Ezekiel 29:7

7 When they took hold of you with the hand, you snapped, and you split their every shoulder. And when they leaned on you, you broke, and you caused all of their loins to wobble."

Ezekiel 29:7 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 29:7

When they took hold of thee by thy hand
When the Israelites entered into an alliance and confederacy with the Egyptians, called for their assistance according to treaty, and put their confidence in them: thou didst break and rend all their shoulder;
as a reed which a man puts under his armhole, and leans upon, and it breaks under him, the splinters run into the flesh up to the very shoulder, and tear the flesh to pieces; so, through Zedekiah's trusting to the king of Egypt, he rebelled against the king of Babylon, which brought on his ruin, and the destruction of his kingdom: and when they leaned upon thee thou brakest, and madest all their loins
to be at a stand;
when they put their confidence in the king of Egypt, and sent to him for help when besieged by the king of Babylon, and he failed them, they were obliged to raise up themselves, as a man is forced to do when his staff breaks under him, whose loins before were bowed, but now erects himself, and stands and walks as well as he can without it; so the Jews were forced to stand upon their own legs, and exert all the force they had, and make all the efforts they could against the king of Babylon, being left in the lurch by the king of Egypt; in which, though they were rightly served for their vain confidence and not trusting in the Lord, yet the treachery of the Egyptians was resented by him, as follows:

Ezekiel 29:7 In-Context

5 And I will fling you [to] the desert, you and all the fish of your Nile streams. On the surface of the field you will fall; you will not be gathered, and you will not be assembled. To the animals of the field and to the birds of the heavens I will give you as food.

6 And all of the inhabitants of Egypt will know that I [am] Yahweh, because of their being a staff of reed for the house of Israel.

7 When they took hold of you with the hand, you snapped, and you split their every shoulder. And when they leaned on you, you broke, and you caused all of their loins to wobble."

8 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Look! I [am] bringing on you [a] sword, and I will cut off from you human and animal.

9 And the land of Egypt will become [a] desolation and ruins, and they will know that I [am] Yahweh because he said, 'The Nile [is] {mine}! And I, I made [it]!'