Ezekiel 29 11

Ezekiel 29:11 kjv

No foot of man shall pass through it, nor foot of beast shall pass through it, neither shall it be inhabited forty years.

Ezekiel 29:11 nkjv

Neither foot of man shall pass through it nor foot of beast pass through it, and it shall be uninhabited forty years.

Ezekiel 29:11 niv

The foot of neither man nor beast will pass through it; no one will live there for forty years.

Ezekiel 29:11 esv

No foot of man shall pass through it, and no foot of beast shall pass through it; it shall be uninhabited forty years.

Ezekiel 29:11 nlt

For forty years not a soul will pass that way, neither people nor animals. It will be completely uninhabited.

Ezekiel 29 verses

Ezekiel 29 11 meaning

Ezekiel 29:11 pronounces a comprehensive and sustained judgment upon the land of Egypt. It declares that for a significant period of forty years, no human will traverse its paths, nor will any animal pass through it, signifying a profound and complete state of desolation. Furthermore, during this time, the land will remain uninhabited, emphasizing its abandonment and the cessation of all normal life and activity within its borders.

Ezekiel 29 11 Context

Ezekiel 29:11 is part of a series of prophecies against Egypt, delivered by God through Ezekiel between 587 and 571 BC. Chapter 29 opens with God's pronouncement against Pharaoh, king of Egypt, depicting him as a great "monster of the Nile" (often translated as "dragon" or "sea creature")—a potent symbol of Egypt's immense power, pride, and perceived self-sufficiency rooted in the Nile River. God declares His intention to hook Pharaoh and pull him and his fish out of the river, bringing down his mighty army and his land. The historical backdrop for these oracles is the turbulent geopolitical landscape where Babylon was the dominant rising power under Nebuchadnezzar, and Judah was constantly caught between alliances with Babylon or Egypt. Egypt frequently promised aid to Judah against Babylon but proved to be a "broken reed" (Ezek 29:6-7; Isa 36:6), betraying its trust and offering no real strength. This prophecy specifically predicts Egypt's complete desolation as a consequence of its pride, its deceptive counsel to Israel, and its opposition to God's plans. The desolation is declared to last "forty years" before a partial restoration to a diminished state, emphasizing divine judgment before eventual (but less prominent) recovery.

Ezekiel 29 11 Word analysis

• No foot of man (לֹא־תַעֲבָר רֶגֶל אִישׁ - lo-ta'avor regel ish):

  • lo (לֹא): A strong negative particle, meaning "not" or "no," emphasizing an absolute prohibition or cessation.
  • ta'avor (תַעֲבָר): From the verb avar (עָבַר), meaning "to pass over, pass through, traverse." Here, it signifies the act of movement, journeying.
  • regel (רֶגֶל): "Foot, leg." Metonymically, it represents the presence, activity, or journey of a person. The phrase regel ish (foot of man) concretely means a man's passage. This highlights a complete absence of human travel or even mere presence within the land.
  • ish (אִישׁ): "Man, male, human being." Refers to humanity in general. The focus is on all human activity ceasing.
  • Significance: This first negation sets the tone for complete human absence, impacting commerce, daily life, and military movements, asserting a total cessation of typical human interaction with the land.

• nor foot of beast (וְרֶגֶל בְּהֵמָה - vəreggel bəhemá):

  • ve (וְ): The conjunction "and," here often functioning as "nor," continuing the negation.
  • regel (רֶגֶל): Repeated, underscoring the universal nature of the cessation.
  • bəhemá (בְּהֵמָה): "Beast, animal," usually referring to land animals, particularly domesticated ones, but can be broad.
  • Significance: Extends the desolation beyond human activity to the animal kingdom. Even animals, who might typically wander through uncultivated land, will not be found. This suggests an unnatural and profound abandonment, a reversal of life and thriving ecosystems, signifying absolute emptiness.

