Ezekiel 29:16 · Bible study
Ezekiel 29:16 Commentary: Egypt Removes Confidence, Brings Iniquity to Remembrance
Hebrew · 8 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Ezekiel 29:16 examines how Egypt's fall ends Israel's false trust, exposes their sin, and leads them to know the Lord.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Egypt will no longer be a source of trust for Israel; instead, Israel’s reliance on Egypt will expose their sin, and this process will lead them to acknowledge Yahweh as Lord.
- Key words: 'Confidence' (trust, security), 'bringing iniquity to memory' (exposing sin, calling to account), 'look after them' (turn to for help), 'know that I am the Lord' (recognize God’s sovereignty).
- Main debate: Whether 'bringing iniquity to memory' means God is reminded of Israel’s sin (and acts in judgment) or Israel is reminded of its sin (and feels conviction).
- Theological theme: God uses judgment and removal of false securities to lead his people to a true, experiential knowledge of himself.
- Best use: Sermon or lesson on idolatry, repentance, and the purpose of divine discipline; also helpful in discussions about trusting political powers.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
Egypt will never again be an object of trust for the house of Israel, but will remind them of their iniquity in turning to the Egyptians. Then they will know that I am the Lord GOD.”
WEB World English Bible 2000
It will no longer be the confidence of the house of Israel, bringing iniquity to memory, when they turn to look after them. Then they will know that I am the Lord Yahweh.”’”
KJV King James Version 1769
And it shall be no more the confidence of the house of Israel, which bringeth their iniquity to remembrance, when they shall look after them: but they shall know that I am the Lord God.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
And it shall be no more the confidence of the house of Israel, bringing iniquity to remembrance, when they turn to look after them: and they shall know that I am the Lord Jehovah.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
And it is no more to the house of Israel for a confidence, Bringing iniquity to remembrance, By their turning after them, And they have known that I am the Lord Jehovah.'
Darby Darby Bible 1890
And it shall be no more the confidence of the house of Israel, bringing iniquity to remembrance, when they turn after them: and they shall know that I [am] the Lord Jehovah.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
And they shall be no more a confidence to the house of Israel, teaching iniquity, that they may flee, and follow them: and they shall know that I am the Lord God.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Y no será más á la casa de Israel por confianza, que haga acordar el pecado, mirando en pos de ellos; y sabrán que yo soy el Señor Jehová.
E não será mais motivo de confiança para a casa de Israel, para fazê-la lembrar de sua maldade, quando olharam para eles; e saberão que eu sou o Senhor DEUS.
Ce royaume ne sera plus pour la maison d’ Israël un sujet de confiance;
daß sich das Haus Israel nicht mehr auf sie verlasse und sich damit versündige, wenn sie sich an sie hängen; und sie sollen erfahren, daß ich der Herr HERR bin.
En het zal den huize Israels niet meer zijn tot een vertrouwen, dat der ongerechtigheid doet gedenken, wanneer zij naar henlieden omzien; maar zij zullen weten, dat Ik de Heere HEERE ben.
e la casa d’Israele non riporrà più la sua fiducia in quelli che le ricorderanno l’iniquità da lei commessa quando si volgeva verso di loro; e si conoscerà che io sono il Signore, l’Eterno”.
I nie będzie więcej domowi Izraelskiemu ufnością, któraby mi na pamięć przywodziła nieprawość, gdyby się oglądali na nie; i dowiedzą się, żem Ja panujący Pan.
И не будут впредь дому Израилеву опорою, припоминающею беззаконие их, когда они обращались к нему; и узнают, что Я Господь Бог.
埃及必不 再 作 以色列 家 所倚靠的；以色列家仰望 埃及人的時候，便思念 罪孽。他們就知道 我 是主 耶和華。」
And Egypt will no longer be the hope of the children of Israel, causing sin to come to mind when their eyes are turned to them: and they will be certain that I am the Lord.
Verse in Context
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree that this verse describes the end of Israel’s reliance on Egypt and the purpose of that removal. Barnes notes that Israel’s false confidence 'brought to remembrance' their treachery and perjury against the Chaldeans, exposing their sin when they turned to Egypt for aid. The Cambridge Bible describes Egypt as both a seduction and an accuser: it led Israel to trust in itself rather than Jehovah, and 'called Israel’s iniquity to his mind' before God, citing Numbers 5:15 as a parallel. Gill adds that after Egypt was subdued by Babylon, the Jews put no more confidence in it, and their former reliance brought past idolatries to God’s memory, leading to punishment. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown concur that Egypt’s reduced power would end Israel’s trust, and the act of looking to Egypt rather than to God caused their unfaithfulness to be remembered. Wesley puts it sharply: reliance on Egypt provoked God to call their other iniquities to mind. All agree that the ultimate goal is Israel’s knowledge of Yahweh: 'then they will know that I am the Lord Yahweh.' Judgment strips away false security, exposes sin, and clears the way for genuine faith.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Egypt as accuser before God: Cambridge Bible sees Numbers 5:15 as parallel, where a memorial offering brings iniquity to memory before God, suggesting Egypt plays an accusatory role.
