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Ezekiel 17:20 King James Version with Strong's Concordance (STRONG)

20 And I will spread H6566 my net H7568 upon him, and he shall be taken H8610 in my snare, H4686 and I will bring H935 him to Babylon, H894 and will plead H8199 with him there for his trespass H4603 that he hath trespassed H4604 against me.

Cross Reference

Ezekiel 12:13 STRONG

My net H7568 also will I spread H6566 upon him, and he shall be taken H8610 in my snare: H4686 and I will bring H935 him to Babylon H894 to the land H776 of the Chaldeans; H3778 yet shall he not see H7200 it, though he shall die H4191 there.

Ezekiel 32:3 STRONG

Thus saith H559 the Lord H136 GOD; H3069 I will therefore spread out H6566 my net H7568 over thee with a company H6951 of many H7227 people; H5971 and they shall bring thee up H5927 in my net. H2764

Ezekiel 20:35-36 STRONG

And I will bring H935 you into the wilderness H4057 of the people, H5971 and there will I plead H8199 with you face H6440 to face. H6440 Like as I pleaded H8199 with your fathers H1 in the wilderness H4057 of the land H776 of Egypt, H4714 so will I plead H8199 with you, saith H5002 the Lord H136 GOD. H3069

Jeremiah 2:35 STRONG

Yet thou sayest, H559 Because I am innocent, H5352 surely his anger H639 shall turn H7725 from me. Behold, I will plead H8199 with thee, because thou sayest, H559 I have not sinned. H2398

Ezekiel 38:22 STRONG

And I will plead H8199 against him with pestilence H1698 and with blood; H1818 and I will rain H4305 upon him, and upon his bands, H102 and upon the many H7227 people H5971 that are with him, an overflowing H7857 rain, H1653 and great hailstones, H417 H68 fire, H784 and brimstone. H1614

Jeremiah 39:5-7 STRONG

But the Chaldeans' H3778 army H2428 pursued H7291 after H310 them, and overtook H5381 Zedekiah H6667 in the plains H6160 of Jericho: H3405 and when they had taken H3947 him, they brought him up H5927 to Nebuchadnezzar H5019 king H4428 of Babylon H894 to Riblah H7247 in the land H776 of Hamath, H2574 where he gave H1696 judgment H4941 upon him. Then the king H4428 of Babylon H894 slew H7819 the sons H1121 of Zedekiah H6667 in Riblah H7247 before his eyes: H5869 also the king H4428 of Babylon H894 slew H7819 all the nobles H2715 of Judah. H3063 Moreover he put out H5786 Zedekiah's H6667 eyes, H5869 and bound H631 him with chains, H5178 to carry H935 him to Babylon. H894

Hosea 2:2 STRONG

Plead H7378 with your mother, H517 plead: H7378 for she is not my wife, H802 neither am I her husband: H376 let her therefore put away H5493 her whoredoms H2183 out of her sight, H6440 and her adulteries H5005 from between her breasts; H7699

Luke 21:35 STRONG

For G1063 as G5613 a snare G3803 shall it come G1904 on G1909 all G3956 them that dwell G2521 on G1909 the face G4383 of the whole G3956 earth. G1093

Micah 6:2 STRONG

Hear H8085 ye, O mountains, H2022 the LORD'S H3068 controversy, H7379 and ye strong H386 foundations H4146 of the earth: H776 for the LORD H3068 hath a controversy H7379 with his people, H5971 and he will plead H3198 with Israel. H3478

Hosea 7:12 STRONG

When they shall go, H3212 I will spread H6566 my net H7568 upon them; I will bring them down H3381 as the fowls H5775 of the heaven; H8064 I will chastise H3256 them, as their congregation H5712 hath heard. H8088

Joshua 10:16-18 STRONG

But these five H2568 kings H4428 fled, H5127 and hid H2244 themselves in a cave H4631 at Makkedah. H4719 And it was told H5046 Joshua, H3091 saying, H559 The five H2568 kings H4428 are found H4672 hid H2244 in a cave H4631 at Makkedah. H4719 And Joshua H3091 said, H559 Roll H1556 great H1419 stones H68 upon the mouth H6310 of the cave, H4631 and set H6485 men H582 by it for to keep H8104 them:

Lamentations 4:20 STRONG

The breath H7307 of our nostrils, H639 the anointed H4899 of the LORD, H3068 was taken H3920 in their pits, H7825 of whom we said, H559 Under his shadow H6738 we shall live H2421 among the heathen. H1471

