What is the meaning of Ezekiel 29:19?

Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says

• The verse opens with God’s own declaration, underscoring absolute authority (cf. Isaiah 46:10; Ezekiel 12:28).

• “Therefore” points back to 29:17–18, where Nebuchadnezzar’s long siege of Tyre yielded little. God now announces His remedy.

• Whenever Scripture repeats the formula “the Lord GOD says,” the message is final, reliable, and meant to shape our view of history (Numbers 23:19; 2 Peter 1:21).

---

I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon

• The gift language shows God’s sovereignty over nations (Daniel 4:17; Acts 17:26).

• Nebuchadnezzar is called “My servant” elsewhere (Jeremiah 25:9; 43:10), revealing that even pagan rulers fulfill divine purposes.

• Historically, Babylon invaded Egypt around 568–567 BC, a literal fulfillment that validates the prophetic word (Ezekiel 30:10–12).

• God’s transfer of Egypt mirrors earlier judgments where He handed territories to conquerors—Assyria over Israel (2 Kings 17:6) and Babylon over Judah (2 Kings 25:1-7).

---

who will carry off its wealth, seize its spoil, and remove its plunder

• Three escalating verbs stress complete extraction of Egypt’s riches, reversing the plunder Egypt once took from others (Nahum 3:1, 8-10).

• This mirrors earlier divine actions—Israel plundering Egypt in the Exodus (Exodus 12:35-36) and Babylon stripping Tyre (Ezekiel 26:12).

• Material loss was more than economic; it signaled the collapse of Egypt’s pride and false security (Isaiah 19:1-4; Ezekiel 30:13).

---

This will be the wages for his army

• God compensates Nebuchadnezzar for labor expended against Tyre (Ezekiel 29:18). The principle: the worker deserves his wages (Luke 10:7).

• Though Babylon’s motive was conquest, God turned those ambitions into instruments of judgment, then paid them with Egypt’s spoils (Proverbs 21:1; Habakkuk 1:6-7).

• The concept foreshadows a bigger truth: God settles every account—rewarding faithfulness and judging rebellion (Romans 2:6; Revelation 22:12).

---

summary

Ezekiel 29:19 promises that God will hand Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar as payment for Babylon’s exhausting but under-rewarded siege of Tyre. The verse showcases God’s absolute sovereignty: He speaks, He assigns nations, He directs outcomes, and He settles accounts. History verifies the prophecy, reinforcing our confidence that every word of Scripture stands firm and that God remains Lord over all peoples and events.