- Egypt as reminder to Israel: Barnes and Wesley focus on the act of looking to Egypt as the means by which Israel’s sin becomes evident to God and leads to punishment.
- God’s discipline producing knowledge: Gill and JFB see the verse as describing how the removal of a false trust (Egypt) corrects Israel’s behavior and results in recognition of Yahweh.
What is clear: Egypt will no longer be a source of trust for Israel; their reliance on Egypt will expose their sin, and this will lead Israel to acknowledge Yahweh as the Lord.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning of 'bringing iniquity to memory' | The phrase indicates that Israel's trust in Egypt exposes or recalls their sin, whether before God or to themselves. | Some see it as God recalling the sin to punish (Barnes, Wesley), while others interpret it as Egypt functioning as an accuser before God (Cambridge). The difference affects whether the emphasis is on divine justice or on Israel’s self-awareness. |
| Who 'they will know' refers to | Most commentators agree the 'they' are the house of Israel, not Egypt, because the verse is explaining the effect on Israel of Egypt's demotion. | A minority reading could include the Egyptians as also coming to know God through these events, but the clause seems directly connected to Israel's newfound understanding. |
| Historical fulfillment of Egypt's humbling | Egypt did fall to Babylon and was later reduced to a lesser power, no longer tempting Judah. | The exact timeline of the 'forty years' is debated among historians, whether literal or symbolic, but all agree the general trajectory was fulfilled. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Ezekiel ministered to the exiles in Babylon after Jerusalem’s fall in 587 BC. For decades, Judah had played a dangerous game, seeking military alliances with Egypt against the rising power of Babylon. The prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah had consistently warned against it. Isaiah pronounced woe on those who 'go down to Egypt for help' (Isaiah 31:1) and called Egypt a broken reed. Ezekiel’s oracles against Egypt (chapters 29, 32) come in the same stream. Chapter 29 opens with Pharaoh as a great dragon claiming ownership of the Nile. God declares forty years of desolation and scattering for Egypt, but afterward restores it as a lowly kingdom (verses 12, 15). Verse 16 then draws the moral for Israel: Egypt will no longer be anything to trust. Israel’s turning to Egypt for help had been a direct violation of their covenant relationship with God. Every time they leaned on Egypt, they compounded their sin, unfaithfulness to God and disobedience to the prophets. The 'iniquity to memory' refers not only to the specific sin of trusting Egypt but also to the whole catalogue of covenant-breaking that this trust revealed. When Egypt is reduced to a weak state, the temptation disappears, and Israel is forced to confront both the futility of their choices and the character of the God they neglected. The phrase 'they will know that I am the Lord Yahweh' is the refrain of Ezekiel’s prophecy: God acts in history so that his people, and sometimes the nations, recognize him as the sovereign Lord.
Textual Notes
The supplied commentaries and lexical sources note no significant textual variants for Ezekiel 29:16. The Masoretic Text is stable across manuscripts, and the meaning is clear in all major translations.
Reception History
Throughout church history, Ezekiel 29:16 has been read as a lesson in divine discipline leading to repentance. Early Christian writers saw in Egypt a figure of worldly security that must fail for believers to rely wholly on God. The Reformation tradition, reflected in commentators like Matthew Henry and John Gill, emphasized the danger of trusting in political alliances rather than God and the necessity of being stripped of such crutches. In modern evangelical circles, the verse is often applied to personal idolatry, anything that takes God’s place as our confidence. The consistent thread is that God removes false supports so that his people will know him alone. The verse also appears in discussions on the relationship between judgment and restoration; the same act that exposes sin opens the door for deeper knowledge of the Lord.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- Misplaced confidence is exposed. Israel trusted in Egypt, but God removed that option. When we rely on anything other than God, he may allow it to fail so our true loyalty comes to light.
- Sin comes to memory. The same act that seemed like prudence becomes a reminder of unfaithfulness. God does not forget covenant-breaking; he uses consequences to bring repentance.
- Knowledge of God is the goal. The outcome is not just judgment but recognition. Israel’s painful lesson leads them to say, 'You are the Lord.' Restoration includes deepened relationship.
Five-point outline
- God judges false security. Egypt will no longer be a confidence to Israel.
- Sin surfaces through consequences. Trusting Egypt brings iniquity to remembrance.
- Human alliances cannot save. Israel turned to a broken reed.
- God resets the stage. A lowly Egypt means no more temptation.
- Knowledge of Yahweh emerges. Humbled Israel knows its Lord.
