Ezekiel 29:6

6 All the people of Egypt will know that I am the LORD, for to Israel you were just a staff made of reeds.

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 I will put hooks in your jaws and drag you out on the land with fish sticking to your scales.

5 I will leave you and all your fish stranded in the wilderness to die. You will lie unburied on the open ground, for I have given you as food to the wild animals and birds.

6 All the people of Egypt will know that I am the LORD, for to Israel you were just a staff made of reeds.

7 When Israel leaned on you, you splintered and broke and stabbed her in the armpit. When she put her weight on you, you collapsed, and her legs gave way.

8 “Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will bring an army against you, O Egypt, and destroy both people and animals.