Worthy.Bible » DARBY » Ezekiel » Chapter 17 » Verse 16

Ezekiel 17:16 Darby English Bible (DARBY)

16 [As] I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, verily in the place of the king that made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he broke, even with him, in the midst of Babylon, shall he die.

Cross Reference

Ezekiel 12:13 DARBY

And I will spread my net upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare; and I will bring him to Babylon to the land of the Chaldeans; but he shall not see it, and there shall he die.

Jeremiah 52:11 DARBY

And he put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with chains of brass; and the king of Babylon carried him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death.

2 Samuel 21:2 DARBY

And the king called the Gibeonites, and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remainder of the Amorites; and the children of Israel had sworn to them; and Saul sought to smite them in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah.)

Zechariah 5:3-4 DARBY

And he said unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole land: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off according to it on this side; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off according to it on that side. I will cause it to go forth, saith Jehovah of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name; and it shall lodge in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.

Ezekiel 17:18-19 DARBY

He despised the oath, and broke the covenant; and behold, he had given his hand, yet hath he done all these things: he shall not escape. Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: [As] I live, verily, mine oath which he hath despised, and my covenant which he hath broken, even it will I recompense upon his head.

Ezekiel 17:13 DARBY

And he took of the king's seed, and made a covenant with him, and brought him under an oath, and he took away the mighty of the land;

Ezekiel 16:59 DARBY

For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will even deal with thee as thou hast done, who hast despised the oath, and broken the covenant.

Jeremiah 39:7 DARBY

and he put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with chains of brass, to carry him to Babylon.

Jeremiah 32:4-5 DARBY

and Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans; for he shall certainly be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes; and he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until I visit him, saith Jehovah: though ye fight with the Chaldeans, ye shall not prosper?

Psalms 15:4 DARBY

In whose eyes the depraved person is contemned, and who honoureth them that fear Jehovah; who, if he have sworn to his own hurt, changeth it not;

2 Kings 24:17 DARBY

And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah his uncle king in his stead, and changed his name to Zedekiah.

Joshua 9:20 DARBY

This we will do to them, and let them live, lest wrath come upon us, because of the oath which we swore unto them.

Numbers 30:2 DARBY

If a man vow a vow to Jehovah, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not break his word; according to all that hath gone out of his mouth shall he do.

Exodus 20:7 DARBY

Thou shalt not idly utter the name of Jehovah thy God; for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless that idly uttereth his name.

Exodus 8:2 DARBY

And if thou refuse to let [them] go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs.

Jeremiah 34:3-5 DARBY

And thou shalt not escape out of his hand, but shalt certainly be taken, and given into his hand; and thine eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of Babylon, and his mouth shall speak with thy mouth, and thou shalt go to Babylon. Only, hear the word of Jehovah, O Zedekiah king of Judah. Thus saith Jehovah as to thee: Thou shalt not die by the sword; thou shalt die in peace, and with the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings that were before thee, so shall they burn for thee; and they will lament for thee, Ah, lord! for I have spoken the word, saith Jehovah.

2 Timothy 3:3 DARBY

without natural affection, implacable, slanderers, of unsubdued passions, savage, having no love for what is good,

1 Timothy 1:10 DARBY

fornicators, sodomites, kidnappers, liars, perjurers; and if any other thing is opposed to sound teaching,

Romans 1:31 DARBY

void of understanding, faithless, without natural affection, unmerciful;

Malachi 3:5 DARBY

And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against the false swearers, and against those that oppress the hired servant in [his] wages, the widow and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger [from his right], and fear not me, saith Jehovah of hosts.

Hosea 10:4 DARBY

They speak [mere] words, swearing falsely in making a covenant; therefore shall judgment spring up as hemlock in the furrows of the fields.

Ezekiel 17:10 DARBY

And behold, being planted, shall it prosper? shall it not utterly wither when the east wind toucheth it? It shall wither in the beds where it grew.

Commentary on Ezekiel 17 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible


CHAPTER 17

Eze 17:1-24. Parable of the Two Great Eagles, and the Cropping of the Cedar of Lebanon. Judah Is to Be Judged for Revolting from Babylon, Which Had Set Up Zedekiah instead of Jehoiachin, to Egypt; God Himself, as the Rival of the Babylonian King, Is to Plant the Gospel Cedar of Messiah.

The date of the prophecy is between the sixth month of Zedekiah's sixth year of reign and the fifth month of the seventh year after the carrying away of Jehoiachin, that is, five years before the destruction of Jerusalem [Henderson].

2. riddle—a continued allegory, expressed enigmatically, requiring more than common acumen and serious thought. The Hebrew is derived from a root, "sharp," that is, calculated to stimulate attention and whet the intellect. Distinct from "fable," in that it teaches not fiction, but fact. Not like the ordinary riddle, designed to puzzle, but to instruct. The "riddle" is here identical with the "parable," only that the former refers to the obscurity, the latter to the likeness of the figure to the thing compared.

