King James Version
Ezekiel 17
24 verses with commentary
The Two Eagles and the Vine
And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
This prophetic formula marks a new oracle. The repetition of 'the word of the LORD came' throughout Ezekiel emphasizes prophetic authority—these aren't Ezekiel's opinions but divine revelation. True prophecy never originates with human will (2 Peter 1:21) but comes by God's initiative.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 44 Jr 44:1-30. Jeremiah Reproves the Jews for Their Idolatry in Egypt, and Denounces God's Judgments on Them and Egypt Alike.
**1. Migdol--**meaning a "tower." A city east of Egypt, towards the Red Sea (Ex 14:2; Nu 33:7).
**Noph--**Memphis, now Cairo (Jr 2:16).
**Pathros--**Upper Egypt (Is 11:11).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
A parable relative to the Jewish nation. (Ezek 17:1-10) to which an explanation is added. (Ezek 17:11-21) A direct promise of the Messiah. (Ezek 17:22-24)
**Verses 1-10** Mighty conquerors are aptly likened to birds or beasts of prey, but their destructive passions are overruled to forward God's designs. Those who depart from God, only vary their crimes by changing one carnal conf...
Read full commentary →Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel;
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KJV Study Commentary
Riddles and parables were common prophetic teaching methods that required spiritual discernment to understand (Matthew 13:10-17). The Hebrew 'mashal' encompasses proverbs, parables, and allegories. This teaching method reveals truth to receptive hearts while concealing it from the rebellious, demonstrating divine wisdom in communication.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **A riddle . . .** **a parable.**—What the prophet has to say is called a riddle as well as a parable, because there is something in it recondite and obscure—something which, until it is explained, should excite the minds of the people to guess its meaning.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2. evil ... upon Jerusalem--**If I spared not My own sacred city, much less shall ye be safe in Egypt, which I loathe.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
A parable relative to the Jewish nation. (Ezek 17:1-10) to which an explanation is added. (Ezek 17:11-21) A direct promise of the Messiah. (Ezek 17:22-24)
**Verses 1-10** Mighty conquerors are aptly likened to birds or beasts of prey, but their destructive passions are overruled to forward God's designs. Those who depart from God, only vary their crimes by changing one carnal conf...
Read full commentary →And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; A great eagle with great wings, longwinged , full of feathers, which had divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar: divers: Heb. embroidering
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KJV Study Commentary
The 'great eagle' represents Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Eagles symbolize swift, powerful military conquest throughout Scripture (Deuteronomy 28:49, Jeremiah 48:40). Lebanon's cedars represent nobility and kingship, particularly David's dynasty. This parable depicts Nebuchadnezzar taking Judah's king (Jehoiachin) to Babylon in 597 BC.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **A great eagle with great wings.**—In the original “*the *great eagle.” This is explained in Ezekiel 17:12 of “the king of Babylon.” Nebuchadnezzar is compared to an eagle also in Jeremiah 48:40; Jeremiah 49:22; and Cyrus to a bird of prey in Isaiah 46:11. He has great and long wings, because he has already flown victoriously over wide-spread lands; and he is “full of feathers which had diver...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. they went--**implying perverse assiduity: they went out of their way to burn incense (one species of idolatry put for all kinds), &c.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
A parable relative to the Jewish nation. (Ezek 17:1-10) to which an explanation is added. (Ezek 17:11-21) A direct promise of the Messiah. (Ezek 17:22-24)
**Verses 1-10** Mighty conquerors are aptly likened to birds or beasts of prey, but their destructive passions are overruled to forward God's designs. Those who depart from God, only vary their crimes by changing one carnal conf...
Read full commentary →He cropped off the top of his young twigs, and carried it into a land of traffick; he set it in a city of merchants.