Lamentations 1:13 STRONG

From above H4791 hath he sent H7971 fire H784 into my bones, H6106 and it prevaileth H7287 against them: he hath spread H6566 a net H7568 for my feet, H7272 he hath turned H7725 me back: H268 he hath made H5414 me desolate H8074 and faint H1739 all the day. H3117

Jeremiah 50:44 STRONG

Behold, he shall come up H5927 like a lion H738 from the swelling H1347 of Jordan H3383 unto the habitation H5116 of the strong: H386 but I will make H7323 them suddenly H7280 run away H7323 H7323 from her: and who is a chosen H977 man, that I may appoint H6485 over her? for who is like me? and who will appoint me the time? H3259 and who is that shepherd H7462 that will stand H5975 before H6440 me?

Jeremiah 2:9 STRONG

Wherefore I will yet plead H7378 with you, saith H5002 the LORD, H3068 and with your children's H1121 children H1121 will I plead. H7378

Ecclesiastes 9:12 STRONG

For man H120 also knoweth H3045 not his time: H6256 as the fishes H1709 that are taken H270 in an evil H7451 net, H4685 and as the birds H6833 that are caught H270 in the snare; H6341 so H1992 are the sons H1121 of men H120 snared H3369 in an evil H7451 time, H6256 when it falleth H5307 suddenly H6597 upon them.

Job 10:16 STRONG

For it increaseth. H1342 Thou huntest H6679 me as a fierce lion: H7826 and again H7725 thou shewest thyself marvellous H6381 upon me.

2 Chronicles 33:11 STRONG

Wherefore the LORD H3068 brought H935 upon them the captains of H8269 the host of H6635 the king H4428 of Assyria, H804 which took H3920 Manasseh H4519 among the thorns, H2336 and bound him H631 with fetters, H5178 and carried H3212 him to Babylon. H894

2 Samuel 18:9 STRONG

And Absalom H53 met H7122 the servants H6440 H5650 of David. H1732 And Absalom H53 rode H7392 upon a mule, H6505 and the mule H6505 went H935 under the thick boughs H7730 of a great H1419 oak, H424 and his head H7218 caught hold H2388 of the oak, H424 and he was taken up H5414 between the heaven H8064 and the earth; H776 and the mule H6505 that was under him went away. H5674

Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Ezekiel 17

Commentary on Ezekiel 17 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary


Introduction

Humiliation and Exaltation of the Davidic Family

The contents of this chapter are introduced as a riddle and a parable, and are divided into three sections. Ezekiel 17:1-10 contain the parable; Ezekiel 17:11-21, the interpretation and application of it to King Zedekiah; and Ezekiel 17:22-24, the promise of the Messianic kingdom.


Verses 1-10

The Parable

Ezekiel 17:1. And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, Ezekiel 17:2. Son of man, give a riddle, and relate a parable to the house of Israel; Ezekiel 17:3. And say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, A great eagle, with great wings and long pinions, full of feathers of variegated colours, came to Lebanon and took the top of the cedar: Ezekiel 17:4. He plucked off the topmost of its shoots, and brought it into Canaan's land; in a merchant-city he set it. Ezekiel 17:5. And he took of the seed of the land, and put it into seed-land; took it away to many waters, set it as a willow. Ezekiel 17:6. And it grew, and became an overhanging vine of low stature, that its branches might turn towards him, and its roots might be under him; and it became a vine, and produced shoots, and sent out foliage. Ezekiel 17:7. There was another great eagle with great wings and many feathers; and, behold, this vine stretched its roots languishingly towards him, and extended its branches towards him, that he might water it from the beds of its planting. Ezekiel 17:8. It was planted in a good field by many waters, to send out roots and bear fruit, to become a glorious vine. Ezekiel 17:9. Say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Will it thrive? will they not pull up its roots, and cut off its fruit, so that it withereth? all the fresh leaves of its sprouting will wither, and not with strong arm and with much people will it be possible to raise it up from its roots. Ezekiel 17:10. And, behold, although it is planted, will it thrive? will it not wither when the east wind touches it? upon the beds in which it grew it will wither.