3. eagle—the king of birds. The literal Hebrew is, "the great eagle." The symbol of the Assyrian supreme god, Nisroch; so applied to "the great king" of Babylon, his vicegerent on earth (Jer 48:40; 49:22). His "wings" are his great forces. Such symbols were familiar to the Jews, who saw them portrayed on the great buildings of Babylon; such as are now seen in the Assyrian remains.

long-winged—implying the wide extent of his empire.

full of feathers—when they have been renewed after moulting; and so in the full freshness of renovated youth (Ps 103:5; Isa 40:31). Answering to the many peoples which, as tributaries, constituted the strength of Babylon.

divers colours—the golden eagle, marked with star-like spots, supposed to be the largest of eagles [Bochart]. Answering to the variety of languages, habits, and costumes of the peoples subject to Babylon.

came unto Lebanon—continuing the metaphor: as the eagle frequents mountains, not cities. The temple at Jerusalem was called "Lebanon" by the Jews [Eusebius], because its woodwork was wholly of cedars of Lebanon. "The mountain of the Lord's house" (Isa 2:2). Jerusalem, however, is chiefly meant, the chief seat of civil honor, as Lebanon was of external elevation.

took the highest branch—King Jeconiah, then but eighteen years old, and many of the chiefs and people with him (2Ki 24:8, 12-16). The Hebrew for "highest branch" is, properly, the fleece-like tuft at the top of the tree. (So in Eze 31:3-14). The cedar, as a tall tree, is the symbol of kingly elevation (compare Da 4:10-12).

4. land of traffic … merchants—Babylon (2Ki 24:15, 16), famous for its transport traffic on the Tigris and Euphrates. Also, by its connection with the Persian Gulf, it carried on much commerce with India.

5. seed of the land—not a foreign production, but one native in the region; a son of the soil, not a foreigner: Zedekiah, uncle of Jehoiachin, of David's family.

in a fruitful field—literally, a "field of seed"; that is, fit for propagating and continuing the seed of the royal family.

as a willow—derived from a Hebrew root, "to overflow," from its fondness for water (Isa 44:4). Judea was "a land of brooks of water and fountains" (De 8:7-9; compare Joh 3:23).

6. vine of low stature—not now, as before, a stately "cedar"; the kingdom of Judah was to be prosperous, but not elevated.

branches turned toward him—expressing the fealty of Zedekiah as a vassal looking up to Nebuchadnezzar, to whom Judah owed its peace and very existence as a separate state. The "branches" mean his sons and the other princes and nobles.

The roots … under him—The stability of Judah depended on Babylon. The repetition "branches" and "springs" is in order to mark the ingratitude of Zedekiah, who, not content with moderate prosperity, revolted from him to whom he had sworn allegiance.

7. another … eagle—the king of Egypt (Eze 17:15). The "long-winged" of Eze 17:3 is omitted, as Egypt had not such a wide empire and large armies as Babylon.

vine … bend … roots towards him—literally, "thirsted after him with its roots"; expressing the longings after Egypt in the Jewish heart. Zedekiah sought the alliance of Egypt, as though by it he could throw off his dependence on Babylon (2Ki 24:7, 20; 2Ch 36:13; Jer 37:5, 7).

water it by … furrows of … plantation—that is, in the garden beds (Judea) wherein (the vine) it was planted. Rather, "by" or "out of the furrows." It refers to the waters of Egypt, the Nile being made to water the fields by means of small canals or "furrows"; these waters are the figure of the auxiliary forces wherewith Egypt tried to help Judah. See the same figure, Isa 8:7. But see on Eze 17:10, "furrows where it grew."

8. It was planted in a good soil—It was not want of the necessaries of life, nor oppression on the port of Nebuchadnezzar, which caused Zedekiah to revolt: it was gratuitous ambition, pride, and ingratitude.

9. Shall it prosper?—Could it be that gratuitous treason should prosper? God will not allow it. "It," that is, the vine.

he … pull up—that is, the first eagle, or Nebuchadnezzar.

in all … leaves of her spring—that is, all its springing (sprouting) leaves.

without great power or many—It shall not need all the forces of Babylon to destroy it; a small division of the army will suffice because God will deliver it into Nebuchadnezzar's hand (Jer 37:10).

10. being planted—that is, "though planted."

east wind—The east wind was noxious to vegetation in Palestine; a fit emblem of Babylon, which came from the northeast.

wither in … furrows where it grew—Zedekiah was taken at Jericho, on Jewish soil (Jer 52:8). "It shall wither, although it has furrows from which it expects continual waterings" [Calvin], (Eze 19:12; Ho 13:15).

12. Know ye not—He upbraided them with moral, leading to intellectual, stupidity.

hath taken the king—Jeconiah or Jehoiachin (2Ki 24:11, 12-16).

13. the king's seed—Zedekiah, Jeconiah's uncle.

taken … oath of him—swearing fealty as a vassal to Nebuchadnezzar (2Ch 36:13).

also taken the mighty—as hostages for the fulfilment of the covenant; whom, therefore, Zedekiah exposed to death by his treason.