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KJV Study Commentary
The 'topmost branch' refers to King Jehoiachin and Judah's nobility deported to Babylon. The 'city of merchants' is Babylon, renowned for international trade. God uses pagan empires to accomplish His purposes, demonstrating that all history serves His redemptive plan. Even judgment contains seeds of future restoration.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **Into a land of traffick.**—Literally, *a land of Canaan, *the word being sometimes used for merchant or merchandise, as in Hosea 12:8 (Engl. 7); Isaiah 23:8; Zephaniah 1:11. The parallelism of the next clause shows that this is its meaning here. Babylon has already been called Canaan in Ezekiel 16:29, probably from its commercial character.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
4. (2Ch 36:15).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
A parable relative to the Jewish nation. (Ezek 17:1-10) to which an explanation is added. (Ezek 17:11-21) A direct promise of the Messiah. (Ezek 17:22-24)
**Verses 1-10** Mighty conquerors are aptly likened to birds or beasts of prey, but their destructive passions are overruled to forward God's designs. Those who depart from God, only vary their crimes by changing one carnal conf...
Read full commentary →He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful field; he placed it by great waters, and set it as a willow tree. planted: Heb. put it in a field of seed
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KJV Study Commentary
The 'seed of the land' represents Zedekiah, whom Nebuchadnezzar installed as vassal king. Like a plant in rich soil, Zedekiah was given opportunity to thrive under Babylonian oversight. This arrangement could have brought stability, but Zedekiah's rebellion destroyed it. God's sovereignty doesn't eliminate human responsibility.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **Of the seed of the land.**—In place of the captive Jehoiachin Nebuchadnezzar did not set over the land an eastern satrap, but appointed a native prince, Zedekiah, the uncle of Jehoiachin. He was “planted,” not like the tall cedar on the mountain, but yet like “a willow tree by great waters” where it might flourish in its degree (see Ezekiel 17:14).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
A parable relative to the Jewish nation. (Ezek 17:1-10) to which an explanation is added. (Ezek 17:11-21) A direct promise of the Messiah. (Ezek 17:22-24)
**Verses 1-10** Mighty conquerors are aptly likened to birds or beasts of prey, but their destructive passions are overruled to forward God's designs. Those who depart from God, only vary their crimes by changing one carnal conf...
Read full commentary →And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and the roots thereof were under him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs.
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KJV Study Commentary
The 'low-spreading vine' describes the vassal kingdom relationship—Judah would survive but remain subordinate to Babylon. This was God's prescribed arrangement (Jeremiah 27:1-15). Accepting humble circumstances under God's sovereignty is sometimes the path of obedience, though pride rebels against subordination.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **A spreading vine of low stature.**—Had Zedekiah been faithful to his oath and allegiance to Nebuchadnezzar and to his higher allegiance to God, Israel might have been fruitful and prosperous as a dependent kingdom.
**Whose branches turned towards him**.—Better, *That its branches might turn towards him, and its roots might be under him. *This was Nebuchadnezzar’s object—to make of Israel a f...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
A parable relative to the Jewish nation. (Ezek 17:1-10) to which an explanation is added. (Ezek 17:11-21) A direct promise of the Messiah. (Ezek 17:22-24)
**Verses 1-10** Mighty conquerors are aptly likened to birds or beasts of prey, but their destructive passions are overruled to forward God's designs. Those who depart from God, only vary their crimes by changing one carnal conf...
Read full commentary →There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers: and, behold, this vine did bend her roots toward him, and shot forth her branches toward him, that he might water it by the furrows of her plantation.
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse introduces the second great eagle in Ezekiel's parable, representing Egypt under Pharaoh Hophra. The vine (Judah/Zedekiah) treacherously 'bent her roots' toward Egypt, violating the covenant with Babylon. The Hebrew verb shathal ('transplant' or 'shoot forth') emphasizes active, deliberate action—Zedekiah wasn't passively drifting but actively seeking Egyptian alliance. This political m...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **Another great eagle.**—This is explained in Ezekiel 17:15 of Pharaoh. He was also powerful, ruling a populous land, but is not described as with the variegated feathers of Ezekiel 17:3, because he did not rule over the same diversity of people with Nebuchadnezzar. Zedekiah, while owing his position to Nebuchadnezzar, treacherously sought the aid of Egypt, as mentioned in Ezekiel 17:15, and m...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7. now--**after so many warnings.
