Ezekiel 17:15

15 ¹But he rebelled against him by sending his ambassadors ²to Egypt, that they might give him horses and a large army. ³Will he thrive? Can one escape who does such things? Can he ⁴break the covenant and yet escape?

Ezekiel 17:15 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 17:15

But he rebelled against him
Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon, broke the covenant he entered into, and violated his oath: in sending his ambassadors into Egypt;
to form an alliance with the king of it, and obtain help from him to break off the Babylonian yoke; this is signified by the vine "bending [its] roots, [and] shooting forth [its] branches [towards] another great eagle", the king of Egypt, ( Ezekiel 17:7 ) ; that they might give him horses and much people;
with both which Egypt abounded, ( 1 Kings 10:28 ) ( Isaiah 31:1 Isaiah 31:3 ) ; but in Judea there was a scarcity, as of horses, so of men, by means of the multitude of captives which the king of Babylon had carried away; wherefore Zedekiah sent to Egypt for both, for recruits of men; and for horses to form a cavalry, to free himself from the king of Babylon, and defend himself and people against him: shall he prosper? shall he escape that doeth such [things]?
that is guilty of breaking an express law of God, which forbids the kings of Israel multiplying horses, and sending to Egypt for them, ( Deuteronomy 17:16 ) ; and placing confidence in an arm of flesh, ( Isaiah 31:1 Isaiah 31:3 ) ( 36:9 ) ; and of such base ingratitude to the king of Babylon, who had set him upon the throne, and put him in a comfortable and flourishing condition: or shall he break the covenant, and be delivered?
shall one guilty, as of the other crimes, so of breach of covenant, and of perjury, escape the vengeance of God and man? he shall not.

Ezekiel 17:15 In-Context

13 And he took one of the royal offspringand made a covenant with him, putting him under oath (the 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 But he rebelled against him by sending his ambassadors to Egypt, that they might give him horses and a large army. Will he thrive? Can one escape who does such things? Can he break the covenant and yet escape?

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

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

Cross References

• 1. [ver. 7; Ezekiel 23:27; 2 Kings 24:20; 2 Chronicles 36:13; Jeremiah 37:5-7]
• 2. Deuteronomy 17:16; [Isaiah 31:1, 3]; Isaiah 36:6, 9
• 3. [ver. 9, 10]
• 4. Ezekiel 16:59; [ver. 13]