Ezekiel 29 · Verse 4

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.

Ezekiel 29:4, King James Version

Ezekiel 29:4 in other translations

BSB	But I will put hooks in your jaws and cause the fish of your streams to cling to your scales. I will haul you up out of your rivers, and all the fish of your streams will cling to your scales.
WEB	I will put hooks in your jaws, and I will make the fish of your rivers stick to your scales. I will bring you up out of the middle of your rivers, with all the fish of your rivers which stick to your scales.
ASV	And 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, with all the fish of thy rivers which stick unto thy scales.
YLT	And I have put hooks in thy jaws, And I have caused the fish of thy floods to cleave to thy scales, And I have caused thee to come up from the midst of thy floods, And every fish of thy floods to thy scales doth cleave.
DARBY	And 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;
BBE	And I will put hooks in your mouth, and the fish of your streams will be hanging from your skin; and I will make you come up out of your streams, with all the fish of your streams hanging from your skin.
Webster	But I will put hooks in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish of thy rivers to stick to thy scales, and I will bring thee out of the midst of thy rivers, and all the fish of thy rivers shall stick to thy scales.

What does Ezekiel 29:4 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

4. hooks in thy jaws--(Is 37:29; compare Job 41:1, 2). Amasis was the "hook." In the Assyrian sculptures prisoners are represented with a hook in the underlip, and a cord from it held by the king. cause ... fish ... stick unto ... scales--Pharaoh, presuming on his power as if he were God (Eze 29:3, "I have made it"), wished to stand in the stead of God as defender of the covenant-people, his motive being, not love to them, but rivalry with Babylon. He raised the siege of Jerusalem, but it was only for a time (compare Eze 29:6; Jr 37:5, 7-10); ruin overtook not only them, but himself. As the fish that clung to the horny scales of the crocodile, the lord of the Nile, when he was caught, shared his fate, so the adherents of Pharaoh, lord of Egypt, when he was overthrown by Amasis, should share his fate.

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 4 I will put hooks in thy jaws - Amasis, one of this king's generals, being proclaimed king by an insurrection of the people, dethroned Apries, and seized upon the kingdom; and Apries was obliged to flee to Upper Egypt for safety. I will cause the fish - to stick unto thy scales - Most fish are sorely troubled with a species of insect which bury their heads in their flesh, under their scales, and suck out the vital juices. The allusion seems to be to this. Pharaoh was the crocodile; the fish, the common people; and the sticking to his scales, the insurrection by which he was wasted and despoiled of his kingdom.

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 29:4 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.

וְנָתַתִּ֤יve.na.ta.Tiand I will putH5414

חַחִים֙cha.chi.yimhooksH2397

בִּלְחָיֶ֔יךָbil.cha.Yei.khain jaws yourH3895

וְהִדְבַּקְתִּ֥יve.hid.bak.Tiand I will make clingH1692

דְגַת\־de.gat-[the] fish ofH1710

יְאֹרֶ֖יךָye.'o.Rei.khacanals yourH2975

בְּקַשְׂקְשֹׂתֶ֑יךָbe.kas.ke.so.Tei.chato scales yourH7193

וְהַעֲלִיתִ֙יךָ֙ve.ha.'a.li.Ti.khaand I will bring up youH5927

מִתּ֣וֹךְmi.Tokhfrom amongH8432

יְאֹרֶ֔יךָye.'o.Rei.khacanals yourH2975

וְאֵת֙ve.'Etand <obj.>H853

כָּל\־kol-allH3605

דְּגַ֣תde.Gat[the] fish ofH1710

יְאֹרֶ֔יךָye.'o.Rei.khacanals yourH2975

בְּקַשְׂקְשֹׂתֶ֖יךָbe.kas.ke.so.Tei.chato scales yourH7193

תִּדְבָּֽק\׃tid.Bakit will clingH1692

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

Cross references for Ezekiel 29:4

Ezekiel 38:4
And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
2 Kings 19:28
Because thy rage against me and thy tumult is come up into mine ears, therefore I will put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.
Isaiah 37:29
Because thy rage against me, and thy tumult, is come up into mine ears, therefore will I put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.
Habakkuk 1:14-15
And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them? They take up all of them with the angle, they catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag: therefore they rejoice and are glad.
Amos 4:2
The Lord God hath sworn by his holiness, that, lo, the days shall come upon you, that he will take you away with hooks, and your posterity with fishhooks.
Job 41:1-2
Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down? Canst thou put an hook into his nose? or bore his jaw through with a thorn?

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

I will put.
38:4; 2Ki 19:28; Job 41:1,2; Isa 37:29; Am 4:2
the fish.
Hab 1:14,15

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

Context

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.
Ezekiel 29:5
And I will leave thee thrown into the wilderness, thee and all the fish of thy rivers: thou shalt fall upon the open fields; thou shalt not be brought together, nor gathered: I have given thee for meat to the beasts of the field and to the fowls of the heaven.

Read all of Ezekiel 29

Ezekiel 29:4 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Yo pues, pondré anzuelos en tus mejillas, y pegaré los peces de tus ríos á tus escamas, y te sacaré de en medio de tus ríos, y todos los peces de tus ríos saldrán pegados á tus escamas.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Et je mettrai un anneau dans tes mâchoires, et j’attacherai à tes écailles les poissons de tes fleuves, et je te ferai monter du milieu de tes fleuves, et tous les poissons de tes fleuves qui sont attachés à tes écailles.
German Elberfelder 1871	Und ich werde Haken in deine Kinnbacken legen und die Fische deiner Ströme an deine Schuppen sich hängen lassen, und werde dich aus deinen Strömen heraufziehen samt allen Fischen deiner Ströme, die an deinen Schuppen hängen.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Et ponam frenum in maxillis tuis, et agglutinabo pisces fluminum tuorum squamis tuis, et extraham te de medio fluminum tuorum, et universi pisces tui squamis tuis adhærebunt.