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Ezekiel 29:7

in Ezekiel 29

When Israel took hold of you with their hands, you splintered, tearing all their shoulders; when they leaned on you, you broke, and their backs were wrenched.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

When they took hold of thee by thy hand, thou didst break, and didst rend all their shoulders; and when they leaned upon thee, thou brakest, and madest all their loins to be at a stand.

KJV

When they took hold of thee by thy hand, thou didst break, and rend all their shoulder: and when they leaned upon thee, thou brakest, and madest all their loins to be at a stand.

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This verse in Ezekiel 29

Commentary

7 notes on this verse

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Ezekiel · Written before 420.

(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).

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.

This site's exposition

when they leaned on you, you broke

Hoshea, the last king of Israel, sent to So king of Egypt for help against Assyria in 2 Kings 17, and Samaria fell. Zedekiah trusted Egypt against Babylon, and Jerusalem was about to fall. Twice the reed gave way.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

When they took hold of thee by thy hand,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

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

So Egypt was continually proving to Israel, to Jehoiakim and to Zedekiah. The tenses are present not past. To be at a stand - Others, “to totter.”

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

MAURER somewhat similarly (referring to a kindred Arabic form), "Thou hast stricken both their loins." FAIRBAIRN, not so well, "Thou lettest all their loins stand," that is, by themselves, bereft of the support which they looked for from thee.

The words behind it

15 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • בְּתָפְשָׂ֨םwhen seized they

    betafesamH8610 →65 times

  • בְּךָ֤<in> you

    bekha

  • בַכַּף֙by the hand

    vakafkhaH3709 →192 times

  • תֵּר֔וֹץyou were crushed

    terotzH7533 →

  • וּבָקַעְתָּ֥and you broke

    uvaka'taH1234 →51 times

  • לָהֶ֖םof them

    lahem

  • כָּל־every

    kol-H3605 →5413 times

  • כָּתֵ֑ףshoulder

    katefH3802 →67 times

  • וּבְהִֽשָּׁעֲנָ֤םand when leaned they

    uvehishaanamH8172 →

  • עָלֶ֙יךָ֙on you

    ʾaleikhaH5921 →5755 times

  • תִּשָּׁבֵ֔רyou were broken

    tishaverH7665 →147 times

  • וְהַעֲמַדְתָּ֥and you caused to stand

    vehaamadtaH5976 →

  • לָהֶ֖םof them

    lahem

  • כָּל־all

    kol-H3605 →5413 times

  • מָתְנָֽיִם׃ סhips

    matenayimH4975 →47 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

10 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

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 in him.5 worksEzekiel 17:15–17But this king rebelled against Babylon by sending his envoys to Egypt to ask for horses and a large army. Will he flourish? Will the one who does such things escape? Can he break a covenant and yet escape?’4 worksPsalms 118:9It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.4 worksJeremiah 17:5–6This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes the flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD.3 worksJeremiah 2:36How unstable you are, constantly changing your ways! You will be disappointed by Egypt just as you were by Assyria.3 worksPsalms 118:8–9It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.2 works
The other 4 cross-references, with their words ▾
Proverbs 25:19Like a broken tooth or a foot out of joint is confidence in a faithless man in time of trouble.2 worksJeremiah 37:5–11Pharaoh’s army had left Egypt, and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard the report, they withdrew from Jerusalem.2 worksPsalms 146:3–4Put not your trust in princes, in mortal man, who cannot save.2 worksJob 16:12I was at ease, but He shattered me; He seized me by the neck and crushed me. He has set me up as His target;2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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 36:6

    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…

    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 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 20:5–6

      Those who made Cush their hope and Egypt their boast will be dismayed and ashamed.

    • Jeremiah 37:5–8

      Pharaoh’s army had left Egypt, and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard the report, they withdrew from Jerusalem.

    • 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.

  • Through

    Proverbs 25:19

    Like a broken tooth or a foot out of joint is confidence in a faithless man in time of trouble.

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 36:6

      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…

    • Job 6:14–20

      A despairing man should have the kindness of his friend, even if he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.

    • 2 Timothy 4:16

      At my first defense, no one stood with me, but everyone deserted me. May it not be charged against them.

Where this verse is studied

On this page

Studies2

About Ezekiel

Ezekiel’s Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Ezekiel’s Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Ezekiel: the study guide →Read Ezekiel 29 →

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

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