Ezekiel 29:6
in Ezekiel 29Then all the people of Egypt will know that I am the LORD. For you were only a staff of reeds to the house of Israel.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am Jehovah, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel.
KJV
And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the Lord, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel.
⋯
This verse in Ezekiel 29
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAnd all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the Lord,.... 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 site's exposition
a staff of reeds to the house of Israel
on Ezekiel 29:6-7
The charge against Egypt is stated, they have been a staff of reed, a support that wounds the hand that leans on it. Verse 7 makes the wound literal. Henry reads the reed as a deliberate contrast with the rock Israel was meant to lean on instead.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 3 onwards) Behold, I am coming to you, Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, the great dragon, who lies (or sits) in the midst of your rivers, and you say: The river is mine, and I have made it for myself (or them). And I will put a bit (or a snare) in your jaws, and I will stick the fish of your rivers to your scales (or feathers), and I will draw you out of the midst of your rivers; and all your fish will cling to your scales (or feathers).
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
It was indeed the folly of Israel to trust them, and they were well enough served when they were deceived in them. God was righteous in suffering them to be so. But that is no excuse at all for the Egyptians' falsehood and treachery, nor shall it secure them from the judgments of that God who is and will be the avenger of all such wrongs.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
They have been a staff of reed - An inefficient and faithless ally. The Israelites expected assistance from them when Nebuchadnezzar came against Jerusalem; and they made a feint to help them, but retired when Nebuchadnezzar went against them. Thus were the Jews deceived and ultimately ruined, see Eze 29:7.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Staff of reed - The “reed” was especially appropriate to Egypt as the natural product of its river.
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְיָֽדְעוּ֙ | veyadeu | and they will know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| יֹשְׁבֵ֣י | yoshevei | [the] inhabitants of | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| מִצְרַ֔יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| כִּ֖י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֲנִ֣י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | [am] Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| יַ֧עַן | yaan | because | H3282 → | 99 times |
| הֱיוֹתָ֛ם | heyotam | have been they | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| מִשְׁעֶ֥נֶת | mishenet | a staff of | H4938 → | |
| קָנֶ֖ה | kaneh | reed | H7070 → | 62 times |
| לְבֵ֥ית | leveit | for [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
וְיָֽדְעוּ֙and they will know
veyadeuH3045 →945 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
יֹשְׁבֵ֣י[the] inhabitants of
yosheveiH3427 →1079 times
מִצְרַ֔יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
כִּ֖יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
אֲנִ֣יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
יְהוָ֑ה[am] Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
יַ֧עַןbecause
yaanH3282 →99 times
הֱיוֹתָ֛םhave been they
heyotamH1961 →3559 times
מִשְׁעֶ֥נֶתa staff of
mishenetH4938 →
קָנֶ֖הreed
kanehH7070 →62 times
לְבֵ֥יתfor [the] house of
leveitH1004 →2046 times
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 36:6Look now, you are trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff that will pierce the hand of anyone who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 29:6–7
Then all the people of Egypt will know that I am the LORD. For you were only a staff of reeds to the house of Israel.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Kings 17:4
But the king of Assyria discovered that Hoshea had conspired to send envoys to King So of Egypt, and that he had not paid tribute to the king of Assyria as in previous years.…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Kings 18:21
Look now, you are trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff that will pierce the hand of anyone who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust…
- Isaiah 30:1–7
“Woe to the rebellious children,” declares the LORD, “to those who carry out a plan that is not Mine, who form an alliance, but against My will, heaping up sin upon sin.
- Isaiah 31:3
But the Egyptians are men, not God; their horses are flesh, not spirit. When the LORD stretches out His hand, the helper will stumble, and the one he helps will fall; both will perish…
- Ezekiel 29:6–7
Through
Exodus 9:14Otherwise, I will send all My plagues against you and your officials and your people, so you may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth.
it leads to
- Exodus 8:10
“Tomorrow,” Pharaoh answered. “May it be as you say,” Moses replied, “so that you may know that there is no one like the LORD our God.
- Exodus 8:10
Through
2 Kings 18:21Look now, you are trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff that will pierce the hand of anyone who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust…
it leads to
- Isaiah 30:7
Egypt’s help is futile and empty; therefore I have called her Rahab Who Sits Still.
- Isaiah 30:2–3
They set out to go down to Egypt without asking My advice, to seek shelter under Pharaoh’s protection and take refuge in Egypt’s shade.
- Isaiah 30:7
Where this verse is studied
About Ezekiel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.