• shall pass through it; (תַעֲבָר־בָּהּ - ta'avor-bah):

  • ta'avor (תַעֲבָר): "Shall pass through." The verb is repeated from earlier in the verse, creating a strong rhetorical device of emphasis and certainty regarding the lack of passage.
  • bah (בָּהּ): "In it," "through it." Refers directly to the land of Egypt.
  • Significance: The repetition of the action of passing and its emphatic negation reinforces the comprehensive nature of the judgment. It's not just that people won't dwell there, but they won't even move through it.

• neither shall it be inhabited (וְלֹא תֵשֵׁב - vəlo teshēv):

  • ve lo (וְלֹא): "And not," reinforcing the ongoing negation.
  • teshēv (תֵשֵׁב): From the verb yashab (יָשַׁב), meaning "to sit, dwell, settle, inhabit." It describes permanent residence and establishment.
  • Significance: This directly addresses the concept of living and settling. While the previous phrases deal with passage, this explicitly states the land will be without inhabitants, implying a void of homes, communities, and national presence.

• forty years (אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה - ʾarbāʿim shānāh):

  • ʾarbāʿim (אַרְבָּעִים): "Forty." A biblically significant number.
  • shānāh (שָׁנָה): "Year."
  • Significance: The number forty in the Bible often denotes a period of trial, testing, judgment, completion, or a generation. Examples include Noah's flood (40 days/nights), Israel's wilderness wandering (40 years), Moses/Elijah's fasts, and Jesus' temptation. Here, it indicates a definite, divinely appointed duration for Egypt's desolation, suggesting God's measured and sovereign control over history and punishment, not necessarily an arbitrary figure.

Words-group Analysis:

• "No foot of man shall pass through it, nor foot of beast shall pass through it": This parallel structure (a merism, combining two extremes to imply a totality) emphasizes absolute cessation. It highlights the completeness of the abandonment – neither sentient beings (humans) nor instinctual creatures (beasts) will navigate the land. This contrasts sharply with a vital, inhabited region and points to a place completely cut off from the flow of life and activity, rendering it effectively a wasteland.

• "neither shall it be inhabited forty years": This phrase elevates the judgment beyond mere passage to settlement and dwelling. The land is not just temporarily impassable but fundamentally uninhabitable. The "forty years" quantifies this period of intense judgment, signifying a significant duration known and ordained by God. This duration allows for the impact of the desolation to fully manifest, ensuring the land and its people recognize the hand of God in their humbling.

Ezekiel 29 11 Bonus section

The "forty years" period of desolation mentioned for Egypt (Ezek 29:11-12) has been subject to various interpretations among scholars. While some propose a literal fulfillment related to specific periods of Babylonian or Persian control, others view it more symbolically, representing a complete, divinely ordained, and sufficient period of judgment leading to national humbling and the diminishing of Egypt's power, rather than absolute geographical emptiness for precisely four decades. Historically, Nebuchadnezzar did invade Egypt around 568/567 BC, bringing it under Babylonian influence. Egypt, while never truly "unpeopled," did suffer significant losses and periods of foreign domination following this, diminishing its prominence. The prophecy likely highlights the profound spiritual desolation and loss of sovereignty rather than a sterile landscape where not a single animal would tread for a strict 40-year count. This serves as a potent polemic against Egypt's deeply ingrained belief in its own invincibility, often symbolized by the eternal flow of the Nile. The desolation challenges Egypt's religious confidence and political might by showing God's total command over its land and future.

Ezekiel 29 11 Commentary

Ezekiel 29:11 serves as a stark proclamation of God's sovereign judgment upon Egypt, a nation epitomizing human pride and reliance on worldly strength. By declaring that neither human nor beast will pass through or inhabit the land for forty years, the prophecy illustrates an unparalleled level of desolation. This goes beyond mere military defeat, foretelling a complete cessation of life and activity, effectively reducing a powerful empire to an uninhabited wilderness. The symbolic "forty years" signifies a divine decree—a defined period of probation, testing, and punitive consequence, similar to Israel's wilderness wandering. It asserts that God controls not only the rise and fall of nations but also the precise duration of their chastisement. This humbling period was intended to diminish Egypt's pride and its misleading influence on Judah, reaffirming that true security comes only from the God of Israel.