Ezekiel 17:14

14 that the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping of his covenant it might stand.

Ezekiel 17:14 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 17:14

That the kingdom might be base
Low or humble; its king but a viceroy, a tributary to the king of Babylon; and the subjects obliged to a tax, payable to him; and this is intended by the vine being of "low stature", ( Ezekiel 17:6 ) ; that it might not lift up itself;
above other neighbouring kingdoms and states; and particularly that it might not rebel against Nebuchadnezzar, but be kept in a dependence on him, and subjection to him: [but] that by keeping of his covenant it might stand;
continue a kingdom, and Zedekiah king of it; so that it was for their good that such a covenant was made, and it was their interest to keep it; for, had it not been made, it would have ceased to have been a kingdom, and would have become a province of the Babylonian monarchy, and have been put under the government of one of Nebuchadnezzar's princes or captains; and, should they break it, would endanger the ruin of their state, as the event showed. In the Hebrew text it is, "to keep his covenant, to make it stand"; or, "to stand to it" ^F25; that is, as it should seem, to make the covenant stand firm. The Targum is,

``that it might keep his covenant, and serve him;''

Nebuchadnezzar.

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FOOTNOTES:

F25 (hdmel wtyrb ta rmvl) "ad custodiendum pactum ejus, ad astandum ei", Montanus; "ad servandum foedus suum, ad consistendumm", Starckius.

Ezekiel 17:14 In-Context

12 "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;

13 and hath taken of the king's seed and made a covenant with him, and hath taken an oath from him. He hath also taken the mighty of the land,

14 that the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping of his covenant it might stand.

15 But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and many people. Shall he prosper? Shall he escape that doeth such things? Or shall he break the covenant and be delivered?

16 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 broke, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die.