And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon: In contrast to breaking the arms of the Egyptian king, God “will make the arms of the king of Babylonia strong” (Good News Translation), that is, he will give him strength. The king of Babylon refers to Nebuchadnezzar (see verse 10).

And put my sword in his hand: God will also give the Babylonian king his sword, that is, he will give him the strength to fight.

But I will break the arms of Pharaoh: See verses 21-22.

The figurative meaning of the references to arms, hand and sword is that God will make the Babylonian king strong militarily and politically, so that the Babylonians will defeat the Egyptians and destroy their power.

And he will groan before him like a man mortally wounded: The Egyptian king will groan, that is, “moan in pain” (Contemporary English Version), before the Babylonian king. A man mortally wounded refers to a person who has been severely wounded and is about to die. New International Reader’s Version renders this whole clause as “And he will groan in front of Nebuchadnezzar. He will cry out like someone dying from his wounds.”

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 .