Ezekiel 29:3 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.
Ezekiel 29:3 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.'
Ezekiel 29:3 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."
Ezekiel 29:3 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.'
Ezekiel 29:3 nlt
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.'
Ezekiel 29 3 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Ezek 29:3 | "Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great monster that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself." | Divine opposition to oppressive rulers |
| Ezek 29:10 | "Therefore, behold, 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." | Judgment upon Egypt |
| Ezek 32:2 | "Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou art like a young lion of the nations, but thou art cast out; thou hast brought up thy waters, and troubled thy waters with thy feet." | Pharaoh as a powerful, predatory creature |
| Ps 74:13 | "Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness." | God's power over monstrous sea creatures |
| Ps 104:26 | "There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein." | Creation and sovereignty over sea creatures |
| Isa 27:1 | "In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea." | God's victory over chaos symbolized by sea monsters |
| Jer 46:17 | "The noise of the tumult is of them: for it is said, Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise; he hath passed the time appointed." | Egypt's boasts are empty |
| Nahum 3:8 | "Art thou better than populous No, that was situate among the rivers, that had the waters round about it, whose rampart was the sea, and her walls were of the sea?" | Judgment on another great Egyptian city |
| Rev 13:1 | "And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy." | Symbolism of a powerful, antichrist power |
| Rev 17:3 | "So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns." | Beast as a representation of evil kingdoms |
| Gen 1:21 | "And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good." | God as creator of sea creatures |
| Job 7:12 | "Am I a sea or a whale, that thou settest a watch over me?" | Metaphorical use of sea creatures |
| Job 41:1 | "Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down?" | God's sovereignty over Leviathan |
| Ps 8:8 | "The fowl of the heaven, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas." | God's dominion over creation |
| Ps 148:7 | "Praise the LORD from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps:" | Praising God, including deep sea creatures |
| Jer 51:34 | "Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicates, he hath cast me out." | Babylonian king compared to a dragon |
| Ezek 28:12 | "Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty." | God also speaks against other kings |
| Deut 32:39 | "See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand." | God's ultimate power and authority |
| Isa 19:4 | "And I will give them into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts." | God uses earthly rulers as instruments of judgment |
| Zech 14:18 | "And if the family of Egypt go not up nor come not up, that have no rain; then the plague, whereof the LORD will smite the nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles." | Future judgment on Egypt |
Ezekiel 29 verses
Ezekiel 29 3 Meaning
This verse is a direct address from God to Pharaoh, king of Egypt. God declares His hand is against Pharaoh, identifying him as "the great monster that lies in the midst of his rivers." The phrase signifies God's judgment upon Egypt and its ruler, whom God likens to a powerful but ultimately vulnerable creature dwelling in the Nile.
Ezekiel 29 3 Context
This verse is part of Ezekiel's prophecy against Egypt, which spans chapters 29-32. At the time of this prophecy (around 587/586 BC), Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had recently attacked and overthrown Jerusalem, the capital of Judah. Egypt, a powerful nation situated along the Nile River, had interfered in Judean politics and ultimately failed to help Judah against the Babylonians. This prophecy is a judgment from God against Egypt for its pride, its oppressive actions, and its general opposition to God’s plans for His people. Specifically, Ezekiel is instructed to deliver a message directly to Pharaoh, personifying Egypt’s arrogance and power. The "great monster" imagery is not just a description of a creature but a polemic against the Egyptian self-perception of divinity and ultimate control over their environment, particularly the Nile.
Ezekiel 29 3 Word Analysis
- Speak, and say, (Hebrew: ʼemōr vᵉʼemər - "say and say") - This is a strong emphatic imperative, indicating a direct and unequivocal divine message to be delivered. It's a call to prophecy.
- Thus saith the Lord GOD; (Hebrew: kōh ʼāmar ʼădōnāy YHVH - "so says the Lord YHVH") - This is the standard prophetic formula, asserting the divine authority and origin of the message. God is the speaker.
- Behold, I am against thee, (Hebrew: hinnēh ʼănī bāḵ - "Behold, I am against you") - "Behold" (Hinnēh) signifies a dramatic unveiling or introduction to a significant pronouncement. "Against you" (bāḵ) indicates direct opposition and conflict.
- Pharaoh king of Egypt, (Hebrew: par‘ōh mĕlēḵ-miṣrāyim - "Pharaoh king of Egypt") - Pharaoh was the title of the king of Egypt, a monarch believed by his people to be divine. This identifies the specific target of God's judgment.
- the great monster (Hebrew: tannîn - "sea monster," "dragon," "serpent") - This Hebrew word, tannîn, is used for large, often fearsome creatures of the sea or earth, often associated with chaos and opposition to divine order. In Egyptian mythology, Apophis was a serpent demon who represented chaos and was the enemy of the sun god Ra. This is a polemic against such Egyptian beliefs.
- that lieth in the midst of his rivers, (Hebrew: hāšōḵēb bĕqereb yəʼōrāw - "the one lying in the midst of his rivers") - This imagery refers to the Nile River, the lifeblood of Egypt, often depicted as being controlled by Pharaoh. The "lying" suggests a stationary, perhaps lurking, or even powerful but dormant state within its domain. Pharaoh's perceived control over the Nile is a source of his pride and his perceived divinity.
- which hath said, (Hebrew: ʼăšer qāḇar lēḵ - "which said") - This introduces Pharaoh's proud, self-aggrandizing statement.
- My river is mine own, (Hebrew: yəʼōrî ʼănî wĕʼānî ‘āśîtîhû - "my river, I [am] and I have made it") - Pharaoh claims personal ownership and creative power over the Nile, asserting absolute sovereignty and attributing his success to himself, not God.
- and I have made it for myself. (Hebrew: ûmî ʼănî ū‘ĕlīyū wĕrūwəqā’ ōṯṯi rûqā - "and I have made it for myself") - This is a profound declaration of self-deification. Pharaoh claims he is the author of his own being and his own destiny, thus usurping God's role as Creator.
Ezekiel 29 3 Bonus Section
The imagery of "the great monster that lieth in the midst of his rivers" is particularly poignant for an Egyptian audience. The Nile River was central to Egyptian life and religion, seen as a divine gift and source of sustenance. Pharaoh, as the embodiment of divine kingship, was intrinsically linked to the Nile's fertility and stability. He was often depicted as the mediator between the gods and the land, responsible for ensuring the annual inundation. The declaration that God is against him in the midst of his "own" river signifies God's direct challenge to Egypt’s most cherished symbol of divine power and Pharaoh’s personal authority. This undermines not only Pharaoh's political power but also the very foundation of Egyptian religious ideology by demonstrating that the ultimate power over their "life-giving" river and, by extension, their existence, rests with the God of Israel. The prophetic targeting of Pharaoh personally, with such a visceral image, highlights the theological dispute at the heart of God's dealings with Egypt.
Ezekiel 29 3 Commentary
God’s message to Pharaoh is one of stark opposition. The term “monster” (tannîn) is a theological statement. It echoes ancient Near Eastern cosmogonies where a divine power battles chaotic sea monsters (like Leviathan in the Old Testament) to establish order. By calling Pharaoh this, God declares that Pharaoh, despite his earthly power and self-proclaimed divinity, is nothing more than a creature that God Himself can contend with and ultimately conquer. The boast, “My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself,” is the ultimate expression of human arrogance. Pharaoh viewed the Nile not just as his source of power, but as a manifestation of his own divine essence, attributing its bounty to himself. This verse exposes the futility of human pride and self-sufficiency, especially when it involves claiming attributes that belong to God alone. God's power is not confined by rivers or nations; His hand is against any power that elevates itself against Him.