The parable ( mâshâl , corresponding exactly to the New Testament παραβολή ) is called chīdhâh , a riddle, because of the deeper meaning lying beneath the parabolic shell. The symbolism of this parable has been traced by many commentators to Babylonian influences working upon the prophet's mind; but without any tenable ground. The figure of the eagle, or bird of prey, applied to a conqueror making a rapid descent upon a country, has as little in it of a specifically Babylonian character as the comparison of the royal family to a cedar or a vine. Not only is Nebuchadnezzar compared to an eagle in Jeremiah 48:40; Jeremiah 49:22, as Cyrus is to a bird of prey in Isaiah 46:11; but even Moses has described the paternal watchfulness of God over His own people as bearing them upon eagle's wings (Exodus 19:4; Deuteronomy 32:11). The cedar of Lebanon and the vine are genuine Israelitish figures. The great eagle in Ezekiel 17:3 is the great King Nebuchadnezzar (compare Ezekiel 17:12). The article is simply used to indicate the species, for which we should use the indefinite article. In Ezekiel 17:7, instead of the article, we have אחד in the sense of “another.” This first eagle has large wings and long pinions; he has already flown victoriously over wide-spread countries. אשׁר־לו , literally, which is to him the variegated ornament, i.e., which he has as such an ornament. The feathers of variegated ornamental colours point to the many peoples, differing in language, manners, and customs, which were united under the sceptre of Nebuchadnezzar (Hitzig, etc.); not to the wealth and splendour of the conqueror, as such an allusion is altogether remote from the tendency of the parable. He came to Lebanon. This is not a symbol of the Israelitish land, or of the kingdom of Judah; but, as in Jeremiah 22:23, of Jerusalem, or Mount Zion, with its royal palace so rich in cedar wood (see the comm. on Habakkuk 2:17 and Zechariah 11:1), as being the place where the cedar was planted (compare the remarks on Ezekiel 17:12). The cedar is the royal house of David, and the top of it is King Jehoiachin. The word tzammereth is only met with in Ezekiel, and there only for the top of a cedar (compare Ezekiel 31:3.). The primary meaning is doubtful. Some derive it from the curly, or, as it were, woolly top of the older cedars, in which the small twigs that constitute their foliage are only found at the top of the tree. Others suppose it to be connected with the Arabic dmr , to conceal, and understand it as an epithet applied to the foliage, as the veil or covering of the tree. In v. 4, tzammereth is explained to be ראשׁ רניקותיו , the topmost of its shoots. This the eagle plucked off and carried אל־ארץ כּנען , an epithet applied to Babylonia here and in Ezekiel 16:29, as being a land whose trading spirit had turned it into a Canaan. This is evident from the parallel עיר רכלים , city of traders, i.e., Babylon (compare Ezekiel 17:12). The seed of the land, according to Ezekiel 16:13, is King Zedekiah, because he was of the land, the native king, in contrast to a foreign, Babylonian governor.

