Ezekiel 29:7

7 Quand ils t'ont saisi par la main, tu t'es rompu, et tu leur as déchiré toute l'épaule; quand ils se sont appuyés sur toi, tu t'es brisé, et tu as rendu leurs reins immobiles.

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 Je te jetterai au désert, toi et tous les poissons de tes fleuves; tu tomberas à la surface des champs, tu ne seras ni recueilli, ni ramassé; je te livrerai en pâture aux bêtes de la terre et aux oiseaux des cieux.
6 Et tous les habitants de l'Égypte sauront que je suis l'Éternel, parce qu'ils n'ont été qu'un roseau comme appui pour la maison d'Israël.
7 Quand ils t'ont saisi par la main, tu t'es rompu, et tu leur as déchiré toute l'épaule; quand ils se sont appuyés sur toi, tu t'es brisé, et tu as rendu leurs reins immobiles.
8 C'est pourquoi, ainsi a dit le Seigneur, l'Éternel: Voici, je ferai venir contre toi l'épée, et j'exterminerai de ton sein les hommes et les bêtes.
9 Et le pays d'Égypte deviendra une solitude désolée, et ils sauront que je suis l'Éternel, parce que Pharaon a dit: "Le fleuve est à moi; je l'ai fait. "
The Ostervald translation is in the public domain.