Ezekiel 29:6

A staff of reed. — In Isaiah 36:6 the dependence of Judah upon Egypt is described as trust “in the staff of this broken reed;” but notwithstanding all warnings, they still trusted, especially at the time of this prophecy, and proved in their experience the truth of the Divine word. The figure is taken from the reeds, which grew abundantly on the banks of the Nile, and the statement is historically amplified in the following verse, where the reference is to be understood not of any single fact so much as of a continual, often repeated result. There should be a period in the middle of Ezekiel 29:6, the first half forming the conclusion of the previous denunciation, and the second half being closely connected with Ezekiel 29:7; Ezekiel 29:7 is parenthetical.