**commit ... this ... evil against your souls--**(Jr 7:19; Nu 16:38; Pr 8:36). It is not God whom you injure, but yourselves.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
A parable relative to the Jewish nation. (Ezek 17:1-10) to which an explanation is added. (Ezek 17:11-21) A direct promise of the Messiah. (Ezek 17:22-24)
**Verses 1-10** Mighty conquerors are aptly likened to birds or beasts of prey, but their destructive passions are overruled to forward God's designs. Those who depart from God, only vary their crimes by changing one carnal conf...
Read full commentary →It was planted in a good soil by great waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a goodly vine. soil: Heb. field
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KJV Study Commentary
God's rhetorical question emphasizes the vine's already favorable position—it was 'planted in a good soil by great waters.' Babylon had treated Judah reasonably well as a vassal state. The vine could become 'a goodly vine,' bearing fruit for God even in subjugation. This reveals: God's purposes can be fulfilled under difficult circumstances. Zedekiah's rebellion stemmed from pride, not oppression....
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8. in ... Egypt--**where they polluted themselves to ingratiate themselves with the Egyptians.
**ye be gone--**not compelled by fear, but of your own accord, when I forbade you, and when it was free to you to stay in Judea.
**that ye might cut yourselves off--**They, as it were, purposely courted their own ruin.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
A parable relative to the Jewish nation. (Ezek 17:1-10) to which an explanation is added. (Ezek 17:11-21) A direct promise of the Messiah. (Ezek 17:22-24)
**Verses 1-10** Mighty conquerors are aptly likened to birds or beasts of prey, but their destructive passions are overruled to forward God's designs. Those who depart from God, only vary their crimes by changing one carnal conf...
Read full commentary →Say thou, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Shall it prosper? shall he not pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof, that it wither? it shall wither in all the leaves of her spring, even without great power or many people to pluck it up by the roots thereof.
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KJV Study Commentary
God's questions demand contemplation of rebellion's futility: 'Shall it prosper?' The answer: emphatic no. Judgment is comprehensive—Babylon 'shall pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof.' The Hebrew yabesh ('wither') denotes complete death. Critically, this destruction requires no 'great power'—Babylon's victory is divinely decreed. The principle: resisting God's sovereign purpo...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **Of her spring.**—Our translators probably intended by this word, as they evidently did in Psalm 65:10, “her springing forth,” her growth; but it would be’ better now to substitute the word *growth,*
**Pluck it up by the roots.**—The word here is a different one from the “pull up “in the earlier part of the verse, and has rather the sense of raise up from the roots.” The whole clause would be...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
9. Have you forgotten how the wickednesses of your fathers were the source of the greatest calamities to you?
**their wives--**The Jews' worldly queens were great promoters of idolatry (1Ki 11:1-8; 15:13; 16:31).
**the land of Judah--**They defiled the land which was holy unto God.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
A parable relative to the Jewish nation. (Ezek 17:1-10) to which an explanation is added. (Ezek 17:11-21) A direct promise of the Messiah. (Ezek 17:22-24)
**Verses 1-10** Mighty conquerors are aptly likened to birds or beasts of prey, but their destructive passions are overruled to forward God's designs. Those who depart from God, only vary their crimes by changing one carnal conf...
Read full commentary →Yea, behold, being planted, shall it prosper? shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind toucheth it? it shall wither in the furrows where it grew.
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KJV Study Commentary
Even transplanted, the vine won't prosper. The 'east wind' (Hebrew qadiym)—scorching desert wind representing Babylon—will cause withering (Jeremiah 4:11, Hosea 13:15). It will 'utterly wither, when the east wind toucheth it'—mere contact suffices for destruction. Theologically: seeking refuge apart from God transforms potential sanctuaries into places of judgment.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**10. They ... you--**The third person puts them to a distance from God on account of their alienating themselves from Him. The second person implies that God formerly had directly addressed them.
