“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre. Every head was made bald and every shoulder made raw. But he and his army received no wages from Tyre for the labor they expended on it.
Nebuchadnezzar made his army labor strenuously against Tyre, yet Tyre yielded no wages for that work.
This verse explains the problem of unrewarded imperial labor.
17In the twenty-seventh year, on the first day of the first month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 18“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre. Every head was made bald and every shoulder made raw. But he and his army received no wages from Tyre for the labor they expended on it. 19Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who will carry off its wealth, seize its spoil, and remove its plunder. This will be the wages for his army. 20I have given him the land of Egypt as the reward for his labor, because it was done for Me, declares the Lord GOD. 21In that day I will cause a horn to sprout for the house of Israel, and I will open your mouth to speak among them. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”