קח , for לקח , after the analogy of קחם in Hosea 11:3, and pointed with Kametz to distinguish it from the imperative. לקח אל is used as in Numbers 23:27. The ἁπ. λεγ. צפצפה signifies, in Arabic and the Talmud, the willow, probably so called because it grows in well-watered places; according to Gesenius, it is derived from צוּף , to overflow, literally, the inundated tree. This meaning is perfectly appropriate here. “He set it as a willow” means he treated it as one, inasmuch as he took it to many waters, set it in a well-watered soil, i.e., in a suitable place. The cutting grew into an overhanging vine, i.e., to a vine spreading out its branches in all directions, though not growing very high, as the following expression שׁפלת קומה more clearly shows. The object of this growth was, that its branches might turn to him (the eagle), and its roots might be under him (the eagle). The suffixes attached to אליו and תּחתּיו refer to נשׁר . This allusion is required not only by the explanation in Ezekiel 17:14 (? Ezekiel 17:14, Ezekiel 17:15), but also by Ezekiel 17:7, where the roots and branches of the vine stretch to the (other) eagle. In Ezekiel 17:6 , what has already been affirmed concerning the growth is briefly summed up again. The form פּארה is peculiar to Ezekiel. Isaiah has פּארה sah h = פּארה in Ezekiel 10:33. The word signifies branch and foliage, or a branch covered with foliage, as the ornament of a tree. - The other eagle mentioned in Ezekiel 17:7 is the king of Egypt, according to Ezekiel 17:15. He had also large wings and many feathers, i.e., a widely spread and powerful kingdom; but there is nothing said about pinions and variegated colours, for Pharaoh had not spread out his kingdom over many countries and peoples, or subjugated a variegated medley of peoples and tribes. כּפן , as a verb ἁπ . λεγ . ., signifies to yearn or pine after a thing; in Chaldee, to hunger. להשׁקות , that he (the eagle-Pharaoh) might give it to drink, or water it. The words מערגות מטּעהּ are not connected with להשׁקות , but with שׁלחה and כּנפה , form the beds of its planting, i.e., in which it was planted; it stretched out roots and branches to the other eagle, that he might give it to drink. The interpretation is given in Ezekiel 17:15. The words להשׁקות אותהּ , which are added by way of explanation, do not interrupt the train of thought; nor are they superfluous, as Hitzig supposes, because the vine had water enough already (Ezekiel 17:5 and Ezekiel 17:8). For this is precisely what the passage is intended to show, namely, that there was no occasion for this pining and stretching out of the branches towards the other eagle, inasmuch as it could thrive very well in the place where it was planted. The latter is expressly stated once more in Ezekiel 17:8, the meaning of which is perfectly clear, - namely, that if Zedekiah had remained quiet under Nebuchadnezzar, as a hanging vine, his government might have continued and prospered. But, asks Ezekiel in the name of the Lord, will it prosper? תּצלח is a question, and the third person, neuter gender. This question is answered in the negative by the following question, which is introduced with an affirmative הלוא . The subject to ינתּק and יקוסס dna is not the first eagle (Nebuchadnezzar), but the indefinite “one” ( man , they). In the last clause of v. 9 משׂאות is a substantive formation, used instead of the simple form of the infinitive, after the form משּׂא in 2 Chronicles 19:7, with the termination ות , borrowed from the verb ה ' ל (compare Ewald, §160 b and 239 a ), and the construction is the same as in Amos 6:10 : it will not be to raise up = it will not be possible to raise it up (compare Ges. §132, 3, Anm. 1). To raise it up from its root does not mean to tear it up by the root (Hävernick), but to rear the withered vine from its roots again, to cause it to sprout again. This rendering of the words corresponds to the interpretation given in Ezekiel 17:17. - In Ezekiel 17:10 the leading thought is repeated with emphasis, and rounded off. The east wind is peculiarly dangerous to plants on account of its dryness (compare Genesis 41:6, and Wetstein on Job 27:21 in Delitzsch's Commentary ); and it is used very appropriately here, as the Chaldeans came from the east.


Verses 11-21

Interpretation of the Riddle

Ezekiel 17:11. And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, Ezekiel 17:12. Say to the refractory race: Do ye not know what this is? Say, Behold, the king of Babel came to Jerusalem and took its king and its princes, and brought them to himself to Babel. Ezekiel 17:13. And he took of the royal seed, and made a covenant with him, and caused him to enter into an oath; and he took the strong ones of the land: Ezekiel 17:14. That it might be a lowly kingdom, not to lift itself up, that he might keep his covenant, that it might stand. Ezekiel 17:15. But he rebelled against him by sending his messengers to Egypt, that it might give him horses and much people. Will he prosper? will he that hath done this escape? He has broken the covenant, and should he escape? Ezekiel 17:16. As I live, is the saying of the Lord Jehovah, surely in the place of the king, who made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he broke with him, in Babel he will die. Ezekiel 17:17. And not with great army and much people will Pharaoh act with him in the war, when they cast up a rampart and build siege-towers, to cut off many souls. Ezekiel 17:18. He has despised an oath to break the covenant, and, behold, he has given his hand and done all this; he will not escape. Ezekiel 17:19. Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah, As I live, surely my oath which he has despised, and my covenant which he has broken, I will give upon his head. Ezekiel 17:20. I will spread out my net over him, so that he will be taken in my snare, and will bring him to Babel, and contend with him there on account of his treachery which he has been guilty of towards me. Ezekiel 17:21. And all his fugitives in all his regiments, by the sword will they fall, and those who remain will be scattered to all winds; and ye shall see that I Jehovah have spoken it.