**humbled--**literally, "contrite" (Psa 51:17).
**neither ... feared--**(Pr 28:14).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
A parable relative to the Jewish nation. (Ezek 17:1-10) to which an explanation is added. (Ezek 17:11-21) A direct promise of the Messiah. (Ezek 17:22-24)
**Verses 1-10** Mighty conquerors are aptly likened to birds or beasts of prey, but their destructive passions are overruled to forward God's designs. Those who depart from God, only vary their crimes by changing one carnal conf...
Read full commentary →Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
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KJV Study Commentary
'The word of the LORD came unto me' marks transition from parable to interpretation. This phrase appears over 50 times in Ezekiel, authenticating divine revelation. The shift demonstrates God's pastoral concern that His people understand judgment's reasons. Unlike cryptic pagan divination, biblical prophecy clarifies God's purposes.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **Moreover the word of the Lord.**—The form of expression leaves it uncertain whether the explanation of the parable was given at the same time with the parable itself, or whether, as is more probable, a little time was suffered to elapse, during which it should be “a riddle” to the people that they might be the more attentive to its meaning when given to them.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**11. Behold, I will set my face against you for evil--**(See on Le 17:10).
**and to cut off all Judah--**that is, all the idolaters; Jr 44:28 shows that some returned to Judea (compare Jr 42:17).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 11-21** The parable is explained, and the particulars of the history of the Jewish nation at that time may be traced. Zedekiah had been ungrateful to his benefactor, which is a sin against God. In every solemn oath, God is appealed to as a witness of the sincerity of him that swears. Truth is a debt owing to all men. If the professors of the true religion deal treacherously with those of ...
Read full commentary →Say now to the rebellious house, Know ye not what these things mean? tell them, Behold, the king of Babylon is come to Jerusalem, and hath taken the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and led them with him to Babylon;
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KJV Study Commentary
'Know ye not what these things mean?' implies they should have understood from the parable's symbolism. Their spiritual dullness reflects the hardening Isaiah prophesied (Matthew 13:13-15). 'Rebellious house' (Hebrew bayit meri) appears 15 times in Ezekiel, characterizing Israel's fundamental disposition. God's provision of interpretation demonstrates patience even with rebels.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 11-21** The parable is explained, and the particulars of the history of the Jewish nation at that time may be traced. Zedekiah had been ungrateful to his benefactor, which is a sin against God. In every solemn oath, God is appealed to as a witness of the sincerity of him that swears. Truth is a debt owing to all men. If the professors of the true religion deal treacherously with those of ...
Read full commentary →And hath taken of the king's seed, and made a covenant with him, and hath taken an oath of him: he hath also taken the mighty of the land: taken an: Heb. brought him to an oath
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KJV Study Commentary
Nebuchadnezzar 'took of the king's seed' (Zedekiah), 'made a covenant' (vassal treaty), and 'hath taken an oath.' The Hebrew berith ('covenant') indicates formal, binding agreement. Ancient treaties were sworn before deities, making later rebellion oath-breaking before God. Deporting leaders decapitated Judah's rebellion capacity.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 11-21** The parable is explained, and the particulars of the history of the Jewish nation at that time may be traced. Zedekiah had been ungrateful to his benefactor, which is a sin against God. In every solemn oath, God is appealed to as a witness of the sincerity of him that swears. Truth is a debt owing to all men. If the professors of the true religion deal treacherously with those of ...
Read full commentary →That the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping of his covenant it might stand. but: Heb. to keep his covenant, to stand to it
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KJV Study Commentary
'That the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift itself up'—God's remedial intent. 'Base' (Hebrew shaphal) means 'brought low,' not destroyed. Judah's humiliation would teach dependence on God rather than political power. 'By keeping of his covenant it might stand'—paradox: faithful submission to Babylon would demonstrate trust in God's sovereignty.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **That the kingdom might be base.**—(See the Notes on Ezekiel 17:6.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**14. none ... shall escape ... that they should return, &c.--**The Jews had gone to Egypt with the idea that a return to Judea, which they thought hopeless to their brethren in Babylon, would be an easy matter to themselves in Egypt: the exact reverse should happen in the case of each respectively. The Jews whom God sent to Babylon were there weaned from idolatry, and were restored; those who...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 11-21** The parable is explained, and the particulars of the history of the Jewish nation at that time may be traced. Zedekiah had been ungrateful to his benefactor, which is a sin against God. In every solemn oath, God is appealed to as a witness of the sincerity of him that swears. Truth is a debt owing to all men. If the professors of the true religion deal treacherously with those of ...
