Ezekiel 29:6

6 Then all the people who live in Egypt will know that I am the Lord. "'Israel tried to lean on you for help, but you were like a crutch made out of a weak stalk of grass.

Ezekiel 29:6 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 29:6

And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the Lord,
&c.] Who could eject their king from his kingdom, and deliver him into the hands of his enemy; though he thought no God could, as he boastingly said, before observed: because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel;
alluding to the country of Egypt, which abounded with reeds that grew upon the banks of the river Nile, and other rivers. This signifies that either the Egyptians were weak, and could not help the people of Israel when they applied to them; or rather that they were treacherous and deceitful, and would not assist them, according to agreement; and were even pernicious and hurtful to them, as a broken reed; see ( Isaiah 36:6 ) . The Targum renders it, ``the staff of a reed broken.''

Ezekiel 29:6 In-Context

4 But I will put hooks in your jaws, and I will make the fish of the Nile stick to your sides. I will pull you up out of your rivers, with all the fish sticking to your sides.
5 I will leave you in the desert, you and all the fish from your rivers. You will fall onto the ground; you will not be picked up or buried. I have given you to the wild animals and to the birds of the sky for food.
6 Then all the people who live in Egypt will know that I am the Lord. "'Israel tried to lean on you for help, but you were like a crutch made out of a weak stalk of grass.
7 When their hands grabbed you, you splintered and tore open their shoulders. When they leaned on you, you broke and made all their backs twist.
8 "'So this is what the Lord God says: I will cause an enemy to attack you and kill your people and animals.
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.