“Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will give the land of Egypt unto Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall take her multitude, and take her spoil, and take her prey; and it shall be the wages for his army.”
My Notes
What Does Ezekiel 29:19 Mean?
"Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will give the land of Egypt unto Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall take her multitude, and take her spoil, and take her prey; and it shall be the wages for his army." God gives Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar as WAGES — payment for services rendered. The Babylonian army worked for God (besieging Tyre, verses 17-18) and earned nothing from that job. Egypt is the PAYCHECK. God compensates His instrument with an entire nation.
The phrase "it shall be the wages for his army" (vehaytah se'urah lechelo — it will be the compensation/wages for his force) treats the conquest as EMPLOYMENT: Nebuchadnezzar's army worked for God at Tyre. Every soldier shaved bald from carrying loads (verse 18). Every shoulder rubbed raw from hauling siege equipment. The labor was God's assignment. Egypt is God's payment.
The triple "take" (venasa hamonah veshalal shelalah uvazaz bizzah — he will take her multitude, spoil her spoil, plunder her plunder) is the description of military payday: the taking is thorough. The multitude (population) is taken. The spoil (valuable goods) is taken. The prey (plundered wealth) is taken. Every form of military compensation is covered. The payment is comprehensive.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What labor in your life might actually be God's assignment — with compensation you haven't recognized?
- 2.What does God paying Nebuchadnezzar with Egypt teach about divine sovereignty over international affairs?
- 3.How does a pagan king unknowingly working for God describe the hidden divine economy?
- 4.What does God compensating His instruments teach about fairness even in judgment?
Devotional
Egypt is Nebuchadnezzar's paycheck. God gives him an entire nation as WAGES for the work he did at Tyre. The Babylonian army labored at God's assignment — besieging Tyre for thirteen years — and earned nothing. So God compensates them with Egypt. The conquest is employment. The plunder is pay.
The 'wages for his army' makes God an EMPLOYER: Nebuchadnezzar didn't know he was working for God. He thought he was pursuing his own imperial interests. But God says: you worked for ME at Tyre. Your soldiers labored at MY assignment. And now I'm PAYING you — with Egypt. The pagan king receives divine wages for divine work he didn't know he was doing.
The triple 'take' — multitude, spoil, prey — is the comprehensive paycheck: the army gets EVERYTHING. The population (labor force). The spoil (accumulated wealth). The prey (plundered goods). The payment covers every category of military compensation. God doesn't underpay His instruments. The wages match the labor.
The verse reveals God's sovereignty over international economics: God GIVES nations. God COMPENSATES armies. God treats military campaigns as employment relationships. The pagan king is God's employee — unknowingly laboring at divine assignments, unknowingly receiving divine wages. The entire geopolitical landscape operates as God's economy. The empires that think they're independent agents are actually workers in God's enterprise.
What 'wages' — what unexpected compensation — might God be providing for labor you didn't realize was His assignment?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Therefore thus saith the Lord God,.... Since this was the case, that the king of Babylon had been working for nothing,…
The prophet places this prediction out of chronological order, that he may point out what had not been stated in the…
The date of this prophecy is observable; it was in the twenty-seventh year of Ezekiel's captivity, sixteen years after…
Cross References
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