Ezekiel 17:11-21

11 Then the word of the LORD came to me:

12 "Say now to ¹the rebellious house, ²Do you not know what these things mean? Tell them, behold, ³the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took her king and her princes and brought them to him to Babylon.

13 ⁴And he took one of the royal offspring^[a]⁵and made a covenant with him, ⁶putting him under oath (⁷the chief men of the land he had taken away),

14 that the kingdom might be humble and not lift itself up, and keep his covenant that it might stand.

15 ⁸But he rebelled against him by sending his ambassadors ⁹to Egypt, that they might give him horses and a large army. ¹⁰Will he thrive? Can one escape who does such things? Can he ¹¹break the covenant and yet escape?

16 ¹²"As I live, declares the Lord GOD, surely ¹³in the place where the king dwells ¹⁴who made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant with him he broke, in Babylon he shall die.

17 ¹⁵Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company will not help him in war, ¹⁶when mounds are cast up and siege walls built to cut off many lives.

18 He despised the oath in breaking the covenant, and behold, he gave his hand and did all these things; he shall not escape.

19 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: As I live, surely it is my oath that he despised, and my covenant that he broke. I will return it upon his head.

20 ¹⁷I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon ¹⁸and enter into judgment with him there ¹⁹for the treachery he has committed against me.

21 And all the pick^[b] of his troops shall fall by the sword, ²⁰and the survivors shall be scattered to every wind, and you shall know that ²¹I am the LORD; I have spoken."

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Ezekiel 17:11-21 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 17

Under the simile of two eagles and a vine are represented the kings of Babylon and Egypt, and the condition of the Jews, who are threatened with ruin for their perfidy; and yet a promise is made of the raising up of the house of Judah, and family of David, in the Messiah. The prophet is bid to deliver a riddle or parable to the house of Israel, Eze 17:1,2. The riddle or parable is concerning two eagles and a vine, which is delivered, Eze 17:3-10; and the explanation of it is in Eze 17:11-15; and then the destruction of the Jews is threatened for their treachery to the king of Babylon, Eze 17:16-21; and the chapter is closed with a promise of the Messiah, and the prosperity of his kingdom, Eze 17:22-24.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 21

1. See Ezekiel 2:3-5
2. See Ezekiel 12:9-11
3. 2 Kings 24:11, 12
4. 2 Kings 24:17
5. ver. 15, 16, 18; 2 Chronicles 36:13
6. [Ezekiel 21:23]
7. 2 Kings 24:14, 15
8. [ver. 7; Ezekiel 23:27; 2 Kings 24:20; 2 Chronicles 36:13; Jeremiah 37:5-7]
9. Deuteronomy 17:16; [Isaiah 31:1, 3]; Isaiah 36:6, 9
10. [ver. 9, 10]
11. Ezekiel 16:59; [ver. 13]
12. See Ezekiel 16:48
13. [Ezekiel 12:13]
14. ver. 13
15. ver. 15; See Jeremiah 37:5-8
16. See Ezekiel 4:2
17. See Ezekiel 12:13
18. [Ezekiel 20:35; Ezekiel 38:22]
19. See Ezekiel 14:13
20. See Ezekiel 5:10
21. Ezekiel 21:17, 32; Ezekiel 26:5, 14; Ezekiel 28:10; Ezekiel 30:12; Ezekiel 34:24; Ezekiel 39:5; [ver. 24]

Footnotes 2

[a]. Hebrew seed
[b]. Some Hebrew manuscripts, Syriac, Targum; most Hebrew manuscripts all the fugitives

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.