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.
They have been a staff of reed to ... Israel - alluding to the reeds on the banks of the Nile, on which if one leaned they broke (note Ezekiel 29:4; Isaiah 36:6, Rabshakeh said to Hezekiah, "Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it." All Israel's dependence on Egypt proved hurtful instead of beneficial (Isaiah 30:1-5).