Read full commentary →But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. Shall he prosper? shall he escape that doeth such things? or shall he break the covenant, and be delivered?
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KJV Study Commentary
Zedekiah 'rebelled...in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people.' Seeking Egyptian military aid violated treaty and God's commands. Rhetorical questions expect negative answers. Hebrew parar ('break') suggests shattering what should bind. Covenant-breaking brings consequences, not deliverance.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **Shall he escape that doeth such things?—**The faithlessness of Zedekiah and his court to his own sworn covenant was an act, in addition to all his other wickedness, especially abominable to God. The sanctity of an oath had always been most strongly insisted upon in Israelitish history. It must be remembered that even when, as in the case of the Gibeonites (Joshua , 9), the oath had been obt...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**15. their wives--**The idolatry began with them (1Ki 11:4; 1Ti 2:14). Their husbands' connivance implicated them in the guilt.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 11-21** The parable is explained, and the particulars of the history of the Jewish nation at that time may be traced. Zedekiah had been ungrateful to his benefactor, which is a sin against God. In every solemn oath, God is appealed to as a witness of the sincerity of him that swears. Truth is a debt owing to all men. If the professors of the true religion deal treacherously with those of ...
Read full commentary →As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely in the place where the king dwelleth that made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he brake, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die.
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KJV Study Commentary
'As I live, saith the Lord GOD'—God's own existence guarantees fulfillment. Zedekiah will die 'in the midst of Babylon'—where 'the king dwelleth that made him king.' Stark irony: escaping Babylonian control, he'll die in Babylon's heart. 'Whose oath he hath despised' emphasizes the moral dimension—not failed strategy but contempt for sacred obligations.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **In the place . . . he shall die.**—The distinct prophecy of the death of Zedekiah at Babylon is here given in a form to bring out in the strongest light the fitness and justice of his punishment. It was to be in the place of the king to whom he owed his crown, and to whom he had given his fealty, yet against whom he had rebelled. The tense here changes to the future, because the events of t...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**16. we will not--**(Jr 6:16).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 11-21** The parable is explained, and the particulars of the history of the Jewish nation at that time may be traced. Zedekiah had been ungrateful to his benefactor, which is a sin against God. In every solemn oath, God is appealed to as a witness of the sincerity of him that swears. Truth is a debt owing to all men. If the professors of the true religion deal treacherously with those of ...
Read full commentary →Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company make for him in the war, by casting up mounts, and building forts, to cut off many persons:
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KJV Study Commentary
'Pharaoh with his mighty army...shall not make for him in the war.' Despite Zedekiah's hopes, Egypt provided no effective help. Military terminology—'casting up mounts,' 'building forts'—describes Babylonian siege tactics Egypt wouldn't counter. 'Shall not make for him' means Egypt wouldn't fight for Judah. Human alliances fail when representing rebellion against God.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **By casting up mounts.—**This translation implies that “the casting up mounts and building forts” were to be the act of Pharaoh; but such things are done not by the relieving, but by the besieging army. A better translation would be, “when they cast up mounts,” &c.—*i.e., *at the time of the siege. We learn from Jeremiah 44:30 that the particular Pharaoh here referred to was Hophra, the Apri...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**17. whatsoever ... goeth ... out of our ... mouth--**whatever vow we have uttered to our gods (Jr 44:25; De 23:23; Jud 11:36). The source of all superstitions is that men oppose their own will and fancies to God's commands.
**queen of heaven--**(See on Jr 7:18); Ashtaroth or Astarte.
**we ... fathers ... king, &c.--**The evil was restricted to no one class: all from the highest to the lo...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 11-21** The parable is explained, and the particulars of the history of the Jewish nation at that time may be traced. Zedekiah had been ungrateful to his benefactor, which is a sin against God. In every solemn oath, God is appealed to as a witness of the sincerity of him that swears. Truth is a debt owing to all men. If the professors of the true religion deal treacherously with those of ...