In Ezekiel 17:12-17 the parable in Ezekiel 17:2-10 is interpreted; and in Ezekiel 17:19-21 the threat contained in the parable is confirmed and still further expanded. We have an account of the carrying away of the king, i.e., Jehoiachin, and his princes to Babel in 2 Kings 24:11., Jeremiah 24:1, and Jeremiah 29:2. The king's seed ( זרע המּלוּכה , Ezekiel 17:13, as in Jeremiah 41:1 = זרע המּלך , 1 Kings 11:14) is Jehoiachin's uncle Mattaniah, whom Nebuchadnezzar made king under the name of Zedekiah (2 Kings 24:17), and from whom he took an oath of fealty (2 Chronicles 36:13). The strong of the land ( אילי = אוּלי , 2 Kings 24:15), whom Nebuchadnezzar took ( לקח ), i.e., took away to Babel, are not the heads of tribes and families (2 Kings 24:15); but the expression is used in a wide sense for the several classes of men of wealth, who are grouped together in 2 Kings 24:14 under the one term כּל־גּבּורי ח ( אנשׁי חיל , 2 Kings 24:16), including masons, smiths, and carpenters (2 Kings 24:14 and 2 Kings 24:16), whereas the heads of tribes and families are classed with the court officials ( סריסים , 2 Kings 24:15) under the title שׂריה (princes) in Ezekiel 17:12. The design of these measures was to make a lowly kingdom, which could not raise itself, i.e., could not revolt, and to deprive the vassal king of the means of breaking of the covenant. the suffix attached to לעמדהּ is probably to be taken as referring to ממלכה rather than בּריתי , although both are admissible, and would yield precisely the same sense, inasmuch as the stability of the kingdom was dependent upon the stability of the covenant. But Zedekiah rebelled (2 Kings 24:20). The Egyptian king who was to give Zedekiah horses and much people, in other words, to come to his assistance with a powerful army of cavalry and fighting men, was Hophrah, the Apries of the Greeks, according to Jeremiah 44:30 (see the comm. on 2 Kings 24:19-20). היצלח points back to תּצלח in Ezekiel 17:9; but here it is applied to the rebellious king, and is explained in the clause ' הימּלט וגו . The answer is given in Ezekiel 17:16 as a word of God confirmed by a solemn oath: he shall die in Babel, the capital of the king, who placed him on the throne, and Pharaoh will not render him any effectual help (Ezekiel 17:17). עשׂה אותו , as in Ezekiel 15:1-8 :59, to act with him, that is to say, assist him, come to his help. אותו refers to Zedekiah, not to Pharaoh, as Ewald assumes in an inexplicable manner. For ' שׁפך סללה , compare Ezekiel 4:2; and for the fact itself, Jeremiah 34:21-22, and Jeremiah 37:5, according to which, although an Egyptian army came to the rescue of Jerusalem at the time when it was besieged by the Chaldeans, it was repulsed by the Chaldeans who marched to meet it, without having rendered any permanent assistance to the besieged.

In Ezekiel 17:18, the main thought that breach of faith can bring no deliverance is repeated for the sake of appending the further expansion contained in Ezekiel 17:19-21. נתן ידו , he gave his hand, i.e., as a pledge of fidelity. The oath which Zedekiah swore to the king of Babel is designated in Ezekiel 17:19 as Jehovah's oath ( אלתי ), and the covenant made with him as Jehovah's covenant, because the oath had been sworn by Jehovah, and the covenant of fidelity towards Nebuchadnezzar had thereby been made implicite with Jehovah Himself; so that the breaking of the oath and covenant became a breach of faith towards Jehovah. Consequently the very same expressions are used in Ezekiel 17:16, Ezekiel 17:18, and Ezekiel 17:19, to designate this breach of oath, which are applied in Ezekiel 16:59 to the treacherous apostasy of Jerusalem (Israel) from Jehovah, the covenant God. And the same expressions are used to describe the punishment as in Ezekiel 12:13-14. נשׁפּט אתּו is construed with the accusative of the thing respecting which he was to be judged, as in 1 Samuel 12:7. Jehovah regards the treacherous revolt from Nebuchadnezzar as treachery against Himself ( מעל ); not only because Zedekiah had sworn the oath of fidelity by Jehovah, but also from the fact that Jehovah had delivered up His people and kingdom into the power of Nebuchadnezzar, so that revolt from him really became rebellion against God. את before כּל־מברחו is nota accus ., and is used in the sense of quod adtinet ad , as, for example, in 2 Kings 6:5. מברחו , his fugitives, is rendered both by the Chaldee and Syriac “his brave men,” or “heroes,” and is therefore identified with מבחרו (his chosen ones), which is the reading in some manuscripts. But neither these renderings nor the parallel passage in Ezekiel 12:14, where סביבותיו apparently corresponds to it, will warrant our adopting this explanation, or making any alteration in the text. The Greek versions have πάσας φυγαδείας αὐτοῦ ; Theodoret: ἐν πάσαις ταῖς φυγαδείαις αὐτοῦ ; the Vulgate: omnes profugi ejus ; and therefore they all had the reading מברחו , which also yields a very suitable meaning. The mention of some who remain, and who are to be scattered toward all the winds, is not at variance with the statement that all the fugitives in the wings of the army are to fall by the sword. The latter threat simply declares that no one will escape death by flight. But there is no necessity to take those who remain as being simply fighting men; and the word “all” must not be taken too literally.


