Ezekiel 29 · Verse 3

Ezekiel 29:3

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, King James Version

Ezekiel 29:3 in other translations

BSBSpeak to him and tell him that this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I am against you, O Pharaoh king of Egypt, O great monster who lies among his rivers, who says, ‘The Nile is mine; I made it myself.’
WEBSpeak and say, ‘The Lord GOD says: “Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great monster that lies in the middle of his rivers, that has said, ‘My river is my own, and I have made it for myself.’
ASVspeak, and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great monster that lieth in the midst of his rivers, that hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself.
YLTSpeak, and thou hast said: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Lo, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt! The great dragon that is crouching in the midst of his floods, Who hath said, My flood is my own, And I--I have made it for myself.
DARBYspeak, and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great monster that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which saith, My river is mine own, and I made it for myself.
BBESay to them, These are the words of the Lord: See, I am against you, Pharaoh, king of Egypt, the great river-beast stretched out among his Nile streams, who has said, The Nile is mine, and I have made it for myself.
WebsterSpeak, 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 my own, and I have made it for myself.

What does Ezekiel 29:3 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
3. 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.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 3 The 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.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Ezekiel 29:1-16

The desolation of Egypt. (Ezek 29:1-16) Also a promise of mercy to Israel. (Ezek 29:17-21) Verses 1-16 Worldly, carnal minds pride themselves in their property, forgetting that whatever we have, we received it from God, and should use it for God. Why, then, do we boast? Self is the great idol which all the world worships, in contempt of God and his sovereignty. God can force men out of that in which they are most…

Read the full comment on Ezekiel 29:1-16 →

Ezekiel 29:3 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

דַּבֵּ֨רda.BerspeakH1696
וְאָמַרְתָּ֜ve.'a.mar.Taand you will sayH559
כֹּֽה\־koh-thusH3541
אָמַ֣ר\׀'a.Marhe saysH559
אֲדֹנָ֣י'a.do.Nai[the] LordH136
יְהוִ֗הYah.wehYahwehH3069
הִנְנִ֤יhi.Nihere IH2005
עָלֶ֙יךָ֙'a.Lei.kha[am] on youH5921
פַּרְעֹ֣הpar.'OhO PharaohH6547
מֶֽלֶךְ\־Me.lekh-[the] king ofH4428
מִצְרַ֔יִםmitz.Ra.yimEgyptH4714
הַתַּנִּים֙ha.ta.Nimthe sea monsterH8577
הַגָּד֔וֹלha.ga.Dol<the> greatH1419
הָרֹבֵ֖ץha.ro.Vetzwhich liesH7257
בְּת֣וֹךְbe.Tokhin amongH8432
יְאֹרָ֑יוye.'o.Ravcanals itsH2975
אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.SherwhichH834
אָמַ֛ר'a.Marit has saidH559
לִ֥יli[belongs] to me
יְאֹרִ֖יye.'o.RiRiver myH2975
וַאֲנִ֥יva.'a.Niand IH589
עֲשִׂיתִֽנִי\׃'a.si.Ti.niI made for myselfH6213

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Ezekiel 29:3

  • Isaiah 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.

  • Ezekiel 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, and thou art as a whale in the seas: and thou camest forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers.

  • Jeremiah 44:30

    Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will give Pharaoh–hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of them that seek his life; as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, his enemy, and that sought his life.

  • Deuteronomy 8:17

    And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.

  • Ezekiel 29:9-10

    And the land of Egypt shall be desolate and waste; and they shall know that I am the Lord: because he hath said, The river is mine, and I have made it. Behold, therefore 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.

  • Revelation 12:3-4

    And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.

  • Isaiah 10:13-14

    For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent: and I have removed the bounds of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man: And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people: and as one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped.

  • Psalms 76:7

    Thou, even thou, art to be feared: and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry?

  • Ezekiel 28:22

    And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Zidon; and I will be glorified in the midst of thee: and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall have executed judgments in her, and shall be sanctified in her.

  • Nahum 1:6

    Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him.

  • Ezekiel 28:2

    Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord God; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God:

  • Daniel 4:30-31

    The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
I am.
10; 28:22; Ps 76:7; Jer 44:30; Na 1:6
the great.
32:2; Ps 74:13,14; Isa 27:1; 51:9; Re 12:3,4,16,17; 13:2,4,11
Re 16:13; 20:2
My river.
9; 28:2; De 8:17; Isa 10:13,14; Da 4:30,31

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Ezekiel 29:2

    Son of man, set thy face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and against all Egypt:

  • Ezekiel 29:3

    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 29:4

    But I will put hooks in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish of thy rivers to stick unto thy scales, and I will bring thee up out of the midst of thy rivers, and all the fish of thy rivers shall stick unto thy scales.

Read all of Ezekiel 29

Ezekiel 29:3 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Habla, y di: Así ha dicho el Señor Jehová: He aquí yo contra ti, Faraón rey de Egipto, el gran dragón que yace en medio de sus ríos, el cual dijo: Mío es mi río, y yo me lo hice.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Parle, et dis: Ainsi dit le Seigneur, l’ Éternel: Voici, j’en veux à toi, le Pharaon, roi d’Égypte, grand monstre des eaux, couché au milieu de ses fleuves, qui dis: Mon fleuve est à moi, et je me le suis fait!
German
Elberfelder 1871
Rede und sprich: So spricht der Herr, Jehova: Siehe, ich will an dich, Pharao, König von Ägypten, du großes Seeungeheuer, das in seinen Strömen liegt, das da spricht: Mein Strom gehört mir, und ich habe ihn mir gemacht.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Loquere, et dices: Hæc dicit Dominus Deus: Ecce ego ad te, Pharao rex Ægypti, draco magne, qui cubas in medio fluminum tuorum, et dicis: Meus est fluvius, et ego feci memetipsum.