14. That the kingdom might be base—that is, low as to national elevation by being Nebuchadnezzar's dependent; but, at the same time, safe and prosperous, if faithful to the "oath." Nebuchadnezzar dealt sincerely and openly in proposing conditions, and these moderate ones; therefore Zedekiah's treachery was the baser and was a counterpart to their treachery towards God.

15. he rebelled—God permitted this because of His wrath against Jerusalem (2Ki 24:20).

horses—in which Egypt abounded and which were forbidden to Israel to seek from Egypt, or indeed to "multiply" at all (De 17:16; Isa 31:1, 3; compare Isa 36:9). Diodorus Siculus [1.45] says that the whole region from Thebes to Memphis was filled with royal stalls, so that twenty thousand chariots with two horses in each could be furnished for war.

Shall he prosper?—The third time this question is asked, with an indignant denial understood (Eze 17:9, 10). Even the heathen believed that breakers of an oath would not "escape" punishment.

16. in the place where the king dwelleth—righteous retribution. He brought on himself in the worst form the evil which, in a mild form, he had sought to deliver himself from by perjured treachery, namely, vassalage (Eze 12:13; Jer 32:5; 34:3; 52:11).

17. Pharaoh—Pharaoh-hophra (Jer 37:7; 44:30), the successor of Necho (2Ki 23:29).

Neither … make for him—literally, "effect (anything) with him," that is, be of any avail to Zedekiah. Pharaoh did not act in concert with him, for he was himself compelled to retire to Egypt.

by casting up mounts, &c.—So far from Pharaoh doing so for Jerusalem, this was what Nebuchadnezzar did against it (Jer 52:4). Calvin Maurer, &c., refer it to Nebuchadnezzar, "when Nebuchadnezzar shall cast up mounts."

18. given his hand—in ratification of the oath (2Ki 10:15; Ezr 10:19), and also in token of subjection to Nebuchadnezzar (1Ch 29:24, Margin; 2Ch 30:8, Margin; La 5:6).

19. mine oath—The "covenant" being sworn in God's name was really His covenant; a new instance in relation to man of the treacherous spirit which had been so often betrayed in relation to God. God Himself must therefore avenge the violation of His covenant "on the head" of the perjurer (compare Ps 7:16).

20. my net—(Eze 12:13; 32:3). God entraps him as he had tried to entrap others (Ps 7:15). This was spoken at least upwards of three years before the fall of Jerusalem (compare Eze 8:1, with Eze 20:1).

plead with him—by judgments on him (Eze 20. 36).

21. all his fugitives—the soldiers that accompany him in his flight.

22. When the state of Israel shall seem past recovery, Messiah, Jehovah Himself, will unexpectedly appear on the scene as Redeemer of His people (Isa 63:5).

I … also—God opposes Himself to Nebuchadnezzar: "He took of the seed of the land and planted it (Eze 17:3, 5), so will I, but with better success than he had. The branch he plucked (Zedekiah) and planted, flourished but for a time, to perish at last; I will plant a scion of the same tree, the house of David, to whom the kingdom belongs by an everlasting covenant, and it shall be the shelter of the whole world, and shall be for ever."

branch—the peculiar title of Messiah (Zec 3:8; 6:12; Isa 11:1; 4:2; Jer 23:5; 33:15).

a tender one—Zerubbabel never reigned as a universal (Eze 17:23) king, nor could the great things mentioned here be said of him, except as a type of Messiah. Messiah alone can be meant: originally "a tender plant and root out of a dry ground" (Isa 53:2); the beginning of His kingdom being humble, His reputed parents of lowly rank, though King David's lineal representatives; yet, even then, God here calls Him, in respect to His everlasting purpose, "the highest … of the high" (Ps 89:27).

I … will plant it upon an high mountain—Zion; destined to be the moral center and eminence of grace and glory shining forth to the world, out-topping all mundane elevation. The kingdom, typically begun at the return from Babylon, and the rebuilding of the temple, fully began with Christ's appearing, and shall have its highest manifestation at His reappearing to reign on Zion, and thence over the whole earth (Ps 2:6, 8; Isa 2:2, 3; Jer 3:17).

23. under it … all fowl—the Gospel "mustard tree," small at first, but at length receiving all under its covert (Mt 13:32); the antithesis to Antichrist, symbolized by Assyria, of which the same is said (Eze 31:6), and Babylon (Da 4:12). Antichrist assumes in mimicry the universal power really belonging to Christ.

24. I … brought down the high—the very attribute given to God by the virgin mother of Him, under whom this was to be accomplished.

high … low tree—that is, princes elevated … depressed. All the empires of the world, represented by Babylon, once flourishing ("green"), shall be brought low before the once depressed ("dry"), but then exalted, kingdom of Messiah and His people, the head of whom shall be Israel (Da 2:44).