Verses 22-24

The Planting of the True Twig of the Stem of David

Ezekiel 17:22. Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, And I will take from the top of the high cedar, and will set it; from the topmost of its shoots will I pluck off a tender one, and will plant it upon a high and exalted mountain. Ezekiel 17:23. On the high mountain of Israel will I plant it, and it will put forth branches, and bear fruit, and become a splendid cedar, so that all the birds of every plumage will dwell under it. In the shade of its branches will they dwell. Ezekiel 17:24. And all the trees of the field will learn that I Jehovah have lowered the lofty tree, lifted up the low tree, made the green tree wither, and the withered tree become green. I Jehovah have said it, and have done it. - Although the sprout of David, whom Nebuchadnezzar had made king, would lose the sovereignty because of his breach of faith, and bring about the destruction of the kingdom of Judah, the Lord would not let His kingdom be destroyed, but would fulfil the promise which He had given to the seed of David. The announcement of this fulfilment takes its form from the preceding parable. As Nebuchadnezzar broke off a twig from the top of the cedar and brought it to Babel (Ezekiel 17:13), so will Jehovah Himself also pluck off a shoot from the top of the high cedar, and plant it upon a high mountain. The Vav before לקחתּי is the Vav consec ., and אני is appended to the verb for the sake of emphasis; but in antithesis to the acting of the eagle, as described in Ezekiel 17:3, it is placed after it. The cedar, which it designated by the epithet râmâh , as rising above the other trees, is the royal house of David, and the tender shoot which Jehovah breaks off and plants is not the Messianic kingdom or sovereignty, so that Zerubbabel could be included, but the Messiah Himself as “a distinct historical personage” (Hävernick). The predicate רך , tender, refers to Him; also the word יונק , a sprout (Isaiah 53:2), which indicates not so much the youthful age of the Messiah (Hitzig) as the lowliness of His origin (compare Isaiah 11:1; Isaiah 53:2); and even when applied to David and Solomon, in 2 Samuel 3:39; 1 Chronicles 22:5; 1 Chronicles 29:1, expresses not their youthfulness, but their want of strength for the proper administration of such a government. The high mountain, described in Ezekiel 17:23 as the high mountain of Israel, is Zion, regarded as the seat and centre of the kingdom of God, which is to be exalted by the Messiah above all the mountains of the earth (Isaiah 2:2, etc.). The twig planted by the Lord will grow there into a glorious cedar, under which all birds will dwell. The Messiah grows into a cedar in the kingdom founded by Him, in which all the inhabitants of the earth will find both food (from the fruits of the tree) and protection (under its shadow). For this figure, compare Daniel 4:8-9. צפּור כּל־כּנף , birds of every kind of plumage (cf. Ezekiel 39:4, Ezekiel 39:17), is derived from Genesis 7:14, where birds of every kind find shelter in Noah's ark. The allusion is to men from every kind of people and tribe. By this will all the trees of the field learn that God lowers the lofty and lifts up the lowly. As the cedar represents the royal house of David, the trees of the field can only be the other kings or royal families of the earth, not the nations outside the limits of the covenant. At the same time, the nations are not to be entirely excluded because the figure of the cedars embraces the idea of the kingdom, so that the trees of the field denote the kingdoms of the earth together with their kings. The clauses, “I bring down the high tree,” contain a purely general thought, as in 1 Samuel 2:7-8, and the perfects are not to be taken as preterites, but as statements of practical truths. It is true that the thought of the royal house of David in its previous greatness naturally suggests itself in connection with the high and green tree, and that of Jehoiachin in connection with the dry tree (compare Jeremiah 22:30); and these are not to be absolutely set aside. At the same time, the omission of the article from עץ and the objects which follow, is sufficient to show that the words are not to be restricted to these particular persons, but are applicable to every high and green, or withered and lowly tree; i.e., not merely to kings alone, but to all men in common, and furnish a parallel to 1 Samuel 2:4-9, “The bows of the mighty men are broken; and they that stumbled are girded with strength,” etc.