Read full commentary →Seeing he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, when, lo, he had given his hand, and hath done all these things, he shall not escape.
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KJV Study Commentary
Comprehensive guilt: 'he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, when, lo, he had given his hand.' 'Given his hand' refers to clasping hands to seal agreements (Ezra 10:19, 2 Kings 10:15). 'Lo' (Hebrew hinneh)—'behold!'—emphasizes shocking treachery. 'He shall not escape' reinforces judgment's certainty. Covenant-breaking brings inescapable consequences.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
18. They impute their calamities to their service of God, but these are often marks of His favor, not of wrath, to do His people good at their latter end (De 8:16).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 11-21** The parable is explained, and the particulars of the history of the Jewish nation at that time may be traced. Zedekiah had been ungrateful to his benefactor, which is a sin against God. In every solemn oath, God is appealed to as a witness of the sincerity of him that swears. Truth is a debt owing to all men. If the professors of the true religion deal treacherously with those of ...
Read full commentary →Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; As I live, surely mine oath that he hath despised, and my covenant that he hath broken, even it will I recompense upon his own head.
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KJV Study Commentary
'He hath despised mine oath, and hath broken my covenant.' What appeared merely political was actually oath to God. When Zedekiah swore before Yahweh as witness, he bound himself to God, not just Nebuchadnezzar. 'I will even bring it upon his head'—covenant curse language. God takes personal responsibility: 'I will...' His reputation is at stake.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **Mine oath . . . my covenant.**—Zedekiah’s oath and covenant to Nebuchadnezzar are called the Lord’s, because made in the Lord’s name, and also because He had commanded them. Rebellion against Nebuchadnezzar was, therefore, under the circumstances, apostasy from the Lord Himself.
With Ezekiel 17:21 the explanation of the parable ends. What follows is a distinct Messianic prophecy, which, alt...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**19. make ... cakes to worship her--**Maurer translates, "to form her image." Crescent-shaped cakes were offered to the moon. Vulgate supports English Version.
**without our men--**The women mentioned (Jr 44:15); "a great multitude" here speak: we have not engaged in secret night orgies which might justly be regarded unfavorably by our husbands: our sacred rites have been open, and with their p...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 11-21** The parable is explained, and the particulars of the history of the Jewish nation at that time may be traced. Zedekiah had been ungrateful to his benefactor, which is a sin against God. In every solemn oath, God is appealed to as a witness of the sincerity of him that swears. Truth is a debt owing to all men. If the professors of the true religion deal treacherously with those of ...
Read full commentary →And I will spread my net upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, and will plead with him there for his trespass that he hath trespassed against me.
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KJV Study Commentary
'I will spread my net upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare.' God as divine hunter, actively pursuing Zedekiah. 'Net' and 'snare' metaphors describe inescapable judgment (Ezekiel 12:13). No human strategy evades God's purposes. 'I will bring him to Babylon, and will plead with him there'—both physical deportation and divine confrontation. 'Plead' (Hebrew shaphat): 'to judge'—prosecute, prese...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 11-21** The parable is explained, and the particulars of the history of the Jewish nation at that time may be traced. Zedekiah had been ungrateful to his benefactor, which is a sin against God. In every solemn oath, God is appealed to as a witness of the sincerity of him that swears. Truth is a debt owing to all men. If the professors of the true religion deal treacherously with those of ...
Read full commentary →And all his fugitives with all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward all winds: and ye shall know that I the LORD have spoken it.
