pharaoh Hophra, king of Egypt, over to his enemies who want to kill him, just as I turned King Zedekiah of Judah over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.’”
- Nahum 1:6Who can stand before his fierce anger? Who can survive his burning fury? His rage blazes forth like fire, and the mountains crumble to dust in his presence.
- Ezekiel 32:2“Son of man, mourn for Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and give him this message: “You think of yourself as a strong young lion among the nations, but you are really just a sea monster, heaving around in your own rivers, stirring up mud with your feet.
- Psalms 74:13You split the sea by your strength and smashed the heads of the sea monsters.
- Isaiah 27:1In that day the Lord will take his terrible, swift sword and punish Leviathan, the swiftly moving serpent, the coiling, writhing serpent. He will kill the dragon of the sea.
- Isaiah 51:9Wake up, wake up, O Lord! Clothe yourself with strength! Flex your mighty right arm! Rouse yourself as in the days of old when you slew Egypt, the dragon of the Nile.
- Revelation 12:3Then I witnessed in heaven another significant event. I saw a large red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, with seven crowns on his heads.
- Revelation 13:2This beast looked like a leopard, but it had the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion! And the dragon gave the beast his own power and throne and great authority.
- Revelation 16:13And I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs leap from the mouths of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet.
- Revelation 20:2He seized the dragon—that old serpent, who is the devil, Satan—and bound him in chains for a thousand years.
- Ezekiel 29:9The land of Egypt will become a desolate wasteland, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord. “Because you said, ‘The Nile River is mine; I made it,’
- Ezekiel 28:2“Son of man, give the prince of Tyre this message from the Sovereign Lord: “In your great pride you claim, ‘I am a god! I sit on a divine throne in the heart of the sea.’ But you are only a man and not a god, though you boast that you are a god.
- Deuteronomy 8:17He did all this so you would never say to yourself, ‘I have achieved this wealth with my own strength and energy.’
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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