Ezekiel 29:6

6 And all the dwellers of Egypt shall know, that I am the Lord (And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know, that I am the Lord). For that that thou were a staff of (a) reed to the house of Israel,

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 And I shall set a bridle in thy cheeks, and I shall glue the fishes of thy floods to thy scales; and I shall draw thee out of the midst of thy floods, and all thy fishes shall cleave to thy scales. (And I shall put a bridle on thy cheeks, or a hook in thy jaw, and I shall glue the fish of the River to thy scales; and I shall draw thee out of the midst of the River, and all thy fish shall cleave to thy scales.)

5 And I shall cast thee forth into desert, (thee) and all the fishes of thy flood; on the face of (the) earth thou shalt fall down, thou shalt not be gathered [up], neither shalt be gathered together (to thy people); to the beasts of (the) earth, and to the volatiles of the air, I gave thee to be devoured. (And I shall throw thee forth into the wilderness, thee and all the fish of thy River; thou shalt fall down upon the face of the earth, thou shalt not be gathered up, nor shalt thou be gathered to thy people, or buried; I shall give thee to be devoured by the beasts of the field, and by the birds of the air.)

6 And all the dwellers of Egypt shall know, that I am the Lord (And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know, that I am the Lord). For that that thou were a staff of (a) reed to the house of Israel,

7 (and) when they took (hold of) thee with (their) hand(s), and thou were broken (thou were broken), and rentest each shoulder of them, and when they rested on thee, thou were made less, and thou hast loosed, either discomforted, all the reins of them;

8 therefore the Lord God saith these things, Lo! I shall bring a sword on thee, and I shall slay of thee man and beast; (and so the Lord God saith these things, Lo! I shall bring a sword against thee, and I shall kill thy people and thy beasts;)