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KJV Study Commentary
Comprehensive military defeat: 'all his fugitives with all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward all winds.' Total destruction and dispersion. 'And ye shall know that I the LORD have spoken it' appears throughout Ezekiel (60+ times), emphasizing that fulfillment demonstrates God's sovereignty and prophetic authority. When events unfold as predicted, skep...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**21. The incense ... did not the Lord remember--**Jeremiah owns that they did as they said, but in retort asks, did not God repay their own evil-doing? Their very land in its present desolation attests this (Jr 44:22), as was foretold (Jr 25:11, 18, 38).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 11-21** The parable is explained, and the particulars of the history of the Jewish nation at that time may be traced. Zedekiah had been ungrateful to his benefactor, which is a sin against God. In every solemn oath, God is appealed to as a witness of the sincerity of him that swears. Truth is a debt owing to all men. If the professors of the true religion deal treacherously with those of ...
Read full commentary →Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon an high mountain and eminent:
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KJV Study Commentary
This prophetic reversal introduces messianic hope. God Himself will plant a 'tender twig' from David's line—the Messiah. While Babylon broke Judah's earthly kingdom, God will establish an eternal kingdom through Christ (2 Samuel 7:12-16, Luke 1:32-33). The 'high mountain' is Zion, from which Christ's reign extends worldwide.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(22) **I will also take.**—In what has passed all has been done according to God’s will, but yet through human instrumentality: Israel has been punished, Jehoiachin has been, and Zedekiah is about to be, carried into captivity, as God designed; yet Nebuchadnezzar has done it all for his own purposes. Now God Himself directly interposes, and takes a scion of the same “high cedar,” the royal house o...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 22-24** The unbelief of man shall not make the promise of God of none effect. The parable of a tree, used in the threatening, is here presented in the promise. It appears only applicable to Jesus, the Son of David, the Messiah of God. The kingdom of Satan, which has borne so long, so large a sway, shall be broken, and the kingdom of Christ, which was looked upon with contempt, shall be es...
Read full commentary →In the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it: and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell.
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KJV Study Commentary
The mountain imagery evokes Zion, God's holy hill from which His reign extends (Psalm 2:6, Isaiah 2:2-3). The universal gathering of 'fowl of every wing' represents all nations finding refuge in Messiah's kingdom (Matthew 8:11, Revelation 7:9). This reverses the eagle judgment imagery—God's king provides shelter rather than destruction.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(23) **In the mountain of the height of Israel, ***i.e., *Mount Zion, called in the parallel passage (Ezekiel 20:40) “mine holy mountain.” Similar prophecies are also to be found in Isaiah 2:2-4; Micah 4:1-3; Psalm 2:6. No point is made more clear in the prophecies of the Christian dispensation than that it is to have its roots in the Jewish, that the “law shall go forth from Zion,” and that the n...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**23. law--**the moral precepts.
**statutes--**the ceremonial.
**testimonies--**the judicial (Da 9:11, 12).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 22-24** The unbelief of man shall not make the promise of God of none effect. The parable of a tree, used in the threatening, is here presented in the promise. It appears only applicable to Jesus, the Son of David, the Messiah of God. The kingdom of Satan, which has borne so long, so large a sway, shall be broken, and the kingdom of Christ, which was looked upon with contempt, shall be es...
Read full commentary →And all the trees of the field shall know that I the LORD have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the LORD have spoken and have done it.
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KJV Study Commentary
God's sovereign reversal of human expectations is a constant biblical theme. He brings down the proud and lifts the humble (1 Samuel 2:7-8, Luke 1:52). The 'green tree' and 'dry tree' represent worldly power versus God's chosen instruments. Christ's kingdom came through crucifixion and resurrection, not military might—the ultimate reversal.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(24) **All the trees of the field shall know.**—As the cedar represents the kingdom of Israel, so the other trees represent all other earthly powers who shall ultimately acknowledge the work of the Lord in the redemption of mankind through His Son.
**Have brought down the high tree.**—Comp, the song of Hannah (1Samuel 2:1-10) and that of the Virgin Mary (Luke 1:52-55). In all alike there is the ac...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 22-24** The unbelief of man shall not make the promise of God of none effect. The parable of a tree, used in the threatening, is here presented in the promise. It appears only applicable to Jesus, the Son of David, the Messiah of God. The kingdom of Satan, which has borne so long, so large a sway, shall be broken, and the kingdom of Christ, which was looked upon with contempt, shall be es...
Read full commentary →