Charles Ellicott Commentary Ezekiel 29:18

"Son of man, Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyre: every head was made bald, and every shoulder was worn; yet had he no wages, nor his army, from Tyre, for the service that he had served against it." — Ezekiel 29:18 (ASV)

Yet had he no wages—The siege of Tyre is here represented as a service to God, for which Nebuchadnezzar had not yet received his reward. This is quite in accordance with the whole Scriptural representation of that monarch, as a man raised up to execute God’s judgments. He was himself unconscious of this, and yet did that which had been foretold—a striking instance that “there is a God in history.” It has been argued from this verse, and from the fact that there is no special mention in history of the result of the siege of Tyre, that Nebuchadnezzar failed in its capture; but all that is meant is that he failed to obtain any considerable booty from it, the Tyrians having abundant warning and opportunity to convey away their valuables by sea.

This St. Jerome expressly asserts to have been done by them, and he further describes the method of the capture of the city by the same means afterwards used by Alexander, that of building a mole from the mainland to the island; thus explaining how in the besieging army every head was made bald, and every shoulder was peeled (Ezekiel 29:18) by the bearing of burdens for the structure. Berosus expressly testifies that Nebuchadnezzar “conquered all Syria and Phoenicia” (Josephus, Contra Apionem, 1.21); and Josephus also cites Philostratus, Megasthenes, and Diocles as mentioning Nebuchadnezzar’s exploits and the siege of Tyre in a way that, while they do not directly mention its capture, they certainly imply it (see Josephus, Contra Apionem; and Antiquities of the Jews 10.11.1). Besides, it is inconceivable that Ezekiel, who long survived that siege, should have left that prophecy on record if the event was otherwise than as he predicted.