Illustration hooks
- A person who over-relies on a savings account or a job, only to lose both, and then realizes where their security truly lay. The loss is bitter, but the lesson is lasting.
- A student who copies from a classmate thinking it is safe help, but when the truth comes out the whole pattern of dishonesty is exposed. The 'help' turned into an accusation.
- A company that partners with a shady investor to stay afloat, only to be sued when that investor’s misdeeds surface. The lifeline becomes the legal evidence of poor judgment.
Questions your congregation is asking
- How do I know if I am trusting in something other than God?
- Why does God sometimes allow my safety nets to collapse?
- What is the point of judgment if it only exposes sin, can’t God just forgive and move on?
Leading a Discussion
This verse comes at the end of an oracle against Egypt, but the focus is on Israel’s lesson. Small groups can explore how God’s discipline reveals both our sin and his character. The passage invites honest reflection on where we place our trust and what happens when that misplaced trust fails.
Discussion questions
- Observation: What does this verse say Egypt will no longer be for Israel? What will Egypt instead bring to mind? Who will know that God is the Lord?
- Interpretation: How does the phrase 'bringing iniquity to memory' work? Is it God remembering, or Israel realizing? (Read Numbers 5:15 and 1 Kings 17:18 for comparison.)
- Interpretation: Why does the prophet tie the removal of Egypt’s reliability directly to Israel coming to know God?
- Connection: Read Isaiah 30:1-6 and 31:1. How do these passages reinforce Ezekiel’s warning? What do they say about God’s view of foreign alliances?
- Application: In what areas of your life are you tempted to trust a metaphorical 'Egypt', something that looks strong but is not God? How might God expose that trust?
- Application: Think of a time when a failed plan or a broken relationship made you realize a deeper sin pattern. How did that experience lead you closer to God?
- Prayer: Ask God to show you where you have placed confidence in anything other than him, and thank him that even through hard lessons he is working to make himself known.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Numbers 5:15 | then the man shall bring his wife to the priest, and shall bring her offering for her: one tenth of an ephah of barley meal. He shall pour no oil on it, nor put frankincense on it, for it is a meal offering of jealousy, a meal offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to memory. |
| I Kings 17:18 | She said to Elijah, “What have I to do with you, you man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to memory, and to kill my son!” |
| Psalms 25:7 | Don’t remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions. Remember me according to your loving kindness, for your goodness’ sake, Yahweh. |
| Psalms 79:8 | Don’t hold the iniquities of our forefathers against us. Let your tender mercies speedily meet us, for we are in desperate need. |
| Isaiah 20:5 | They will be dismayed and confounded, because of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory. |
| Isaiah 30:1 | “Woe to the rebellious children”, says Yahweh, “who take counsel, but not from me; and who make an alliance, but not with my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin; |
| Isaiah 30:6 | The burden of the animals of the South. Through the land of trouble and anguish, of the lioness and the lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they carry their riches on the shoulders of young donkeys, and their treasures on the humps of camels, to an unprofitable people. |
| Isaiah 31:1 | Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, and rely on horses, and trust in chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they are very strong, but they don’t look to the Holy One of Israel, and they don’t seek Yahweh! |
Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
7 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes stresses that Israel's false confidence did not hide their sin but exposed it. Their very attempt to seek Egyptian help revealed the treachery and perjury they had already committed against the Chaldaeans. Egypt's coming ruin would finally put a stop to that whole scheme.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentator interprets "bringeth iniquity to remembrance" as meaning to accuse before God. Egypt was not only a false confidence for Israel but also an accuser that called Israel's sin to God's mind, because trusting Egypt rather than Jehovah was itself the iniquity.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Notes observe that Israel’s misplaced trust in foreign nations not only fails but also brings their past sins to remembrance. Once Israel stops looking to such allies for help, they will recognize the Lord as the true God.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill observes that after this prophecy, Israel truly stopped trusting Egypt, which had become too weak to help. Their former reliance on Egypt and its idols had brought punishment by reminding God of their sins. Now, returned from exile, Israel would worship only the true God and acknowledge Him.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB stresses that Egypt's restoration will leave it too weak for Israel to depend on, ending the pattern of trusting Egypt over God. He points to Israel's past betrayal of Nebuchadnezzar when they relied on Egypt. For him, Israel's continued turning to Egypt brings their covenant unfaithfulness back into God's memory.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry points to Egypt's pride as the root of its downfall: they claimed the Nile as their own creation, so God made their land a desolate lesson. The severity and detail of the judgment match the arrogance of taking credit for what belongs to God alone.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley observes that Israel's sinful trust in human help, specifically their reliance on Egypt, stirred God to remember all their other iniquities. When they forgot God and looked to Egypt, God brought their entire record of sin to mind against the whole house of Israel.