I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon: See the previous verse.

But the arms of Pharaoh shall fall: Because God breaks the arms of the Egyptian king, they will fall; that is, “drop” (New American Bible), “fall limp” (New International Version), “fall useless to his sides” (New Living Translation). This description completes the picture of a man with two broken arms, unable to do anything, so some translations focus on his weakness and helplessness here by saying “I will weaken him” (Good News Translation), “I will also make [him] … powerless” (Contemporary English Version), or “But the arms of Pharaoh will not be able to help Egypt” (New International Reader’s Version).

And they shall know that I am the LORD: See Ezek 30.8. This recognition formula occurs again at the end of the next verse. The defeated Egyptians will recognize God when the Babylonians defeat them and send them into exile. It may be helpful in some languages to render the pronoun they as “the Egyptians.”

When I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon: See the previous verse.

He shall stretch it out against the land of Egypt means the Babylonian king will fight a war against Egypt. Sword represents warfare in this context (see Ezek 30.4).

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 .