Isaiah 36:6

Lo, thou trusteth in the staff of this broken reed— This comparison is excellently adapted to denote an ally, who is not only weak and unable to help, but also dangerous to those who rely upon him for succour; and his representing the power of Egypt to be as brittle as the reeds growing upon the banks of the Nile, (for to these doubtless the Syrian orator alludes) is a great beauty in the similitude. See Ezekiel 29:6.