Then all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the LORD: God’s judgment on the creature/Pharaoh will make all the people who live in Egypt recognize and acknowledge God. Here translators may say “Then all the people of Egypt will know that I am Yahweh.”

Because you have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel: This clause begins the second round of the prophecy against Egypt, which continues through verse 9a. Good News Translation makes it clear that this is a new section of the prophecy by starting a new paragraph and inserting “The LORD says.” Other languages may find this model helpful.

You have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel introduces another sin of Egypt, but it is not clear exactly who the actor is here. Instead of the pronoun you, the Hebrew has “they” (King James Version / New King James Version, New American Standard Bible, Jerusalem Bible/New Jerusalem Bible), which refers to all the people in Egypt, but the Septuagint has “you [singular],” which refers to Pharaoh alone. Some English translations use the pronoun “you” but give no indication of whether it is singular or plural (so New International Version, New Living Translation, New Century Version), while others add a footnote to show that they are following the Septuagint (so Revised Standard Version/New Revised Standard Version, English Standard Version, Revised English Bible). Still others use the pronoun “you” to fit the flow of the discourse but make it clear that the reference is to all the Egyptians; for example, Good News Translation has “you Egyptians,” Contemporary English Version says “You and your nation,” and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates “Egypt, you.” This is by far the best solution.

God describes the Egyptians as a staff of reed. A staff is a “walking stick” (New International Reader’s Version) or “crutch” (New Century Version) that people use to help them walk or stand. In this context the Hebrew word for reed may refer to the papyrus reed that grew in the Nile Delta (so New International Reader’s Version), or to other common reeds that grew in Egypt. Like bamboo, such reeds are hollow and weak, not strong enough to support the weight of a person who leans on them. That is why some translators have rendered a staff of reed as “a weak stick” (Good News Translation) or “a crutch made out of a weak stalk of grass” (New Century Version). These renderings are acceptable in those languages where reeds are unknown. The sin of the Egyptians was that they had been a staff of reed for the Israelites, that is, the Egyptians did not provide support for the Israelites when they needed it to fight against enemies like the Assyrians and Babylonians.

When they grasped you with the hand, that is, when the Israelites needed the support of the Egyptians, as when a man takes hold of a walking stick to lean on to help him stand or walk, you broke, that is, the Egyptians did not support the Israelites, just as a weak walking stick does not support the weight of a person who leans on it. When the walking stick broke, it tore all their shoulders, that is, it “pierced their armpits” (Good News Translation; similarly New Living Translation, Revised English Bible). The picture here is of a person leaning on a walking stick, which breaks under his weight, and as the person falls, the broken point of the stick gashes him under the arm. Some translations follow the Septuagint and read “hands” instead of shoulders; for example, Jerusalem Bible and New Jerusalem Bible say “cut their hands all over” (similarly New American Standard Bible, Moffatt). This makes excellent sense because a broken walking stick is more likely to cut the user’s hand before his shoulder, but the Hebrew makes perfectly good sense as well. Therefore it is best to follow the Hebrew.

And when they leaned upon you, you broke: This second part of verse 7 repeats the same ideas as the first part, just making explicit that the reason for taking hold of the walking stick was to lean on it for support.

And made all their loins to shake: Revised Standard Version changes the Hebrew text here, which reads “and you caused all their loins to stand.” The meaning of the Hebrew seems quite the opposite from what is expected. In fact, no sense can be made of it, so almost all translators look for an alternative. Most likely, two similar Hebrew words have been confused, involving just two consonants changing places. The Hebrew word himʿadta (“you caused to shake”) probably has been confused with the word haʿamadta (“you caused to stand”). Revised Standard Version renders the change quite literally (also New American Standard Bible, English Standard Version, Jerusalem Bible), while other translations are more idiomatic with “made all their legs unsteady” (New Revised Standard Version; similarly New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), “making all their limbs give way” (New Jerusalem Bible; similarly Revised English Bible), “made them wrench their backs” (Good News Translation; similarly New International Version), “made all their backs twist” (New Century Version), “their backs were broken” (New International Reader’s Version), “her back was thrown out of joint” (New Living Translation), and “made all their backs quiver” (New King James Version ). A rendering that implies real physical damage (for example, Good News Translation, New International Reader’s Version, New Living Translation) is probably going too far, although it may be justified in a translation that maintains the picture of the broken walking stick to the end. More likely the meaning of this changed clause is metaphorical, relating to the loss of a person’s courage and strength (compare Psa 69.23). The Hebrew word for loins refers literally to the part of a person’s body between the ribs and hips (see 1.27), but for the Hebrews it was seen as the seat of bodily strength. A possible translation for made all their loins to shake is “caused them to lose courage [or, to despair].”

Translators may approach verses 6b-7 in two ways. One way is to retain as much of the picture of the breaking walking stick as possible. A model for this approach is:

• “When the Israelites asked you Egyptians to help them [against their enemies], you were like a weak walking stick. 7 When they took hold of you and leaned on you, you snapped in half. As a result, they received deep gashes under their arms and they hurt their backs.

Other languages will have to make the meaning of the picture explicit. A model for this approach is:

• “When the Israelites asked you Egyptians to help them [against their enemies], you were unable to help them. 7 When they relied on you, you let them down and caused them much damage. When you did not help them, you left them weak and defenseless.

Another possible model is:

• “Israel tried to turn to you for help, but you were like a crutch made out of a weak stalk of grass. 7 When they reached out to you, you broke and their shoulders were injured. They tried to lean on you, but you broke and caused them to be greatly afraid.

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .